Support for a third runway continues to grow amongst ReformUK grassroots, ahead of the London elections. On Friday 27th March, over 40 Reform activists from across London joined the Back Heathrow campaign for a presentation on the plans for Europe’s biggest infrastructure project – Heathrow’s third runway.

Surrey’s Reform UK activists are backing plans for a new runway at Heathrow. This came just 24 hours after Shadow Chancellor Robert Jenrick MP said (with regards to delayed major infrastructure projects): “If this Government fails, and continues to fail, Reform UK will pass emergency legislation to build a third runway at Heathrow.”

The decision today by the government to ask Heathrow to build a new runway has been welcomed by campaign group ‘Back Heathrow’ which represents over 100,000 local people who have been calling for growth and jobs with expansion for the past decade. 

It’s important to get things into context. Despite some of the headlines, the EAC has not pulled back on Heathrow’s third runway but has talked about the challenges involved in getting to net-zero by 2050, alongside growth in UK aviation.

Nonetheless, I would urge the Committee’s membership to consider 3 key points.

At an event organised by Unite the Union and Back Heathrow (the campaign for a third runway at Heathrow) earlier this week, Unite issued a rallying cry to make West London ‘the most unionised part of the UK.’

Lindsey Olliver, Unite Regional Officer, said:

“Unite already represents over 30,000 Heathrow workers. It was great to join forces today with Parmjit Dhanda and his team from Back Heathrow to hear some detail about what expansion could look like in terms of new jobs and apprenticeships. Unionised jobs deliver better pay and better working conditions. Heathrow expansion is a great opportunity to make west London one of the most unionised parts of the UK, and that’s what we will work towards.” 

In a visit organised by Back Heathrow, senior members of Heathrow’s executive team paid a special visit to the Sri Guru Singh Sabha Southall Gurdwara on Tuesday 9th September. To deepen and celebrate the airport’s historic ties with the area’s Sikh community.

…local residents back new jobs and £49 billion investment plans for Heathrow

On Thursday 7^th August, nearly 400 local people attended the main hall of the Indian Gymkhana Club in Hounslow to celebrate Heathrow’s plans to build a third runway.

Supporters of Back Heathrow, the community group with over 100,000 local residents who support expansion, heard Parmjit Dhanda, Thomas Woldbye and Dame Siobhain McDonagh MP talk about expansion and what it would mean for the local and national economy.

Thomas Woldbye, Heathrow’s Chief Executive, confirmed that plans for a new runway had been submitted to Transport Minister, Heidi Alexander just days previously. He said the coming years could see £49bn of private investment into the local area, creating thousands of new jobs and apprenticeships. He reiterated that the plans would conform to the government’s standards on decarbonisation, noise and air quality.

Back Heathrow (the community campaign that represents over 100,000 local people who support a new runway) and the country’s two biggest industrial trade unions (Unite and GMB) have welcomed Heathrow Airport’s formal application to the government for a third runway.

Parmjit Dhanda, Back Heathrow’s Executive Director said:

“We’ve been here before, but this feels different. The country is crying out for growth. Locally there is a silent majority of working people who want to see change. Thousands of them depend on airport-related jobs. For the sake of West London and our country, it’s time for the builders, not the blockers.”

Back Heathrow has welcomed the government’s review of national airspace as a chance for aviation to “work better” for our local communities.