The Energy Secretary Ed Miliband’s comments came after Chancellor Rachel Reeves hinted she could back the expansion in major speech next week on growing the UK’s sluggish economy
Cabinet minister Ed Miliband has said he will not resign if the government presses ahead with a third runway at Heathrow, telling reporters: “Don’t be ridiculous”.
It comes after Chancellor Rachel Reeves hinted she could back the expansion in major speech next week on growing the UK’s sluggish economy. The Energy Secretary voted against plans to expand the west London airport in 2018 saying he was concerned about climate change and air pollution.
But pressed on whether he will consider resigning if the government gives the go-ahead to another Heathrow runway, Mr Miliband replied: “Don’t be ridiculous, no.”
He said: “What the Climate Change Committee says is that we’ve got to make sure any decisions we make on aviation including expansion take place within our carbon budgets.
“And they are 100% right about that and that’s absolutely the position of the Government. We believe that we can meet our growth mission – our number one priority – and keep within carbon budgets and indeed that our clean energy mission is crucial and a central part of meeting our growth mission. Far from them being in contradiction, they are absolutely complimentary.”
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Asked whether the country could still meet net zero with a third runway with a third Heathrow runway, he added: “I’m not getting into speculation about specific issues like that. What I’m saying is that aviation is part of our economic growth and it has to take place within our carbon budgets, and that is accepted right across Government because we have legally binding carbon budgets.”
Speaking at the Davos summit earlier this week the Chancellor Ms Reeves would not comment directly on speculation about a decision at the airport. But she hit out at the Tories for not backing pro-growth plans – including that they would say things like “we don’t like that airport”. And she added that the “answer can’t always be ‘no'” when it comes to approving plans in Britain.
Mayor of London Sir Sadiq Khan, who has vocally opposed plans for a third Heathrow runway and backed a 2018 legal challenge, said on Thursday his views “haven’t changed”.
He added: “What Londoners know and the Government knows is the aviation sector is important for growth, jobs and prosperity, but we face a climate crisis and a climate emergency.”
“The three big concerns that would need to be addressed if, in the hypothetical case, the speculation was to become a reality, is could a new runway be built that abides with carbon targets, concerns around noise pollution, and concerns around air pollution? But I’m quite clear, my views on the expansion of Heathrow by a new runway haven’t changed.”
