Gareth Thomas, the only Labour London mayoral candidate backing expansion at Heathrow, says his stance means he is in the strongest position to challenge the Tory Zac Goldsmith, a passionate opponent of a third runway.
The Davies Airports Commission appointed by the government is expected to report on Wednesday and favour Heathrow expansion, subject to assurances on air quality. The government is likely to respond in the late autumn. The presence of Goldsmith, the most likely Conservative candidate, will complicate the government response.
Thomas, MP for Harrow West, is seen as an outside bet for the mayoralty, but his intervention shows the extent which airport expansion will move to the centre of the political debate within Labour in the next few weeks. It will be the dominant economic issue of the campaign, Thomas said, adding there was no point Labour electing a pale imitation of Goldsmith.
The issue is likely to reveal divisions between enviromentalists in Labour and those who believe the party has to show it is determined its relations with business.
Thomas also warns his party that the electorate would be looking for strong leaders, and not people who flip-flop over the big issues.
Thomas did not specify to whom he was referring, but Sadiq Khan, the former shadow justice secretary and one of the frontrunners for the mayoralty, has recently come out against expansion at Heathrow even though he previously supported it. Khan has cited the impact on air quality, saying “the extra air pollution would not just make it near-impossible for us to meet legal standards, it would damage the health of thousands of Londoners”.
Khan’s switch may have lost some him support with Unite and GMB members who support expansion, but his stance may neutralise Goldsmith. It could also open a flank against Tessa Jowell, the frontrunner in the Labour contest. Jowell has said she will wait for publication of the Davies Commission’s report on airport expansion and has an open mind on the issue. Her response this week will be critical to her campaign.
The commission has shortlisted three options – a third runway or lengthening an existing runway at Heathrow, or building a second runway at Gatwick. If the government postpones its response to Davies to the autumn, the issue will reach boiling point by the time of the mayoral election itself next spring,
Thomas said: “We already face intense competition from other airport hubs around the world, many of which have more runways than we do at Heathrow. The option of doing both [at Heathrow and Gatwick] would keep London competitive.
Thomas said he believed a third runway at Heathrow could meet all the objections concerning noise air quality and climate change, adding “it would be madness to turn our backs on 40,000 jobs and 10,000 apprenticeships”.
Thomas said, “I think Londoners support airport expansion and understands the number of jobs it can bring to the area. There is a vociferous minority opposing expansion, but I am not sure they representative of what most Londoners think .”
By positioning the new runway further west it would be possible to keep more planes flying higher over London, Thomas said.
He added that the government’s committee on climate change has said airport expansion would not cause the government to breach its reduction in CO2 targets, partly because modern planes were reducing emissions.
The committee is due to publish its annual progress report on how the government is meeting its climate change targets next week.
Thomas said he would also extend congestion-charging further west to reduce traffic using the airport, and would also cut tube and train fares by 10% in his first year and then freeze them for three years afterwards, a real-term cut of 20% at a cost of £2.6bn over four years
He said “Heathrow is currently the busiest airport in Europe, with 73.4 million passengers arriving or departing in 2014. However, other European airports such as Frankfurt-Main and Paris Charles de Gaulle, which have six runways, and Amsterdam Schiphol, which has four, are better equipped to respond to projected future rises in passenger numbers. In the face of international competition like that we cannot afford to stand still.”
David Lammy, Labour MP for Tottenham, has also criticised Khan for switching positions on airport expansion, saying: “Sadiq was for Heathrow expansion in 2008, he was for it when he was transport minister in 2009. Zac Goldsmith has announced he is running and suddenly he’s against it.”
He accused Khan of “playing the same Ed Miliband politics that got us nowhere”.
The other Labour candidates for London mayor are Diane Abbott, MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington, and the transport journalist and broadcaster Christian Wolmar, both of whom are opposed to expansion.
