Approximately 50 politicians from several major political parties in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have called on Prime Minister Theresa May to back the construction of a third runway at London Heathrow Airport.
The political figures, including former cabinet minister Stephen Crabb from the Welsh Conservative Party, Nigel Dodds from the Democratic Unionist Party and Stephen Kinnock from the Welsh Labour party, signed a letter to the PM urging her to green-light Heathrow expansion.
The full letter reads:
“Dear Prime Minister,
In your conference speech, you spoke of the need to ‘represent and govern for the whole nation.’ As political representatives from Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, we welcome this commitment to act in the interests of all our nations. You now have the opportunity to demonstrate this by delivering on another pledge from your speech: to ‘take big, sometimes even controversial, decisions about our country’s infrastructure.’
“Although Heathrow is in London, it is the UK’s hub airport. Other countries are investing in and supporting their hub, or looking on enviously as they hub through other countries. Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales all have our own successful and growing airports. But Heathrow is our gateway to the world, bringing tourists to our attractions and helping our exporters reach new markets. Whether we are connected by road, rail or air, we know that connections to Heathrow are a key driver of investment decisions.
“Expanding Heathrow will create nearly four times more jobs in our three nations than other options being considered. Heathrow expansion is important for each of our nations remaining open, outward-looking, and trading globally. We urge you to act in the interests of all the nations of the UK and urgently approve the expansion of Heathrow.”
According to a report by the BBC, the cabinet will discuss the issue tomorrow (October 18) although no decision is set to be reached. This may then be followed by a meeting of the Economic Affairs (Transport) sub-committee, chaired the PM, on October 25, where a final decision on whether to back Heathrow or Gatwick may be reached.
