A veteran Greater Manchester MP has called for Treasury officials to be taken on a tour of English regions after he was left shocked by a remark made by the Chancellor regarding airport runways. Graham Stringer, the Labour MP for Blackley and Middleton South, criticized what he described as a “startling ignorance of the English regions” among Treasury officials. Speaking in the House of Commons, he referenced a comment made by Chancellor Rachel Reeves during a BBC interview in January.
According to Stringer, Reeves claimed that “the last time we built a runway in this country was in the 1940s” while discussing plans for a third runway at Heathrow Airport in London. The remark did not sit well with Stringer, a former chairman of Manchester Airport’s board. He pointed out that Manchester Airport’s second runway has been in operation for nearly 25 years, making it clear that the Chancellor’s statement was incorrect, according to Manchester Evening News.
