Boris Johnson hits out at third runway as ‘undeliverable’ with Richmond Park MP to step down after ‘catastrophic’ announcement

Conservative MP Zac Goldsmith is set to resign and force a byelection in protest after the government finally gave the go-ahead to a third runway at Heathrow airport, a decision it hailed as “momentous”.



The former London mayoral candidate was one of several senior Tories, including Boris Johnson and Justine Greening, to criticise Theresa May’s decision to back expansion at Heathrow, overturning the party’s previous opposition to a third runway.

Johnson, the foreign secretary and former London mayor, said a third runway at Heathrow was “undeliverable”, while Greening, the education secretary, said she was “extremely disappointed”.

Both Johnson and Greening were given special dispensation to speak out against the decision as long as they do not campaign against the government or speak in opposition from the frontbench.

However, Goldsmith’s resignation will be more a headache for the prime minister as the Conservatives will have to decide whether to put up a candidate against him in a seat previously held by the Lib Dems, who oppose Heathrow expansion.

Goldsmith has not confirmed he will stand down but his local Conservative Association said he would stick by a promise to tender his resignation and run as an independent candidate in a south-west London seat previously held by the Lib Dems.

The government said the decision to expand Heathrow and the construction of the first full-length runway in the south-east since the second world war would be a major boost to the UK economy.



Chris Grayling, the transport secretary, said it was vital to keeping Britain open for business and that the economic benefits would be worth up to £61bn, as well as creating up to 77,000 additional local jobs.

May’s official spokeswoman said the view of the airport subcommittee had been unanimous in favour of Heathrow and that there was no further discussion at full cabinet. She told the cabinet it was a vital decision that had been ducked for too long.

However, the decision threatens to cause friction within the Conservative party. Speaking in Westminster, Johnson highlighted the threat of four Tory-led councils to launch legal action against plans for Heathrow expansion.

Johnson, who has previously said he would lie down in front of the bulldozers to stop Heathrow being built, said: “I think the day when the bulldozers actually appear is a long way off, if indeed they ever materialise to build that third runway.



“My view is the whole proceeding will be snarled up in legal objections of one kind or another and I just really repeat my point: do we want the greatest city on earth, parts of it, to be transformed into a hell of airport noise? I don’t think we do. I think there are far better solutions. As long as I am able to, I am respectfully going to make that point.”

May’s own local council, Windsor and Maidenhead, is one of those signalling it will be prepared to fight the decision in court. “Our campaign against Heathrow expansion with councils in Hillingdon, Richmond and Wandsworth and Greenpeace continues and we will take whatever action is necessary to stop this decision on behalf of the 1 million residents we represent,” said Simon Dudley, the leader of the council.



The mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, also said he might help challenge the Heathrow decision through the courts, along with councils that are considering their options.

“I am exploring how I can best be involved in any legal process over the coming months,” he said. “Most urgently, the government must set out how it’s possible for Londoners not to suffer from the additional air and noise pollution that we know will be created by an additional runway at Heathrow.”

Announcing its backing for the third runway, the government has said it would propose a six-and-a-half-hour ban on scheduled night flights, and will make more stringent night noise restrictions a requirement of expansion. It will also propose new legally binding noise targets. The scheme will now be taken forward in the form of a draft national policy statement, which will be consulted on in the new year.

However, widespread protests and legal challenges are expected to follow the decision, with campaigners to focus on air quality, noise and Britain’s climate change commitments. The runway, which could be built by 2025, would lead to almost 50% more planes over London, bringing new neighbourhoods under the flightpath.



Goldsmith did not mention his intention to resign as he spoke in the House of Commons on Tuesday, but he told Grayling the government has chosen a course that is “not only wrong, it is doomed”.

“It’s wrong because of the million people who will suffer on the back of the environmental harm this project unavoidably produces and doomed because of the complexities and costs and legal complications means this project is almost certainly not going to be delivered,” he said.

“I believe this will be a millstone around this government’s neck for many, many years to come, constant source of delay, of anger and betrayal among those people who will be directly affected.”

Others to express discontent about the decision included Adam Afriyie, the Tory MP for Windsor, who said it was “devastating” and asked whether No 10 could change its mind during the public consultation. Grayling said it was a clear recommendation from the government, which had no intention of reversing it.

Tania Mathias, Tory MP for the south-west London constituency of Twickenham, said the decision was terrible but she did not believe the expansion would go ahead.

“I will continue to fight against Heathrow expansion and I agree with many experts today who are certain that expansion will not happen,” she said. “The scrutiny and consultation over the next year will, I am sure, show that a third runway is simply not possible for economic, legal and environmental reasons.”



Labour said it still needed “vital reassurances” before backing Heathrow, even though it said airport expansion was “much needed” for investment and growth.

The shadow transport secretary, Andy McDonald, said: “Labour has consistently been in favour of building an additional runway in the south-east of England. But this support has always been conditional on four tests being met: on capacity, climate change, noise and air quality and the wider national benefits. Today’s announcement, heralding another consultation, does not yet do that.”

Zac Goldsmith (@ZacGoldsmith) Following the Government's catastrophic Heathrow announcement, I will be meeting my constituents later today before making a statement.

In an email to members, Richmond Park Conservative Association’s agent, David Jones, said Goldsmith had informed the local party he intended to resign.

“You will no doubt have seen the announcement in the media this morning that the government has given the green light for expansion at Heathrow,” the email read. “Zac has contacted the association to let us know that he intends to honour his pledge to resign and force a byelection in Richmond Park.

“The chairman has called an emergency meeting for the executive council for tomorrow evening to discuss the turn of events and will issue a full statement to members on the association’s position.”

The decision to back a third runway at Heathrow is a grotesque folly | John Sauven Read more

A spokeswoman for Goldsmith said he would be meeting constituents later on Tuesday before making a public statement. “Zac will be in the House of Commons for the Heathrow statement, and will be returning to speak to his constituents before making a statement after that,” she said.

Goldsmith had been reported to be considering running in any subsequent byelection as an independent candidate.

The Liberal Democrats, who held the seat from 1997 until 2010, would have high hopes of winning the seat, especially if Goldsmith runs against a Conservative candidate. The party also hopes to capitalise on Goldsmith’s Brexit vote in the EU referendum, despite the area turning out strongly for remain.

The Lib Dem leader, Tim Farron, said: “Zac Goldsmith has failed Richmond Park on Heathrow and betrayed them on Brexit. The turbulence in the Conservative party is nothing compared to the anger felt by those they have betrayed by giving up their commitment to the environment and communities in west London.”

In last week’s Witney byelection, the Lib Dems recorded their biggest byelection swing in 20 years, although the Conservatives held the seat. Farron visited the constituency five times and more than 1,000 activists campaigned in a single weekend, making it a test ground for more winnable seats like Richmond Park, party sources said.



The party will face an uphill battle for recognition in the seat, however. Vince Cable, the former business secretary who was rumoured to be standing in Richmond Park having lost the neighbouring seat of Twickenham at the general election, will not run in the byelection. Instead, the candidate is a relative unknown, local accountant Sarah Olney, who only joined the party in May 2015.

Olney told the Guardian: “This has been a bit unexpected. I’m ready to go to the voters, and our activists are really fired up by the result in Witney, and want to get stuck in to another byelection.”

