Labour MPS will vote to block third runway at Heathrow
Senior figures reveal plans to thwart the £16.5bn expansion over air quality fears
LABOUR is poised to vote against plans for a third runway at Heathrow airport in a move that could potentially block its expansion.
Senior allies of Jeremy Corbyn said that he and colleagues were almost certain to oppose the third runway on environmental grounds in a Commons vote.
The move means the plans for the £16.5billion runway are at significant risk because as many as 60 Tory MPS are opposed to the expansion of Heathrow.
It could leave Theresa May dependent on the support of the Scottish National Party and rebel MPS as she tries to push the plans through Parliament.
Boris Johnson, the Foreign Secretary, and Justine Greening, the Education Secretary, have been given a free vote on the issue. The vote is expected to take place in the first half of next year.
John Mcdonnell, the Shadow Chancellor, is a vociferous opponent of the scheme. One senior Labour figure told the Financial Times: “It has to pass our tests and no one here expects that to be likely.”
Labour’s manifesto said that the party would need to be satisfied that certain environmental conditions were being met if it was to give its backing to Heathrow. The manifesto said that noise and air quality issues would have to be met, along with the UK’S climate change obligations.
Another senior Labour figure said: “If the vote is any time soon there is no way we would back it, mainly on the basis of air quality, and that’s unlikely to change any time soon.”
The Conservatives’ manifesto reaffirmed the party’s support for a new runway at Heathrow, but Government whips believe it will struggle in the Commons.
Zac Goldsmith, the Tory MP for Richmond and a vocal opponent of the third runway, said: “There are so many reasons why Heathrow expansion isn’t going to happen. This is just one more.”
It previously emerged that Heathrow is drawing up plans to build its new runway above the M25 – Britain’s busiest motorway – amid warnings of gridlocked roads and a £3.5billion bill for the taxpayer.
It was suggested originally that the M25 would be diverted for two and a half miles and would run through a tunnel beneath the runway.
Highways England said that the plan was likely to cause “significant disruption” during construction.
However British Airways’ parent company believes that the third runway should be shortened so that it is not built over the M25.
International Airlines Group (IAG) said that at least 300 metres should be trimmed from the runway as part of a significant revision of the plans, designed to cut costs and delays.
The company, the biggest operator from Heathrow, said that a plan to build the runway on a sloping bridge over the M25 would cost up to £3billion, in addition to the £17billion set out for the scheme.