Heathrow’s third runway was thrust into the centre of the Tory leadership battle today.
A group of eight Conservative MPs around Gatwick challenged Theresa May and Andrea Leadsom to “act swiftly” and claimed that blocking expansion of the UK’s premier airport would be “a betrayal of the Conservative vision for Britain”.
Their intervention spotlighted a gap between the two candidates over how to tackle the aviation capacity crisis that business leaders say is throttling growth in London and the South East.
Mrs Leadsom promised an “early decision with the benefit of the facts” on whether to go ahead with a third runway at Heathrow.
She stopped short of endorsing either Heathrow or Gatwick, but in a BBC interview stressed that Britain needed better air connections to thrive post-Brexit.
“I think part of the whole agenda of being open for business is about making sure that people can get here and also get there,” she said.
“So yes, we need an early decision so that would be my top priority but again I’m not making a commitment here and now.”
Frontrunner Mrs May, MP for Maidenhead, has voiced local concerns about night flight noise from Heathrow in the past, and Heathrow opponents think she is on their side.
However, Mrs May said she would not take sides ahead of a formal Cabinet decision in an interview with this paper earlier this week.
Mr Blunt, who formed the Gatwick Coordination Group to fend off calls for a second runway at the Sussex airport, wrote to both women arguing that failure to commit to Heathrow would jeopardise the national interest.
“A commitment to implementing the Heathrow recommendation will show that the next Prime Minister is ready to get on with delivering this important infrastructure project – so important for strengthening the UK’s trading links with markets around the world.
“The country and Conservative Party members expect now more than ever for the next administration to deliver on the Party’s manifesto commitments - boosting manufacturers and exporters, taking tough decisions in the national interest and securing Britain’s long-term economic future.
"Gatwick can’t do this by adding some more short-haul flights to vacation destinations in Europe.”
