Heathrow expansion gets approval in historic Commons vote

MPs have voted overwhelmingly for a third runway at Heathrow airport in a move welcomed by business leaders and Britain’s biggest union after years of political wrangling.

The government won the vote in the House of Commons by 415 votes to 119 with the support of 116 Labour MPs who backed the expansion despite the opposition of their leader Jeremy Corbyn and the shadow chancellor, John McDonnell.

Foreign secretary Boris Johnson, whose Uxbridge constituency is near Heathrow, had said he would lie down in front of bulldozers to stop the expansion. But he missed the vote by paying an impromptu visit to Afghanistan. Greg Hands, who resigned as trade minister to vote against the government, said the debate was “about being true to your word and your election pledges”.

The expansion will bring in more passengers, with 700 extra planes a day and an estimated £70bn in total economic benefits by the 2050s. Business groups have been urging the government to build more airport capacity in the South-East to support trade with Heathrow operating near full capacity.

Carolyn Fairbairn, director general of the CBI, Britain’s biggest business lobby, said: “Parliament’s approval to build the new runway at Heathrow will lift prosperity across the country, and has long been seen as vital for firms, especially exporters. Work on the new runway should start as soon as possible. The prize is tens of thousands of jobs and billions of pounds of growth for the British economy.”

Campaigners have argued expanding Heathrow will breach legal limits on air pollution and increase noise pollution. Hundreds of nearby homes may need to be knocked down to build the runway.

Labour MPs were given a free vote whereas the Conservative government imposed a three-line whip, prompting Hands’s reluctant resignation. The vote set Corbyn and McDonnell against the Unite union, whose leader Len McCluskey is a leading supporter of Corbyn’s leadership. Unite, which represents thousands of workers at Heathrow, welcomed the vote.

Peter Kavanagh, the union’s London regional secretary, said: “Heathrow expansion will secure tens of thousands of jobs and an economic boost not just for London and the South East, but for the rest of the UK too. Aviation is a central part of the UK economy, connecting us to the rest of the globe and sustaining the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of people across our four nations.”

The expansion plan may have further hurdles to cross. The London councils of Hillingdon, Richmond and Wandsworth, together with Windsor & Maidenhead, are planning to launch a judicial review. Sadiq Khan, the London mayor, and Greenpeace support the review.

If the review fails Heathrow will hold a public consultation in early 2019 and expects to start work on the new runway in 2021.