Prime Minister Keir Starmer refused to say whether he would back a third runway at Heathrow Airport, amid speculation that Chancellor Rachel Reeves could soon endorse the expansion. During Prime Minister’s Questions, Green MP Adrian Ramsay pressed Starmer on the issue, noting the Prime Minister’s past opposition to the plan.
Starmer told the House of Commons: “I am not going to comment on speculation. He knows that we are as a government committed to growth, we are committed to the aviation sector and to our climate obligations.” However, he declined to clarify if his position had changed since he voted against the proposal in 2018.
Downing Street later refused to be drawn on whether Starmer had altered his stance, stating only that “any airport expansion proposals must demonstrate they contribute to economic growth.”
The Chancellor is reportedly preparing a sweeping endorsement of airport expansion as the Government seeks to bolster its pro-growth credentials in the face of a stalling economy. Reeves has said that economic growth “trumps other things” and “the answer can’t always be ‘no'” when it comes to infrastructure projects.
Starmer also faced tough questions from the opposition on Labour’s education reforms, with Tory leader Kemi Badenoch accusing the Prime Minister of “educational vandalism” and claiming the changes would lead to “bad outcomes for all children.”
As the government grapples with a range of challenges, from the state of the public finances to the fallout from the Southport attack, Starmer can expect a grilling from both sides of the House during today’s Prime Minister’s Questions.