Heathrow airport: MPs vote in favour of runway expansion

Representatives of the Indian community and MPs for the areas surrounding Heathrow have cautiously welcomed the House of Commons’ move to approve the expansion the airport via the construction of a third runway — the first full-length runway in the south-east of England since the Second World War.

MPs supported the government’s motion late on Monday, following a lengthy debate, with 415 voting in favour of the third runway, and just 119 voting against, despite opposition from the Labour leadership.

The expansion plan has been deeply contentious, cutting across the traditional left/right divide.

Union leaders broke rank with the Labour party to express support for the expansion programme, while one Conservative cabinet member, Trade Minister Greg Hands, resigned from the front bench in order to be able to vote against it.

Britain’s Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson faced criticism for avoiding the vote, despite once promising to “lie down in front of those bulldozers” to stop the expansion, which will have a major impact on his London constituency.

While Transport Minister Chris Grayling said the expansion was needed because all London’s main airports would be full by the mid-2030s, and they were already seeing “business leave the UK and go to airports like Frankfurt, Amsterdam and Paris,” Labour’s transport spokesperson Andy McDonald warned the project risked making “losers of many,” pointing to the potential environmental, congestion and noise repercussions, and the decision to hold the vote before a report by the government’s own advisory body on climate change on the impact of aviation emissions.

A cautious approach

“In many ways, I vote in favour of expansion with a heavy heart,” said Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi, the Labour MP for Slough, during the debate.

He expressed concerns about the environment and the uprooting of people from their homes, while recognising the economic benefits to the area.

“More than 4,000 Slough residents rely on Heathrow for their living and a further 3,600 Slough people work in related industries. The expansion of Heathrow will protect and boost those jobs, while helping to tackle youth unemployment in the surrounding areas.”

“For many of my constituents, Heathrow is more than just a global hub for transport and shipping. It is the place where they go to work every day — not only flying the planes, running the air traffic control and policing the UK border, but driving the trains and buses, cooking the meals for passengers and, in logistics, delivering British goods to destinations all over the country and the world,” said Labour MP for Feltham and Heston Seema Malhotra during the debate.

She also highlighted some of the concerns locals had when it came to noise compensation. “Residents wake up before 5 am if planes come in to land too early and they are unable to open their windows in the summer for the noise, including noise from hangars behind their homes. They also face traffic congestion to and from Heathrow, pollution from cars stuck in traffic and night flights. Respite and other protections are critical for their quality of life.”

Job opportunities

“There will be jobs, and further improvements to infrastructure and investment,” Virendra Sharma, the MP for Southall Ealing, told BusinessLine , welcoming the vote, and the opportunities expansion would offer his constituents – for jobs within Heathrow, local apprenticeship schemes, and businesses that sought the connectivity it would offer.

“The improvements in the transport system will bring in extra connections for the local area…the big investors want the links with international airports...if the expansion did not go ahead we have large companies who were seriously considering moving out of the area.”

“Southall and surrounding areas are heavily reliant on Heathrow particularly with the decline of manufacturing,” says Harsev Bains of the Southall Community Alliance, adding that Heathrow had provided the local population with jobs across the skills range, from junior entry level jobs at the airport to senior management roles, including association roles within the IT sector.

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