In a major growth speech in Oxfordshire, Reeves said that a third runway at London's Heathrow Airport was "badly needed," adding it would boost investment, support economic expans

It is the rich and the corporations who will take the lion’s share of the benefits from Labour’s and all airport expansions, while the poorest around the world pay the costs.

The decision, made just weeks into the new Labour Government’s term, was an early indication of the administration’s ambitions for airports. Rachel Reeves, the Chancellor, this week put airport expansion at the heart of her plans to kickstart growth in the economy, backing a third runway at Heathrow and extra capacity for Gatwick and Luton.

To justify air travel emissions ballooning in the meantime, the aviation sector has promised a mix of “supply-side” measures, like replacing kerosene with so-called “sustainable aviation fuel” (SAF), which Reeves described as “a game changer”, and making planes lighter and more fuel-efficient.

"Three-quarters of the village would be demolished. It wouldn't be a viable community. Pubs, the shops will go because there aren't enough customers. "The bus won't come up on the main road because there's a runway in the way.

Declaring that “growth will not come without a fight”, she said that the government would back airport expansion and offered more clues about plans to unshackle housebuilding. The Heathrow decision is the surest sign yet of the government prioritising growth,

In the historic west London village of Harmondsworth, Justine Bayley pointed to where Heathrow Airport’s new boundary would likely

Britain's Labour government will back the construction of a third runway at London's Heathrow Airport to boost trade and economic growth, finance minister Rachel Reeves said on Wednesday. Successive governments have dithered over whether to expand the site to the west of London,

British businesses turned more pessimistic in January, extending a run of falling corporate confidence to five months, but there were some more hopeful views about trading prospects for the coming year,

Hundreds of homes could be demolished in the west London villages of Harmondsworth and Longford if the expansion gets the green light.

For years, the Conservatives paved the way for expansion. In 2023, they approved Luton Airport’s application to expand to 19m passengers per year and encouraged an application for a further whopping expansion to 32m. But now it’s the Labour government that may give the go-ahead.