A future Labour Government would allow no increase in spending on transport infrastructure or transport systems.
Labour shadow transport secretary Mary Creagh told the Abta Travel Matters conference in London: “Decisions will have to be made in conditions of austerity.”
She said a Labour government would “look at how we deliver new transport infrastructure and existing transport services with a zero budget increase”.
Yet Creagh invited industry members to feed ideas into Labour Party policy and insisted: “We want the UK to be seen as a global leader in transport.”
She told the Abta conference: “Good air links are vital, but we must remain aware of aviation’s contribution to climate change. We have seen from the floods how disruptive that can be.”
Creagh added: “We want to ensure transport is accessible to everyone. I want more protection for air passengers with mobility issues.” She suggested this could include “free tickets for carers”.
Asked whether Labour would commit to implementing the recommendations of the Davies Commission on airport capacity in the southeast, Creagh said: “Not a single party has said they will follow what Davies recommends to the letter.
“You would not expect any minister or shadow minister to say ‘I will follow what Howard Davies recommends’.”
Creagh said a third runway at Heathrow “would be expensive and disruptive”, and added: “We must minimise noise.” She insisted: “We need consensus on how increased capacity can be delivered.”
Labour MP and former transport minister Jim Fitzpatrick said: “I asked Davies if he could report before the election and he said yes, but that he had been asked not to.”
Fitzpatrick suggested: “Noise is a big issue, but the environmental lobby is making the running [on it]. It’s like fracking and GM [genetically modified] food. There are no problems so long as it is done properly.”