Much like when the Court of Appeal ruled that Heathrow expansion was unlawful by virtue of it interfering with the Paris Agreement on climate change, Britain’s European rivals are celebrating Burnham’s opposition to the third runway.
Yesterday Holland’s biggest-selling paper, De Telegraaf, ran with the headline “Good news for Schiphol: Heathrow third runway up in the air because of Prime Minister Burnham.” More champagne…
Burnham told Laura Kuenssberg on Sunday:
“There’s consultation on it and it’s a contested issue, principally it’s a matter for London and Londoners… I think it’s right that we hear what people have said through the consultation and then consider the way forward from there.”
De Telegraaf says the new Prime Minister pulling his support for the project “is good news for Schiphol”. It notes that Amsterdam has for years served as a key hub for intercontinental travellers flying. The paper warns that Schiphol “could take a big hit” from expansion at Heathrow, especially as the Dutch government is forcing it to cut flights…
Schiphol’s former boss, Jos Nijhuis, once had a cake delivered to Heathrow’s management the last time the plans were delayed. Heathrow, with two runways, lags behind hubs like Schiphol, which has six, and Paris, which has four. Good growth in zero postcodes…
Bookmark this from Andy Burnham:
2029: “that’s when the next election will be.”
May 2027: “Absolutely not.”
“No election any time soon.”
“All of this speculation on an early election, I can knock that dead.”