By GB News (Politics) | Created at 2026-10-05 00:51:32 | Updated at 2026-10-05 01:26:32
36 minutes ago
The Conservatives will pledge to "do whatever it takes" to get a third runway at Heathrow Airport off the ground.
In his speech at the Conservative Party conference in Birmingham, Shadow Chancellor Andrew Griffith will say: "We’re 'all in' for growth and we will legislate to sweep away the blockers to getting the infrastructure our country needs built."
Prime Minister Andy Burnham has an "open mind" as to whether the country’s busiest airport should get a third runway, Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said at the Labour Party conference in Liverpool last week.
Heathrow Airport bosses have planned to secure permission for a third runway by 2029 and it is understood it would not be operational until 2039.
Mr Griffith will say: "I refuse to accept for a single moment that the country of [Isambard Kingdom] Brunel and [Joseph] Bazalgette, of the vaccine task force and the Mulberry harbours [built off the coast of Normandy during the Second World War], has to sit around waiting until the 2040s to get a third runway built."
He will also tell his party’s backers: "Countries on the rise have the best infrastructure and connectivity to the world, but our national hub airport is being held back.
"The next Conservative government will do whatever it takes to end the delays and boost capacity by backing the third runway."
Mr Burnham said Heathrow Airport’s future was "a matter for London and Londoners" when he appeared on the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme last week.
Heathrow has long been touted for an expansion
PA
Andrew Griffith is poised to present what he calls 'the biggest deregulation project in a generation'
The Prime Minister: "I think it’s right that we hear what people have said through the consultation and then consider the way forward from there."
At a Politico fringe event in Liverpool, Ms Alexander said: "I think Andy’s got an open mind."
She said the Prime Minister wanted to "listen to the views of communities", including "the communities most affected in London" and businesses.
The Transport Secretary continued: "He’ll be listening to the views of other airports."
Heathrow has long touted an expansion
Chief Executive of Heathrow Airport Thomas Woldbye said: "We welcome the growing ‘can-do’ consensus behind Heathrow expansion and the Conservative leadership’s recognition of the role we can play in driving growth across the UK.
"Heathrow and our investors stand ready to work with politicians from across the spectrum to finally get the third runway built."
Environmental campaigners have long warned against the impact of additional runways at Heathrow and Gatwick.
Green Party MP for Brighton Pavilion, Sian Berry, said: "We must ask who these decisions would be made for and why.
"Whose advice is the Government listening to, when record-high wealth inequality is causing harm to the economy and society in many different ways, while frequent flying is the preserve of the super-rich?"
Green MP for Brighton Pavilion and former party leader Siân Berry has called for the expansion to be scrapped
Ms Berry continued: "The aviation lobby is loud and well-funded, but the Government should instead be listening to scientists and its own Climate Change Committee, which has already urged a halt to overall airport expansion.
"The previous Labour government’s poor record on airport expansion doesn’t have to continue."
Mr Griffith is expected to say the Conservative Party must "inject reality, tell the hard truths and make this a country we are proud to hand on to the next generation".
He will also say: "Our task just got bigger. We face a Prime Minister that wants to return Britain to an imagined past – a socialist fever dream of the 1970s.
"Cheaper homes, lower taxes and less red tape. This will be the most ambitious deregulation project in a generation. We will be more prepared than ever before. We will set out our plans line by line. every bill, every regulation, every chapter."
