THE BENEFITS HEATHROW BRINGS, NEAR AND FAR

Louise Ellman MP Mike Gapes MP Stephen Kinnock MP Wes Streeting MP

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CONTENTS

Heathrow expansionThe UK leads the world in scientific research, innovation, academia and health care. But when it comes to important transport infrastructure, the UK tends to make decisions in fits and bursts, rarely planning properly for the future. While the French are zipping around on the 2,037-kilometre high-speed rail network they started in 1983, debates continue around HS2. Countries in Europe, the Middle East and Asia construct new airports and expand their hub capacity, and the UK remains in a long-running debate about where to expand our airports.

This is particularly embarrassing as the right choice for expansion is the clearest it has ever been. The final report from the independent Airports Commission, chaired by

Sir Howard Davies, has found unambiguously in favour of a third runway at Heathrow. This report followed an earlier piece of work by the transport select committee in the House of Commons, which also backed Heathrow. Louise Ellman MP, the chair of that committee, sets out its reasoning on page three.

While local support is strong – with more than 50 per cent of people in the area, MPs across the country and more than 30 chambers of commerce backing the third runway – Heathrow expansion has very real benefits for everyone in the UK. Its impact will go far beyond London and the people directly employed at the airport. It will create jobs in Scotland and the Northern Powerhouse, not to mention billions of pounds of growth

3 Louise Ellman MPLift-off for third runway?Delaying action is benefiting our international competitors

4 Sophie McIntyreKeeping Britain competitiveThe national economic case for expansion

6 Labour MPsHeathrow’s importance for industryViews from across the country

The economic case is clearer now than ever

and export opportunity across the nation. More details can be found in our report on page four.

Finally, don’t just take the Airports Commission and the transport select committee’s word for it. On page six we have testimonials from a range of Labour MPs up and down the country, explaining why expansion at Heathrow will benefit their region and why the UK needs to get behind it.

Towns and cities up and down our entire nation are alive with dynamism and enterprise. Taking steps to maximise exports, investment and international opportunities will put us at the heart of the global economy. With Heathrow expansion, we have a rare opportunity to make the decision Britain needs and not be left behind. l

Britain needs access to the global economy

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INTRODUCTION

A decision on where to provide addi-tional long-haul capacity has been deferred for too long. Heathrow,

our only hub airport, has been “full” for a decade, Gatwick is already operating to capacity at peak times and will be “full” by 2020, and London’s other airports will be in this situation by 2030.

The consequence of this inaction, as the demand for aviation continues to rise, is that airlines frequently choose to fly from hubs outside the UK, such as Paris, Frankfurt, Schiphol and, increas-ingly, Dubai. This year Dubai actually overtook Heathrow as the world’s busi-est international airport.

This is a national issue, principally about our economy and the importance of establishing links with emerging markets, particularly China. We should be concerned that Paris has 50 per cent more flights to China than the UK and that Frankfurt has double the number of destinations in Brazil.

While there are opportunities to ex-pand aviation around the country, it is only in the south-east that there is the potential for long-haul flights that are otherwise attracted to alternative hubs.

Deciding where expansion should be has long been contentious, so much so that when the last government appoint-ed the Airports Commission under Sir Howard Davies it was instructed not to report until after the election.

The transport select committee had no such inhibitions. Our report was pub-lished in May 2013 and included specially commissioned research which considered

the viability of a new hub. We made clear recommendations for an additional run-way at Heathrow, our only hub airport. The report did not rule out Gatwick ex-pansion in the long term.

The Davies report, published in July, reflected much of our work. It, too, made a firm recommendation for an additional runway at Heathrow.

The government has remained silent but has promised to give its view by the end of the year.

The airport development itself would be privately financed but would require government support through the plan-ning process. Inevitably, there will be a discussion of how the costs of improving access should be apportioned.

The commission’s recommendations included a package of important meas-ures addressing the environmental and

community impacts of expansion. These include setting legally binding limits on noise and on air quality, setting up an independent noise authority and pro-viding training opportunities and ap-prenticeships for local people. This is an important part of the recommendations, addressing legitimate local concerns and important environmental issues.

The national interest in a speedy deci-sion is principally about the economy. With 40 per cent of the UK’s exports going by air, the economic benefit to the economy of an additional runway is estimated to be between £100bn and £200bn, along with the thousands of jobs associated with that.

Part of our interest also lies in improv-ing domestic connectivity, linking other parts of the UK to the hub, connections that have rapidly reduced as constrained capacity at Heathrow led to curtailing of domestic flights to free slots to make room for more profitable long-haul journeys. UK destinations from Heathrow de-creased from 19 in 1990 to seven in 2015.

A decision to expand Heathrow must also include proposals to restore these connections, possibly through public-service obligations. Places such as Bel-fast, Edinburgh, Newquay, Newcastle and Liverpool should be beneficiaries.

Prevarication is not an option. Failure to take a decision does not mean stand-still. It means the UK loses out while other hubs continue to build their con-nections to emerging markets with long-term consequences for the UK’s econo-my. It is now decision time! l

The Davies report backed a third runway at Heathrow as the best option for increasing UK hub capacity. Continued delay in acting on that benefits other hubs, writes

Louise Ellman MP, chair of the Commons transport committee

Lift-off for third runway?

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ECONOMIC BENEFITS

After three years of research, scrutiny and consultation, at a cost of £20m, the Airports Commission concluded that expansion at Heathrow Airport

offers the best solution to the UK’s lack of aviation capacity.

“Against the objective of maximising economic benefits and supporting the competitiveness of the UK economy the Heathrow Airport north-west runway option performs most strongly,” wrote Sir Howard Davies in his Airports Com-mission report. And yet still no decision has been made by government. Heathrow expansion does offer multiple economic benefits. It will support new jobs across Britain, significantly increase trade and manufacturing prospects, and improve domestic and international connectivity.

Love thy neighbourLocally, a new runway at Heathrow is ex-pected to create significant increases in employment, through “direct, indirect and induced jobs, totalling up to 78,000 by 2050”, according to the commission. Coupled with this is a commitment from Heathrow to double apprenticeships to 10,000 and work with schools, colleges and unions to give young people the skills they need.

With a number of nearby local auth-orities reporting above-average rates of unemployment, these opportunities will be most welcome. Neighbouring

Slough, for instance, is an area of high deprivation, ranking 93 out of 326 in a list of local authority districts where 1 ranks as most deprived.

Job opportunities are not limited to west and south-west London alone. It is anticipated that Heathrow expansion would create up to 180,000 jobs around the country – more than 50 per cent of which would be within manufacturing and most (85 per cent) outside London and the south-east. Independent analysis by Quod has suggested that the govern-ment’s Northern Powerhouse has most to gain from Heathrow expansion, po-tentially benefiting from up to one-fifth

A new runway at Heathrow offers multiple economic benefits for the nation, with the promise of jobs in areas ranging from neighbouring Slough to Scotland,

writes Sophie McIntyre

Keeping Britain competitive

of these new employment opportunities. Scotland, too, would benefit, with 16,100 new positions created. British manufac-turing faces extreme challenges: as this article goes to press, the steel industry is reeling from the closure of the Redcar steelworks and the job losses at the Tata plant in Scunthorpe. The jobs created by Heathrow could go some way to filling some of these gaps.

The same global markets and patterns of trade and investment that have impact-ed on the viability of the UK steel indus-try are not going to go away. To maintain its competitiveness, Britain needs to be open for business – and to do that, it re-quires more international aviation capac-ity. With expansion of emerging markets in Asia, Africa and the Americas, demand for flights is intensifying.

Heathrow is one of only six airports in the world that fly to more than 50 long-haul destinations, and it needs to ensure that it offers a critical mass of passenger numbers, cargo-handling capacity and connections that will support travel to important global markets.

Despite the UK being among the top ten exporting nations, Heathrow has been operating at capacity for years, which has limited its ability to accommodate more routes, including those to fast-growing markets in Asia, South America and Af-rica. As a result, other airports around the world are capitalising on opportunities that should belong to the UK. Dubai has

HEATHROW

Building a third runway at Heathrow

could lead to:l Up to £211bn of benefits and connecting all of the UK to growth markets around worldl Up to 180,000 new jobs, with 50 per cent of these in manufacturingl 60 per cent of GDP benefits to be felt outside the south of Englandl Extra slots available for domestic UK flights and routes, which could be secured using public service obligations (PSOs)

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recently overtaken Heathrow in inter-national passenger numbers, while Paris has surpassed Heathrow in the number of long-haul destinations served.

Another case in point is China, one of the global powerhouses. Building strong business links with China is important to our future economic success – as George Osborne has been keen to point out re-cently. However, the UK is connected to only four mainland Chinese cities; other European countries are connected to many more. Consequently, we suffer: we receive a fifth of the Chinese tourist numbers that France does (200,000 a year compared with more than one million), while Germany exports six times more by air to China than the UK.

As John Holland-Kaye, the chief execu-tive of Heathrow Airport, says: “Today, airlines operating from the UK’s hub are forced to make a false choice between de-veloping new routes to cities like Cheng-du and Mexico City and maintaining domestic services. That means exporters in areas like Merseyside, Humberside and Teesside are locked out of Heathrow, Brit-ain’s biggest port by value. Every day we

delay is a day we’re restricting the growth of British business.”

Of course, Heathrow expansion is not without its critics, particularly those from within the environmental lobby. Noise pollution is a great concern – the number of people complaining about noise rose during trials last year as part of the gov-ernment’s plan to modernise airspace.

John Stewart from Hacan, which cam-paigns against expansion, said at the time that “people prefer the flight paths to be shared, so that everybody gets a break – some respite – from the noise . . . What it does mean is finding a balance so that the fewest number of people possible are truly disturbed by the noise.”

The Airports Commission does not deny that noise will continue to be an issue for those living close by, as would be expected. However, it stresses that “expanding Heathrow provides a unique opportunity to change the way the air-port operates” and that “appropriate conditions” must be put in place to en-sure that a balance is struck between the needs of the airport’s users and the local community.

Indeed, expansion could help to alle-viate some of the noise. With improved aircraft technology and a new runway allowing airspace to be alternated, thus reducing pressure on those living in the most noise-affected areas, it is expected that at least 200,000 fewer people will be within Heathrow’s noise footprint.

A new runway would “enable many aircraft to be rerouted over less densely populated areas”, the commission found, and noise performance targets (a noise en-velope) would help to ensure that the air-port’s noise contributions do not increase beyond current levels.

Under the Airports Commission pro-posals, suggestions around further limi-tations to scheduled night flights, a noise envelope and a new noise levy could also be implemented to minimise disturbance. The levy will be used to fund a pro-gramme of mitigation, which will include noise insulation for homes and other af-fected local buildings.

The economic benefit of Heathrow ex-pansion is up to £211bn across the UK, with £14bn for Scotland. For every day that in-action continues, the UK loses out. l

Air travel capacity in Britain needs to increase and the Airports Commission has backed a third runway for Heathrow

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LABOUR SUPPORT

John Spellar MPServed for five years as shadow minister for foreign and commonwealth affairs until this September, and was a transport minister from 2001 to 2003

“Heathrow is extremely important for British industry. It is our biggest port in terms of value, with a huge amount of cargo going through it ‘long-haul’, al-lowing British businesses access to global markets.

“This accessible, long-distance hub, combined with the global rise of internet trading, allows even our small and medi-um-sized specialist companies to supply international audiences, giving them a better opportunity for growth.

“The connectivity of Heathrow also encourages larger companies to have their European or global HQs in the UK. For those companies already based here it provides an added incentive to remain. We know that London’s connectivity is a crucial part of that appeal.”

Wes Streeting MPEntered parliament this year, overturning a Conservative majority in the constituency of Ilford North. He sits on the Commons Treasury select committee

“The expansion of Heathrow is impor-tant for our economy. I believe that local

people in Redbridge and across the UK will benefit from the jobs and opportuni-ties it will bring.

“It is vital that we are able to compete with our European neighbours, and in-vestment in infrastructure projects like Heathrow will ensure we do not fall be-hind. We must seize the opportunity to get this runway built as soon as possible.

“The government must come off the fence and make a commitment without any further delay.”

Councillor Nick ForbesHas been leader of Newcastle City Council since 2011 and has battled for the area while having to implement £40m of cuts

“If ever there was a textbook example of why government needs to spend more time out of London, Heathrow is it. The debate over a third runway has rumbled on for years, and we feel no closer to the end than when we started. England, not just London, waits and waits.

“Heathrow expansion is as important to the north-east as high-speed rail is to the north. Direct flights operate from Newcastle International Airport to Heathrow up to seven times a day, seven days a week. Those flights are a vital part of the global links which make the north-east the UK’s exporting powerhouse.

“But a new runway doesn’t just bring better transport links. The north-east stands to gain construction and supply jobs

Senior figures in the Labour Party from across the country set out why they back the economic case for Heathrow expansion

“Heathrow is extremely important for British industry”

as a result of a green light for a new run-way. Research by Quod predicts Heath-row’s third runway would deliver £833m in contracts to north-east suppliers dur-ing construction. They estimate a new runway at Heathrow is worth 5,100 jobs here by 2050, a £4bn economic boost in total. These benefits considerably exceed the equivalent benefits from an expan-sion of Gatwick Airport.

“Of course, they are not the first to say this. The Airports Commission’s own findings made clear that: ‘In total, the analysis indicates that around 60 per cent of the overall boost to GDP would be focused on areas of the UK outside the south-east of England.’

“We in the north-east need govern-ment to match our growth ambitions – taking a long-overdue decision on Heath-row is the next step we are waiting for.”

Stephen Kinnock MPEntered parliament this year. Previously he was head of Europe and central Asia for the World Economic Forum

“As the member of parliament for Aber-avon, I believe that, for the people of South Wales, and the UK as a whole, ex-pansion at Heathrow must be prioritised over expansion at Gatwick. Heathrow is the airport that is currently full. This is estimated to be costing the UK bil-lions of pounds every year. The problem is exacerbated by the fact that Heathrow

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is the UK’s only hub airport. Hub air-ports are uniquely able to connect us to new, emerging markets and these are the markets that we in South Wales need to reach if we are to grow and provide secure jobs in the region. Of the 1.3 million peo-ple who have jobs with a foreign-owned firm which are facilitated by travelling through Heathrow, 8.8 per cent live in Wales, the highest proportion in the UK.

“The latest figures suggest that ex-pansion at Heathrow could be worth up to £6.2bn for the Welsh economy. With this would come around 8,400 jobs. The multibillion-pound construction project will also provide a welcome boost for key Welsh manufacturing companies such as Tata Steel in Port Talbot, in the Aberavon constituency.

“It is for these reasons that the South Wales Chamber of Commerce, Unite and the GMB are all aligned in support of Heathrow expansion.”

Mike Gapes MPFirst sat on the Commons foreign affairs select committee in 1992 and has spent 15 years, on and off, as a member. He represents Ilford South

“The advent of Crossrail will halve journey times for my constituents to Heathrow. It means that Heathrow and

Heathrow connects Britain with the whole world

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its connections to the rest of the country and the rest of the world become much closer. It means good news for people liv-ing in east London and Essex.

“Why on earth would I want to sup-port expansion at remote, poorly con-nected Gatwick when I will be able to get from Ilford to Heathrow in 45 minutes?”

Fabian Hamilton MPHas been a member of the Commons international development select committee since 2013 and is the member of parliament for Leeds North-East

“The Davies report, in its findings pub-lished in July, recommended a third run-way for Heathrow and highlighted the fact that capacity constraints at Heath-row had resulted in domestic flights from airports such as Leeds Bradford – flights needed to funnel interest and investment globally to Yorkshire – being squeezed or, even worse, discontinued.

“Heathrow is not just an airport serv-ing London and its immediate surround-ings; it is a global passenger hub and the largest cargo port in the country, which benefits the whole of the UK.

“Increased passenger and cargo capac-ity that a third runway at Heathrow will create will not only remove this capac-ity squeeze on current flights, but will

also increase the number of flights from Heathrow to established and emerging-market airports that are not adequately catered for because of current constraints, or not served at all. Without a third run-way, business people coming to Yorkshire may have had to transfer at other Euro-pean or Middle Eastern hubs at extra cost – and not just in possible UK jobs. A third runway allows us not only to expand flights already scheduled from Yorkshire to Europe’s premier airport hub but also to enhance the pathway to greater direct investment in Yorkshire.”

Rt Hon George Howarth MPSits on the intelligence and security committee of parliament and represents Knowsley

“As a Merseyside MP, I believe that the expansion of Heathrow Airport is vital-ly important for the Merseyside region. Heathrow expansion can offer Liverpool the opportunity for a secure connection through a hub to the emerging markets of the world, which will support the north-west economy.

“An expanded Heathrow will deliver over £200bn to the British economy and create 180,000 jobs throughout the UK. Heathrow could deliver four times as many jobs as Gatwick, with more be-ing created outside the south-east than the total number created by an expanded Gatwick. In addition, the value to the economy of choosing Heathrow over Gatwick could potentially be twice as much in terms of GDP growth. An ex-panded Heathrow will also allow for new and greater frequencies on domestic routes, and 40 more long-haul destina-tions, bringing tourists and investors to the UK regions and supporting our ex-porters to make connections abroad.

“Increasing the capacity of Heathrow would also enable the airport to double its cargo capacity. Twenty-six per cent of UK exports already leave via Heathrow. However, without expansion, the gov-ernment’s target to double British ex-ports will be almost unreachable.

“In essence, an expanded Heathrow will boost the Merseyside economy by adding more international destinations, securing domestic links and increasing capacity for freight.” l

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A decision for Heathrow is a decision for Britain.

Expanding Heathrow will create up to 180,000 jobs and up to

£211 billion for the UK economy. It’s a new and ambitious vision, now backed by

the Airports Commission. We’re ready to work with the

Government to deliver.

heathrow.com/takingbritainfurther #TakingBritainFurther

Airports Commission, “Heathrow Airport North West Runway: Business Case and Sustainability Assessment”, November 2014

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