Rachel Reeves sounded defiance over a Cabinet revolt on Heathrow expansion today as she insisted growing the economy is her top priority.
The Chancellor insisted major projects such as the third runway will no longer be blocked as she tried to drum up investment at the elite Davos gathering.
Meanwhile, it has emerged that the government is proposing to strip environmental watchdogs of powers to prevent property and infrastructure schemes going ahead.
Although Ms Reeves has yet to confirm formally that permission to extend Heathrow airport will be granted, she is expected to do so in a speech next week.
However, that could prompt a huge row in government, with Net Zero Secretary Ed Miliband and London Mayor Sadiq Khan among prominent critics of the scheme.
Eight of those who attend Cabinet – including Keir Starmer, Environment Secretary Steve Reed and Mr Miliband – have previously opposed Heathrow’s expansion.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves insisted major projects such as the third runway will no longer be blocked as she tried to drum up investment at the elite Davos gathering
An artist’s impression of how the expanded Heathrow Airport site could look
Net Zero Secretary Ed Miliband and London Mayor Sadiq Khan are among prominent critics of the scheme
Speaking at a Bloomberg event at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Ms Reeves said: ‘This was the problem with the last government, that there was always somebody that said ‘Oh yes, of course we want to grow the economy, but we don’t like that investment, we don’t like that wind farm, we don’t like those pylons, we don’t like that airport, we don’t want that housing near us’.
‘But the answer can’t always be ‘no’ and that’s been the problem in Britain for a long time, that when there was a choice between something that would grow the economy and anything else, anything else always won.
‘Now, of course, there are other things that matter, but when we say that growth is the number one mission of this government, we mean it, and that means it trumps other things.
‘And so we’re making pro-growth decisions in the national interest.’
EasyJet chief executive Kenton Jarvis welcomed suggestions that the long-mooted project will move forward.
He told reporters: ‘We welcome the decisive action by the Government to grow the economy.
‘We’ve always said that aviation, the industry, is an enabler of economic growth.
‘When it comes to Heathrow, I’ve always thought Heathrow would fit our network of primary airports with great catchment areas.
‘It would be a unique opportunity to operate from Heathrow at scale – because obviously right now it’s slot-constrained – and give us an opportunity to provide lower fares for UK consumers that currently at Heathrow just have the option of flag carriers.
‘It fits with our network, we’re present at all the other major European airports like Schiphol, Charles de Gaulle, Orly, Geneva etc.’
London Mayor Sadiq Khan is threatening a fresh legal challenge to the airport expansion
