Andy Burnham has declined to endorse Heathrow expansion, reopening questions over Labour’s support for a third runway just weeks after John Healey said the Government backed the project.
Speaking as the Labour conference got under way, Mr Burnham said the decision was principally a matter for London and Londoners and urged ministers to consider the outcome of a public consultation before deciding how to proceed.
Asked by the BBC whether he supported the scheme, he said: “Principally, it’s a matter for London and Londoners.”
When pressed further, Mr Burnham added: “It’s not right for me to just jump straight in on the back of the consultation.”
He continued: “I think it’s right that we hear what people have said through the consultation, and then then consider the way forward from there.”
His position contrasts with comments made by Defence Secretary John Healey in the Commons earlier this month, when he said Labour supported the expansion.
Mr Healey told MPs: “After years of delay, years of indecision, years of often vexatious challenge, we have given the go-ahead to this project quite simply because the economic case stacks up and will help bring growth.”
Mr Burnham, who was previously mayor of Greater Manchester, has opposed the proposal for several years. In January last year, he described it as a “model for an ever-overheating UK economy” and warned that it could not come at the “expense of essential investment in northern infrastructure”.
In 2018, he said: “I’m against a third runway at Heathrow because of the need to limit national levels of aviation. We should use spare capacity at Manchester and Birmingham instead.”
The following year, he warned that the project would “trap infrastructure spending inside the M25 for 10 years”.
Heathrow Airport Limited is seeking permission for a full-length, 3,500-metre runway, a plan that would require the M25 motorway to be moved.
Former chancellor Rachel Reeves said in June that she was determined to have “spades in the ground” for the third runway during the current Parliament, with the project completed by 2035.
However, that timetable now appears to be slipping, with suggestions that 2039 could be the earliest possible completion date.
The expansion has faced long-standing opposition from climate experts and London Mayor Sadiq Khan. Heathrow has argued that the project would create jobs, unlock growth and make travel more affordable.
A public consultation on the Government’s Heathrow expansion national policy statement closed on September 1.
