Heathrow’s plans for a third runway face “major obstacles,” shadow transport secretary Gareth Bacon warned.
They included how it would impact on the M25, M4, a local incinerator and the compulsory purchasing of some 1,000 local homes in west London.
He told the Standard: “A third runway as and when it ever opened would certainly deliver growth which would be welcome.
“However, there are major logistical and infrastructure obstacles that would need to be solved for the runway to be operational.”
He added that if the Government was unable to address these issues then he argued the third runway proposal, increasingly backed by Rachel Reeves, was just an attempt to “deflect attention away from their dismal handling of the economy”.
The Chancellor is expected to signal support for expanding the west London airport in a speech on Wednesday.
But Mr Bacon previously warned that a third runway would be “ eye-wateringly expensive, environmentally calamitous, and hugely disruptive for south west Londoners.”
The MP for Orpington dismissed the plans for another runway at the west London airport in such clear terms in August 2019 when he urged then Prime Minister Boris Johnson to “maintain his passionate opposition to the plans to expand Heathrow”.
At the time he was Leader of the Conservative Group on the London Assembly.
Writing on the ConservativeHome website, Mr Bacon said: “It cannot be denied that, in the face of stiff and growing competition overseas, it is an economic necessity for Britain to increase its share of the aviation market.
“But a third runway at Heathrow will not do this, it will merely slow the pace of our decline.
“Furthermore, as they stand the Heathrow expansion plans are eye-wateringly expensive, environmentally calamitous, and hugely disruptive for south west Londoners.”
A Government source insisted she was “reflecting the view of the Mayor of London and City Hall in her capacity as Deputy Mayor of Transport for London on a previous Heathrow expansion scheme”.
Another runway could see the number of annual flights at Heathrow jump from 480,000 to some than 720,000 with the impact on climate change, noise blighting London communities and air pollution.
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch voiced support for another Heathrow runway, telling Sky News’ Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips “I think that we need to make sure that we deliver infrastructure. I voted for it before, so why would I change my mind?”
Ms Reeves all but confirmed on Sunday that she backs a third runway.
The Chancellor also suggested the full Cabinet must back any potential expansion of Heathrow Airport despite previous opposition from senior Government figures.
“A lot (has) changed in terms of aviation,” she argued on the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg show.
“There’s huge investment going on in electric planes, and also a third runway will mean that instead of circling London, flights can land at Heathrow.”
But environmentalists warned that improvements in fuels are not sufficient to impact the extra climate change harm from more flights.
She warned the Government against “eco-stupidity and eco-ignorance” in its dash to get economic growth.
The extra runway was also opposed then by the current Environment Secretary Steve Reed, Net Zero Secretary Ed Miliband, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy and Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn.
Ms Reeves’ deputy Darren Jones, Chief Secretary to the Treasury, her sister Cabinet minister Ellie Reeves, and development minister Anneliese Dodds, who all also attend Cabinet, also voted against a bigger Heathrow, as did nine other ministers.
London Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan, a strong opponent of a third runway, has said his views “haven’t changed” and suggested any plans would need mitigations for noise pollution and carbon emissions.
