Heathrow expansion set for green light 'after Labour gives MPs free vote'
2 min read
The Commons is set to back a third runway at Heathrow after Labour decided to give MPs a free vote on the issue.
The Shadow Cabinet agreed this morning that MPs will not be whipped on the highly controversial decision when it comes before parliament again next Monday.
It means the vote will easily pass as Labour MPs line up to back it - although critics such as Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell will be free to vote against.
After years of delay, the Government earlier this month decided to support proposals to build a third runway at Heathrow instead of a second runway at Gatwick.
But MPs need to give the green light to the plan before the building work can begin.
A Labour source told HuffPost the free vote decision “recognises that colleagues across the PLP [Parliamentary Labour Party] have long-held, legitimate and different views on the issue”.
They added: “It was a unanimously agreed position and will be widely welcomed by the PLP.”
Theresa May meanwhile has imposed a three-line whip on Tory MPs to back Heathrow expansion, but has allowed Cabinet ministers to dissent from official policy when talking to local press.
It means Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson - a longstanding opponent of Heathrow expansion - has a free card to sound off about the plans.
But according to the Sun, the vote has been timed to coincide with an overseas visit to spare him embarrassment.
He will be at the EU Foreign Affairs Council in Luxembourg as the parliamentary showdown takes place.
