Back Heathrow Executive director, Parmjit Dhanda has reminded politicians ahead of a likely general election that their stance on Heathrow expansion matters to over 100,000 supporters of the campaign across West London and the Thames Valley.

Supporters of a new runway were attending an event in Hounslow ahead of what appears to be an inevitable autumn general election.

Mr Dhanda said: “The scale of Back Heathrow’s support has grown over the past five years, backed up by independent polling and residents’ surveys by local councils. We know that many more people back the new runway than oppose it in these boroughs. Local people want to see a boost in jobs and apprenticeships, and they know it can be done sustainably at Heathrow. I hope local MPs and candidates will engage with our supporters during this campaign because they represent a sizeable, often silent majority.”

Back Heathrow supporters say expansion can do two things. It can deliver the promised economic benefits of 5,000 new apprenticeships and up 180,00 new jobs for West London and the UK.

It can also play a role in helping to tackle the challenge of climate change through a combination of technological innovation; cleaner, more efficient aircraft; tough government targets on noise, pollution and air quality, and robust plans from Heathrow to be carbon neutral by 2020.

The Back Heathrow event follows a new round of polling by Populus which reveals that more people support expansion than oppose it in 16 of the 18 most local constituencies to Heathrow.