Ed Miliband says he will not resign if Government backs Heathrow expansion

Ed Miliband has said he will not resign if the Government backs a third runway at Heathrow.

The Energy Secretary, who has vocally opposed the west London airport’s expansion in the past, told the PA news agency that the Government can meet both its growth and net-zero missions together.

Asked if he will consider resigning if the Government gives the go-ahead to another Heathrow runway, he said: “Don’t be ridiculous, no.”

Chancellor Rachel Reeves is expected to use a speech on growth next week to support the proposed third runway, and to endorse expansion at Gatwick and Luton.

Mr Miliband said the Government’s position is for any aviation expansion to take place within the UK’s carbon budgets, which are part of plans to meet the country’s 2050 target of reducing emissions by 100% compared with 1990 levels.

Independent government advisers on the Climate Change Committee (CCC) have called for no net airport expansion without a proper national plan to curb emissions from the sector and manage passenger capacity.

Mr Miliband said: “What the Climate Change Committee says is that we’ve got to make sure any decisions we make on aviation including expansion take place within our carbon budgets.

“And they are 100% right about that and that’s absolutely the position of the Government.

“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.

“Far from them being in contradiction, they are absolutely complimentary.”

Challenged on whether the country could still meet net zero with a third Heathrow runway, he said: “I’m not getting into speculation about specific issues like that.

“What I’m saying is that aviation is part of our economic growth and it has to take place within our carbon budgets, and that is accepted right across Government because we have legally binding carbon budgets.”

Mayor of London Sir Sadiq Khan, who won a third term in 2024 on a platform of opposing expansion of airports in the capital, said his views “haven’t changed”.

He told the London Assembly: “What Londoners know and the Government knows is the aviation sector is important for growth, jobs and prosperity, but we face a climate crisis and a climate emergency.”

He added: “The three big concerns that would need to be addressed if, in the hypothetical case, the speculation was to become a reality, is could a new runway be built that abides with carbon targets, concerns around noise pollution, and concerns around air pollution?

“Should that speculation become a reality, we’ll of course consider the merits of that case.

“But I’m quite clear, my views on the expansion of Heathrow by a new runway haven’t changed.”