The Labour Party dropped its commitment to a third runway at Heathrow yesterday.
Labour shadow transport secretary Maria Eagle announced the policy reversal in a speech to the Airport Operators Association (AOA) conference.
Eagle said Labour’s move in line with coalition government policy should allow a cross-party commission to develop a new strategy for aviation.
She said: “The government’s failure to set out a strategy for aviation is putting jobs and growth at risk. I am offering to put aside political differences and work on a cross-party basis to establish a credible strategy.
“Labour will accept the government’s decision to cancel the third runway at Heathrow, but ministers must accept that their opposition to any other aviation growth in the southeast makes no sense. An independent cross-party commission on aviation should look at all options while prioritising making the best use of existing runways and airports.”
Eagle urged the industry “to move on and look at other solutions to the need for new capacity”.
She also called for the Committee on Climate Change to produce “a tougher emissions target for aviation”. Eagle said: “It’s time to bring the industry closer to the wider goal in the Climate Change Act to cut emissions by at least 80% compared to 1990 levels by 2050.”
The Board of Airline Representatives in the UK (Bar UK) expressed “total dismay” at Eagle’s statement and at “the lack of planning and consistency shown by all three main political parties”.
Bar UK chief executive Mike Carrivick said “The Labour Party decision to withdraw support for a third runway at Heathrow is not just a massive policy u-turn, it suggests politicians are deliberately obstructive to supporting UK business. All three main political parties are guilty of being indecisive. They have a duty to rapidly formulate an alternative aviation policy.”
Greenpeace welcomed Eagle’s move. A Greenpeace spokesman said: “Advocates of Heathrow expansion have reached the end of the road. Opponents of expansion have clearly won the argument. Aviation lobbyists who have been trying to resurrect expansion should accept defeat and concentrate on reducing the airline industry’s carbon emissions to an acceptable level.”
However Simon Buck, chief executive of the British Air Transport Association (BATA), also gave a welcome to Eagle’s “recognition that the UK needs a long-term aviation policy”. Buck said: “We warmly welcome the concept of a cross-party approach and believe this would help tackle the damaging ‘stop go’ aviation policies adopted by successive governments.
“Agreement is urgently needed on how to tackle the chronic shortage of capacity in the southeast.”
Eagle described the current government policy of ‘better not bigger’ for southeast airports as “a slogan, not a policy” and called for Heathrow to be added to the proposed high-speed rail link between London, Birmingham, Manchester, Sheffield and Leeds.