Cameron about-turn to back extra Heathrow runway

SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT DAVID CAMERON has decided it would be politically safe to back a third runway at Heathrow despite previously promising to block the expansion of Britain’s busiest airport, Whitehall sources have said.

The Government is preparing to announce the next phase of airport expansion within weeks, ahead of a new public consultation on increasing aviation capacity.

The Prime Minister has been wrestling with a “difficult decision” over whether to approve a third Heathrow runway because he promised before the 2010 election that he would oppose such a plan.

However, Whitehall figures said Mr Cameron has been offered a way out by the independent Davies Commission, which recommended expanding Heathrow while leaving the door ajar to potentially extending Gatwick.

Government insiders say that the Prime Minister believes that the commission’s backing for the new Heathrow plan makes it politically acceptable for him to change his mind.

Officials are preparing for an announcement before Christmas on how the aviation plans will progress.

Increasing capacity in the South East represents one of the most expensive and controversial infrastructure decisions facing the Government.

Several MPs, Cabinet ministers and the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, have spoken out against a third runway at Heathrow, while others oppose expanding Gatwick.

However, Sir Howard Davies, who chaired the commission, concluded decisively that the Government should allow Heathrow to expand because this would lead to more jobs and wider economic benefits than extending Gatwick.

One Whitehall source said: “There will be some sort of announcement next month. Officials are still analysing data. The decision will be for the Prime Minister, but it is difficult for him because he made this ‘no ifs, no buts’ promise not to build a third runway.”

The Davies Commission was so clearly in favour of Heathrow over Gatwick that “in the Prime Minister’s mind” it would be safe to choose a third runway at Heathrow. It’s not yet clear whether the public would agree, the source admitted.

The Chancellor is likely to want a de- cision as soon as possible, given how he has sought to brand the Conservatives as the champions of new building schemes.

“It would be difficult for the Chancellor to stand up and say, ‘We are the builders’, and then when he has been given a really clear direction to build Heathrow, to say, ‘Actually, we’re the pragmatists,’” one government insider said.

Mr Cameron is understood to want all the analysis to be completed before he comes to a verdict. It has been suggested that the Chancellor will take control of the issue, making the crucial announcement about the preferred option. This would potentially save the Prime Minister from awkward questions over a policy reversal.

Government sources suggested that an announcement formally responding to the commission may not be part of Mr Osborne’s Autumn Statement on Nov 25 but could be made separately in December.

Justine Greening, the Tory MP for Putney and International Development Secretary, has promised to continue fighting against Heathrow expansion.

She has told her constituents that she has been assured by Patrick McLoughlin, the Transport Secretary, that there will be a new public consultation on plans before a final decision is taken.

‘The decision will be difficult because he made this “no ifs, no buts” promise not to build a third runway’