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BRITAIN-POLITICS-AVIATION-HEATHROW
MPs vote on expanding London’s Heathrow airport
LONDON, June 25, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – British MPs are set Monday to approve
plans to build a third runway at London Heathrow, Europe’s busiest airport,
after decades of debate.
Prime Minister Theresa May’s government agreed to the œ14 billion (15.9
billion euros, $18.5 billion) plan earlier this month, saying it would
provide a major boost to the economy.
The House of Commons is expected to back the expansion despite opposition
from many MPs from London and south-east England, where residents fear the
extra pollution and noise from an increase in flights.
Among them is Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, who once pledged to lie in
front of bulldozers to stop construction, but was set to miss the last-minute
vote due to a trip to Afghanistan.
Transport Secretary Chris Grayling said he was “cautiously optimistic” of
securing approval for the plan, which officials say could create up to
114,000 local jobs by 2030.
“This is a momentous vote that has been 50 years in the making and
represents the biggest transport decision in a generation,” he said.
“At stake are thousands of new jobs and the country’s ability to compete
on an international stage and win new global trade.”
Heathrow hopes to begin construction by 2021 although it must still
obtain planning permission and could face legal challenges.
Grayling said the project would be funded by the private sector, adding
that the government would work with Heathrow’s operator to ensure costs are
not passed on to airlines.
British Airways owner IAG has expressed concerns about higher landing
charges for what it said is already the most expensive hub airport in the
world.
Grayling also insisted the plan could be delivered without breaking
Britain’s commitments on climate change, and has sought to reassure locals
with a ban on night flights.
However, Doug Parr, policy director for environmental campaign group
Greenpeace UK, said: “A vote for a new Heathrow runway is a vote for more
climate change, more air pollution, and more noise.” – Not worth resigning –
A junior trade minister and London MP, Greg Hands, quit the government last
week to vote against the expansion, and criticised Johnson for dodging the
decision.
“I wouldn’t want to be abroad…#commitments,” Hands wrote in a Twitter
message.
May has ordered all her Conservative MPs to back the plan, but agreed to
Johnson’s trip, saying he would be the “living embodiment of global Britain”
— the slogan for Britain’s future outside the EU.
The Afghan foreign ministry said Johnson held talks with Deputy Foreign
Minister Hekmat Khalil Karzai on a range of issues, notably security.
In a letter to his constituents obtained by London’s Evening Standard
newspaper, he said he would continue to lobby within government against
Heathrow.
“But it is clear from what is likely to be a large majority of MPs who
are in favour of a third runway that my resignation would have achieved
absolutely nothing,” Johnson wrote.
The minister, a leading voice for Brexit in the government, added that
given the “considerable difficulties” the project still faced, it may not
even happen.
The main opposition Labour party is against Heathrow’s expansion but has
given its MPs a free vote and many will back the plan, particularly as it has
trade union support.
BSS/AFP/RY/1940 hrs