MPs warn Cameron to stop ‘dithering’ over new Heathrow runway

A major revolt against government “dithering” on Heathrow was gathering steam today.

Eight council leaders and a cross-party group of MPs signed a protest letter criticising David Cameron for delaying a decision on a new hub airport until after the 2015 election.

The letter says: “We argue that such a lengthy period of uncertainty is not at all helpful to businesses seeking to make investment decisions or indeed the wider economy of the UK.”

Mr Cameron has asked economist Sir Howard Davies to head an Airports Commission to study issues such as a third runway at Heathrow, a “Boris Island” airport in the Thames Estuary, and capacity at Gatwick and Stansted.

But the letter calls for him to present his final report before the general election, and “lay out very clearly the direction of his thinking in his interim report at the end of this year”. It adds: “The electorate and particularly residents of west London deserve to know what implications the Commission’s recommendations will have on their lives.”

It is signed by the leaders of Hammersmith and Fulham, Lewisham, Wandsworth, Hillingdon, Reading, Lambeth, Richmond, and South Bucks councils. Other signatories include Tory MPs Zac Goldsmith and Mary Macleod, Labour MPs Seema Malhotra and John McDonnell, and Lib-Dem Baroness Kramer.

John Stewart, of anti-airport expansion group Hacan, said the letter showed there was cross-party support for residents being able to make an informed choice about a third runway at the general election. “It is too big a decision to be left until two months after voting has taken place,” he said.

Many Tories now see Mr Cameron’s position as a bigger poll handicap than simply taking a decision on Heathrow and defending it. Mayor Boris Johnson has called the delay “ditherama”.

But government sources insisted they would not speed up a decision and Sir Howard cannot be rushed. The Department for Transport said: “The Commission’s work has just begun and its interim report later this year will be an important step forward, but we do not believe it can credibly offer a single preferred solution at that stage.”

Heathrow has launched an advertising drive pushing its credentials as “Britain’s hub airport”. The ads, in the press and on the Tube, claim it is “best positioned to provide better connections with the world’s markets”.