Labour shambles as Andy Burnham refuses to back Heathrow expansion - weeks after his Chancellor said it must go ahead

See more Daily Mail on Google - save us as a Preferred Source Published: 04:33 EDT, 27 September 2026 | Updated: 05:34 EDT, 27 September 2026 Andy Burnham fuelled fresh doubts about the Heathrow Airport expansion today - just weeks after his Chancellor backed it.The PM repeatedly refused to endorse the scheme to build a third runway in an interview as Labour conference gets under way. He suggested it was a matter 'for London' and the Government was waiting for the outcome of a consultation. But John Healey told the Commons earlier this month that the Government supports the project.Mr Burnham has a record of attacks on the proposal going back years. In January last year the then-Manchester mayor branded it a 'model for an ever-overheating UK economy', warning it could not come at the 'expense of essential investment in northern infrastructure'. Andy Burnham fuelled fresh doubts about the Heathrow Airport expansion today - just weeks after his Chancellor backed it Heathrow Airport bosses want to obtain permission to build a full-length, 3,500-metre runway (artist's impression)In 2018 he said: 'I'm against a third runway at Heathrow because of the need to limit national levels of aviation. We should use spare capacity at Manchester and Birmingham instead.'The following year he warned that the expansion would 'trap infrastructure spending inside the M25 for 10 years'. Heathrow Airport Limited wants to obtain permission to build a full-length, 3,500-metre runway, which would require the M25 motorway being moved.In June former chancellor Rachel Reeves said she was determined to get 'spades in the ground' for the third runway in the current Parliament, and for it to be built by 2035.However, that timing looks to be slipping with suggestions that 2039 is the earliest possible date. Asked on the BBC whether he supported the project, Mr Burnham said: 'Principally, it's a matter for London and Londoners.'Pressed further, he continued: 'It's not right for me to just jump straight in on the back of the consultation.'He added: 'I think it's right that we hear what people have said through the consultation, and then then consider the way forward from there.'The plans to expand the UK's largest airport have long been opposed by climate experts and Mayor of London Lord Khan. John Healey told the Commons earlier this month that Labour backs the project despite the change of PMBut Heathrow insists the project will create jobs, unlock growth and make travel more affordable.Mr Healey told MPs earlier this month: 'After years of delay, years of indecision, years of often vexatious challenge, we have given the go-ahead to this project quite simply because the economic case stacks up and will help bring growth.'A public consultation on the Government's Heathrow expansion national policy statement closed on September 1.