'It's a big decision': Andy Burnham fails to back Heathrow third runway as he admits 'strong views' on either side
The Prime Minister told LBC he was "a little reticent" to express a view "because there are quite strong views on either side"
Andy Burnham has told LBC he is reluctant to share his position on the third runway at Heathrow Airport due to the strength of feeling on both sides.
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The Prime Minister failed to give a straight answer when asked outright by Shelagh Fogarty if he wanted to see the third runway at the airport go ahead.
"It is a big decision," he told LBC. "The reason why sometimes politicians do have to do this 'oh, I can't give you a straight answer' is because it's a live consultation and potentially planning application.
"Which takes it into a different space because those issues will have to be looked at carefully.
"And the reason why I am a little reticent is because there are quite strong views on either side.
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"There's a very significant difference of opinion on the whole matter. So people need to have the sense that these issues are going to be looked at independently, fairly, and obviously that's something that I need to respect in making my comments on the situation."
It comes after the Prime Minister refused to explicitly back the project when probed on the issue on Sunday, saying it was subject to a consultation and primarily a decision for Londoners, despite the national significance of the proposals.
“It’s not right for me to just jump straight in on the back of the consultation,” he said.
He later added: “I think it’s right that we hear what people have said through the consultation, and then consider the way forward from there.”
Labour’s support for the third runway was set out by former chancellor Rachel Reeves in January 2025.
Estimated to cost £33 billion, including £1.5 billion to move the M25 to build the runway, the scheme is expected to be fully privately financed.
It would see Heathrow’s capacity increase to 756,000 flights and 150 million passengers per year.
Despite the Prime Minister's reticence, Paymaster General James Murray has thrown his support behind the project, claiming it would boost investment, jobs and trade.
He said: “What the Prime Minister set out yesterday was that it’s important to listen to Londoners and I know that – I’m a London MP and if I listen to my constituents, you know there are different views on it.
“But I think we recognise that having that third runway is really important for jobs, it’s really important to get that investment into Heathrow and it’s actually really important for the whole country because that investment in making Heathrow stronger, making our country stronger, making sure that we boost trade and making sure we get more jobs right across the country is really important for our future.”
The 2015 deadline for the project has already been pushed back by four years, and airport bosses have said the initial government timeline is not possible.
Heathrow has said it is currently aiming to get planning permission by 2029, with the goal to have a third runway in operation by 2039.
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said earlier this week that an expanded Heathrow could be "the country’s front door" to tourists from China and India, and that climate concerns around increased flights could be "holistically" offset elsewhere in the economy.