Labour

Justine Greening's latest aviation comments suggest she's yet again out of the loop – Maria Eagle

Maria Eagle MP, Labour's Shadow Transport Secretary Maria Eagle, responding to Justine Greening’s claim that the Government remained opposed to approving additional capacity at either Heathrow, Gatwick or Stansted airports, said:

"Not for the first time this week Justine Greening seems to have been left out of the loop by the Chancellor. There is no point in the Transport Secretary desperately clinging to the Coalition Agreement not to back additional aviation capacity in the South East when the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement abandoned this policy. The battles being fought across government have caused the long-awaited draft aviation strategy and call for evidence to be delayed for months.

"It’s increasingly clear that the Transport Secretary is caught between senior Tory Ministers trying to get an additional runway at Heathrow, Gatwick or Stansted back on the agenda, a Tory mayor who wants a new vanity airport of his own and the Liberal Democrats who want no expansion at all. This is no way to make decisions on an area of policy of such economic importance to the country.

"The aviation industry and Britain’s wider business community have this week called for a cross-party consensus on aviation that lasts beyond the term of one Parliament. Labour has stepped up to the plate and offered to work with the Government to develop a sensible alternative to the rejected Heathrow third runway and the unworkable fantasy Thames Estuary proposals. It’s time that Ministers accepted this offer to put an end to the current mixed messages, dither and delay which is now risking jobs and growth."