Prime Minister Andy Burnham has declined to back plans for a third runway at Heathrow Airport, raising fresh uncertainty over an expansion project previously supported by the Government under his predecessor Sir Keir Starmer.
Speaking at the start of Labour's annual conference in Liverpool, Burnham said the issue was ‘principally’ a matter for London and said the views of people affected by the proposed expansion should be heard before he took a position.
His comments do not amount to a rejection or cancellation of the third runway. The Prime Minister has instead declined to endorse the project while the consultation and planning process continues.
Burnham declines to endorse expansion
Asked whether he backed another runway at Heathrow, Burnham described the issue as contested and said the Government should listen to the views expressed through consultation before deciding the way forward.
He said it would not be right for him to immediately take a position before considering those views.
The intervention is significant because the previous Government under Sir Keir Starmer had explicitly backed Heathrow expansion as part of its economic growth agenda.
Previous Government backed third runway
The Starmer Government announced its support for Heathrow's expansion proposal in 2025, although the project still has to pass through a lengthy planning process before construction can begin.
Former Chancellor Rachel Reeves had promoted the project as a potential driver of economic growth and employment.
Burnham's refusal to repeat that endorsement therefore introduces uncertainty over the position of the new Government, although no formal policy reversing support for the runway has been announced.
Heathrow says runway could slip to 2039
The Prime Minister's comments come as Heathrow has acknowledged that the proposed third runway may not become operational until 2039.
The airport says its focus remains on securing planning permission by 2029 and that, once permission is obtained, the runway could open within a decade.
That timetable would place opening as late as 2039, compared with the previously discussed 2035 ambition.
Project remains subject to consultation and planning
Heathrow expansion has been debated by successive governments for decades and remains politically contested over its economic, environmental and local impacts.
Burnham's latest remarks should therefore be distinguished from a formal Government decision on the project.
The confirmed development is that the Prime Minister has declined to give the third runway his backing and says he wants the views of Londoners and those participating in the consultation to be considered before the Government determines the way forward.