Healey backs pro-growth case for Heathrow third runway as PM Burnham stays silent

UK chancellor John Healey said this week in Bangkok that there is a pro-growth case for building a third runway at Heathrow airport. His tone was markedly more positive than that of Prime Minister Andy Burnham, who has avoided the question since taking office in July. The decision matters because it determines the future of a £33bn infrastructure project.

The government's position

Healey said ministers will study responses to a public consultation that recently closed. He argued that airports across the UK have been a big part of jobs and growth in recent decades, and that the case for a third runway at Heathrow has always been about growth. He added that economic growth is his and Burnham's "number one mission". Healey himself voted for the runway in the House of Commons in 2018.

Burnham, by contrast, has suggested the matter is one for London and Londoners. According to a Sunday Times report, he told transport secretary Heidi Alexander that he was unconvinced by the arguments. Healey's predecessor as chancellor, Rachel Reeves, had placed approval of the runway at the centre of her growth speech last year.

Investors losing patience

Heathrow chief executive Thomas Woldbye has warned that investors could reassess their support if the prime minister does not back the scheme. He said shareholders want to proceed, but that the company cannot wait for ever. The airport's owners include Qatar's investment authority, French private equity firm Ardian, Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund and Singapore's sovereign wealth fund GIC. They are expected to decide in the coming months whether to seek formal planning permission.

Healey was in Bangkok for the International Monetary Fund's annual meetings but has returned to London to finalise his 28 October budget. IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva urged him to stay the course. Official figures also showed the UK economy unexpectedly continued to grow in August.