Now that the Davies Commission has made its recommendation, the ball is back in the government’s court. The biggest immediate challenge the government has to face is David Cameron’s 2009 remark that ‘the third runway at Heathrow is not going ahead, no ifs, no buts.’ As James noted at PMQs today, the Prime Minister’s body language did not suggest he is particularly favourable towards Heathrow.
But now the Airport Commission report has been received by the government, the buck has been passed to the Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin. While Cameron said in the Commons that a decision will be made ‘by the end of the year’, McLoughlin said it would be by September. He also offered the Prime Minister a useful way to backtrack from his 2009 promise:
‘I think what the Prime Minister was talking about initially was a proposal which was put forward by [Labour] which was not a proper proposal and would not have answered the question as far as capacity is concerned.’
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