'No easy routes' to growth, Reeves tells Labour MPs

The chancellor has told Labour MPs there are "no easy routes" to economic growth, after hinting the government will back a third runway at Heathrow Airport.

Rachel Reeves said ministers must start saying "yes" to new projects and go "further and faster" to boost the economy.

Her comments come after days of speculation she will confirm government support for expanding Heathrow in a major speech on Wednesday - risking a rift with some Labour MPs who oppose the idea.

On Sunday, Reeves told the BBC's Laura Kuenssberg that "sustainable aviation and economic growth go hand in hand" but said plans would be set out in due course.

Speaking at a weekly meeting of the Parliamentary Labour Party, Reeves said: "Kick starting economic growth is this Labour government's number one mission because I do not believe low growth is our destiny.

"Will that growth come easy? No. There are no easy routes out.

"Over the past six months as chancellor, my experience is that government has become used to saying 'no'.

"That must change. We must start saying 'yes.'

"Yes, to new jobs. Yes, to higher living standards. Yes, to investment. And yes, to growth."

The chancellor did not make the case for Heathrow expansion directly in her speech.

However, Labour MP for Brentford and Isleworth Ruth Cadbury, whose constituency would be affected by a third runway, raised concerns about the issue, according to a Reeves aide.

The chancellor was welcomed with applause and table-banging and the chancellor's aide said there was "overwhelming support" for her within the parliamentary party.

Senior Labour figures, including Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and Energy Secretary Ed Miliband, have opposed Heathrow expansion plans in the past, while the aviation industry and business chiefs have consistently been in favour.

Environmental groups and many local residents are also opposed.

Asked last week if he would quit if a third Heathrow runway got the go-ahead given his previous opposition, Miliband said: "Don't be ridiculous, no."

However, Labour mayor of London Sir Sadiq Khan, who won a third term in 2024 on a platform of opposing airport expansion in the capital, has said his views "haven't changed" and suggested any plans would need mitigations for noise pollution and carbon emissions.

On Monday, Miliband told MPs on the Environmental Audit Committee any future airport expansions "will only be able to go ahead if it is consistent with our carbon budgets".

"That is a legally binding framework," he added.

Former shadow climate change secretary Barry Gardiner has signalled his objection to a third runway at Heathrow, warning it would undermine the government's progress toward net zero carbon emissions.

He told the BBC: "I think Rachel is wrong to pit decarbonising the economy against economic growth.

"Decarbonisation is the growth of the future."

Gardiner, who sits on Parliament's Environmental Audit Committee, argued there was a limit to what technological advances could achieve.

He said climate experts had concluded there was no way to reach net zero without limiting the aviation sector.

During a speech on Wednesday, Reeves is expected to set out her plans to boost the economy, as the government seeks to focus its message on growth.

Over the weekend, the government announced plans to fast-track permission for housing and commercial developments near train stations and changes to planning rules, running alongside the rolling back of environmental impact assessments.

There is currently no application for a third runway at Heathrow and in December the airport's boss said the company needed a "clear steer" from the government by the end of 2025 for plans to be taken forward.

Proposals for expansion were initially put forward for consultation in 2007 and a third runway at Heathrow was first approved by the Labour government in 2009.

The plan was scrapped in 2010 by the Conservative-Lib Dem led coalition.

Six years later, a third runway was once again given the green light by Theresa May's government.

In 2020, the Court of Appeal ruled the decision to allow the expansion was unlawful because it did not take account of climate commitments; however this was later overturned by the Supreme Court.