A RUNWAY WIN FOR THE TORIES
SNP abstain as Government wins backing for Heathrow expansion
SNP MPs sat on their hands last night during the crucial Commons vote on a third runway at Heathrow.
All of the party’s 35 MPs abstained or were absent – overturning official Scottish Government policy backing the airport’s expansion – after claiming they had not been given enough assurances from the Tories.
The controversial plan went through the Commons by 415 votes to 119, with the support of Labour MPs who had been given a free vote on the issue.
Nicola Sturgeon’s ministers had backed the Heathrow bid only last month, citing the huge economic spin-off for Scottish jobs and tourism. At the time, Economy Secretary Keith Brown said he looked forward to the UK Government “cracking on with this as soon as possible”.
But a snub from Transport Secretary Chris Grayling was enough for SNP spokesman Alan Brown to claim last night that “the UK Government have let Scotland down”. He added: “Grayling failed to provide any real assurances or meet with me to give any guarantees.”
The SNP’s abstention comes despite the Scottish Government publishing a long list of Heathrow commitments to Scotland, including creating up to 16,000 jobs and investing £200million in construction spending in Scotland.
The reversal was seized on by rivals as the SNP playing party politics in their protest against Holyrood being overruled on Brexit by Westminster without a proper debate.
Scottish Tory MP Luke Graham said: “Heathrow expansion will bring huge benefits to Scotland, yet the SNP have ignored that in order to pursue their agenda of disruption at Westminster.”
Also absent from the voting lobby was Boris Johnson, who had once vowed to lie down in front of the bulldozers to stop the expansion.
Instead, the Foreign Secretary turned up in Afghanistan, prompting widespread ridicule and criticism.