Brexit Calls into Question Third Runway
Decision by 'lame-duck' Prime Minister may need to be postponed
The success of the Leave campaign in the EU Referendum yesterday has led to calls for the Government to postpone its decision on a Third Runway.
David Cameron was due to make an announcement next month on whether or not it was going to proceed with the project but it is widely felt that this may now not occur. With Boris Johnson odds on with the bookies to be Prime Minister in October, anti-expansion campaigners believe that the Third Runway would be off the agenda for the foreseeable future with an opponent of the plan running the Government.
HACAN chair John Stewart said, "Brexit must cast doubts on whether a Third Runway at Heathrow will ever be given the green light. The Prime Minister and the Chancellor have lost the fight of the lives. ‘Outers’ like Boris Johnson, who is fiercely opposed to Heathrow expansion, have won. At the very least, a decision on a new runway must now be up in the air.”
"A new Prime Minister would want to look again at its desirability, its deliverability and the cost its related rail and road infrastructure would impose on the public purse.”
"The Government had pencilled in 7th or 8th July to announce its runway decision. It may confirm its intentions over the next few days but it would surprising if a lame-duck Prime Minister risked further splits within the Conservative Party by making such a controversial decision just weeks before he leaves office.”
A Heathrow spokesperson said, "With today’s result, the case for expansion at Heathrow is stronger than ever before. Only Heathrow can help Britain be the great trading nation connecting all regions of the UK to the world. It is the keystone that connects businesses of every size to markets across the world as the UK’s only global hub airport.
"Global connections are critical for a new outward-looking UK to help our businesses and economy to thrive - and with expansion we can deliver up to 40 new destinations on top of the 83 we serve now.
"We are confident that the Government will make the right choice for the future of the UK, putting the interests of the country first."
June 24, 2016
