Exclusive
Sadiq Khan says he will 'use any tool in the toolkit' to block third Heathrow runway
29 January 2025, 18:45
Sadiq Khan opposes the third runway at Heathrow
Sadiq Khan has vowed to block the third Heathrow runway "with any tool in the toolkit" in a rift with the government after Rachel Reeves said she would back plans.
Listen to this article
Loading audio...
The London mayor told LBC's Tonight with Andrew Marr that expanding London's biggest airport would cause more air pollution and noise issues for locals, and would put the UK's climate commitments in doubt.
Heathrow bosses have been trying to build a third runway for nearly 20 years amid concerns over constrained capacity at the airport, one of the world's busiest.
Advocates say that expanding capacity will enable Britain to grow faster by attracting more visitors and investment - and believe that the failure to build a third runway is symptomatic of the UK's aversion to creating the necessary infrastructure for growth.
Reeves, the Chancellor, said on Wednesday she would support expanding the airport as she seeks to grow the economy. But some in Labour remain opposed, largely for environmental reasons.
Khan insisted that he went along with all of Labour's plans to boost the economy by building more - other than the extra runway.
Caller Mark dismantles the third runway at Heathrow in under a minute
And the Labour mayor also said that the runway would not be built until the late 2030s or early 2040s - meaning that its benefits would be delayed anyway.
He insisted that he was "pro-growth" and "pro-business" and had been "calling out for the need for government support for growth for a long time".
"We've been frustrated by the hurdles there are to get permission for infrastructure. We've been frustrated by the difficulties in building high-quality, high-density homes around stations. We've been frustrated by the Golden Triangle of London, Oxford and Cambridge, not fulfilling its potential."
But he said he opposed the third runway for three main reasons.
"The first reason is that the conurbation next to Heathrow is the biggest in Europe," Khan said. "The numbers of people affected by noise just with two runways is more than the numbers affected by Paris, Charles de Gaulle, Amsterdam, Munich, Frankfurt and Madrid, put together that's with two runways.
"My second concern in relation to a third runway at Heathrow is the impact on air quality. In London one of the poorest air quality areas is around Heathrow. I'm not sure how 300,000 more flights leads to better air quality.
"And my third big concern in relation to a third runway at Heathrow is our ability to meet our climate change commitments."
And speaking to LBC on Wednesday, Ms Reeves hit out at environmental critics of the plan as she said: “Sustainable aviation and economic growth go hand in hand."
In her speech earlier on Wednesday, the Chancellor said the west London airport's expansion is "badly needed" because "for decades its growth has been constrained".
Caller David backs Heathrow runway expansion
Khan pointed out that it was up to Heathrow to bring plans for expansion, not the government.
He said: "Let's wait and see the plans that Heathrow bring forward in relation to a third runway.
"The last plans they had would have meant building over the busiest motorway in the country, the M25, a tunnel underneath the M25, re-routing the A4, increasing the capacity of the Elizabeth Line, the Piccadilly Line, Southern Rail, bulldozing a village."
He said he was "somebody who takes tackling the climate emergency seriously, but also thinks a green transition is one of the greatest opportunities we have this century" - adding that he would "use any tool in the toolkit to stop a third runway happening."
