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LONDON — U.K. Energy Secretary Ed Miliband is in another fight with the Treasury. And, as the government desperately pursues good news on economic growth, he looks destined to lose again.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves is on course to approve a new runway at Heathrow Airport, green light the opening of London Gatwick’s second runway and back Luton Airport’s expansion plans, two officials told POLITICO.
The decisions, first reported by Bloomberg, would fit with Reeves’ desperate attempts to pull any lever she can to get the economy firing, after the most recent figures showed growth continuing to flatline.
Labour has made growth its central “mission” in government. It has also pledged to hit ambitious green targets for stripping carbon out of the economy — another Whitehall mission, this time spearheaded by Miliband, who insists he will not resign if the government does go ahead with airport expansion.
“Don’t be ridiculous, no,” he replied Thursday afternoon when the PA News agency put that suggestion to him.
Still, at a time when global aviation accounts for 2.5 percent of the world’s planet-destroying carbon emissions, expanding the hubs would undermine those climate goals and undoubtedly leaves Miliband in a deeply uncomfortable position. One person at Miliband’s Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) said the ministry is not pleased about the expected announcements.
Opposition years
Miliband is a long-time opponent of airport expansion. When leader of the Labour Party in opposition, he reversed his party’s support for a third runway at Heathrow and voted against the plans when they came before parliament in 2018.
One of Miliband’s first moves on returning to government last summer was to appoint Chris Stark as the most senior official overseeing that drive to climate goals, praising the “expertise and experience” of his new right-hand man.
Stark was the boss of the Climate Change Committee, the government’s independent advisers on climate policy, when it recommended in 2023 that, to limit carbon emissions from aviation, “there should be no net airport expansion across the U.K.” unless steps were first taken to control emissions.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer also voted against Heathrow expansion while an opposition MP in 2018. On Wednesday his official spokesperson declined to comment on that vote or the specific details of Reeves’ decision, but made it clear that the economy remained the priority.
“We are absolutely determined to get our economy growing and secure the long-term future of the U.K. aviation sector,” the spokesperson said. “Any airport expansion proposals must demonstrate their contribution to economic growth … [while showing] compatibility with legally-binding climate obligations.”
That could involve greater use of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), a lower-emitting form of jet fuel. Virgin Atlantic boss Shai Weiss said in 2023 that the industry is still “early in the adoption curve” in the U.K.
Reeves is expected to make her decision official in a major speech on growth next week.
Asked about the proposals during her trip to Davos, Reeves said: “When we say that growth is the number one mission of this government, we mean it. That means it trumps other things.”
Growth vs green
Miliband’s allies point to an increase in DESNZ’s capital budget when the government announced spending allocations in October as evidence of how seriously its priorities are taken.
But the call on airports is not the first time Miliband’s goals have been defeated by Reeves and the all-powerful Treasury.
Labour U-turned on its pre-election pledge to hand Miliband £28 billion a year to spend on getting the U.K. to net zero, slashing the commitment by 75 percent after coming under pressure from the then Conservative government.
Then once in power, DESNZ secured some — but not yet all — of the £6.6 billion Labour had promised during the election campaign for fixing up the U.K.’s drafty and inefficient housing stock with insulation and cleaner heating.
In the meantime, the expansion decisions will appall green campaigners.
“It should be an easy decision for politicians to prioritize the health of local communities over the profits of the aviation industry. If they consider what’s in the interest of the whole country, the government’s independent advisers, the CCC, say airports mustn’t grow unless we have a plan for curbing their contribution to runaway climate change,” said Johann Beckford, senior policy adviser at the environmental think tank Green Alliance.
On Thursday, Miliband sought to pre-empt that criticism.
“We believe that we can meet our growth mission – our number one priority – and keep within carbon budgets and indeed that our clean energy mission is crucial and a central part of meeting our growth mission,” he insisted.
“Far from them being in contradiction, they are absolutely complimentary.”
Additional reporting by Sam Blewett, Emilio Casalicchio and Abby Wallace. This story has been updated.
