Government fully behind Heathrow third runway, insists Chancellor after Burnham refused to back expansion

Detailed summary

John Healey said he was “frustrated” at how long the project was taking to get started because it would lead to economic growth in London

The Government is “behind a third runway” at Heathrow, the Chancellor has insisted after Andy Burnham previously refused to support the airport’s expansion.

John Healey added that he was “frustrated” at how long the controversial project was taking to get started, suggesting it was delaying economic growth in London.

Asked what assessment had been made of the benefits of the scheme at the west London airport, Mr Healey told the Treasury Select Committee on Wednesday: “So the Government is behind a third runway at Heathrow, I’m part of the Government.

“Our experience in recent decades, is it not, is that successful airports are very often an engine for economic growth in the wider area?

“That’s as true in Manchester as it is true in parts of London and elsewhere.

“In terms of the assessment following the consultation period, that’s not led by the Treasury.

“That’s led by the Department for Transport, and the Government is working through the responses and the further update information we’ve got from that.”

Mr Healey said it was still taking Britain “too long” to approve and build large infrastructure projects.

“I think you have seen over the last couple of years a determination from this as a Government to speed those up,” he added.

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