An early go-ahead for a third runway at Heathrow was pledged today by Tory leadership contender Stephen Crabb.
In an interview with the Evening Standard, he said permission for expansion of Britain’s premier airport would give London’s economy a vital post-Brexit boost.
“The truth is that if we are going to turn the challenge of Brexit into a huge opportunity for our country, then we are going to have to become far more outward facing and globally oriented,” said the Work and Pensions Secretary.
“I’m a strong supporter of a third runway. I know that is very controversial with many people in west London, but I just really feel that this really vital project is long overdue. London is in competition with cities all around the globe. I won’t shy away from an early decision.”
Mr Crabb, 43, is the youngest contender among candidates vying to succeed David Cameron and, like Theresa May, campaigned for Remain in the EU referendum.
However, he rejected the demands of thousands of people who marched through central London at the weekend calling for a rethink of the Brexit vote.
“It’s lovely to see people engaging in social activism, but... the result is the result,” he said. “It would be a huge breach of trust with the electorate if politicians were seen to walk away from the outcome.” Instead, he said everyone should unite to make it work: “What we now need is a massive national effort to make this work and turn the massive challenges of Brexit into an opportunity.”
He said a key lesson to be drawn from the referendum was of the existence of “deep-seated divisions” between richer and poorer communities, young and old.
Mr Crabb said he would be publishing his tax return “in the next couple of days”, but said there would be no surprises in it. “It’s just tax paid on the income of being a minister and a Member of Parliament,” he said.
He said his background — he was born in Scotland, grew up on a council estate in Wales and attended a comprehensive school — gave him the “experience and background” to “get to grips with some of these divisions in society”.
He said his policies would include “a strong social and economic programme for disadvantaged communities, to really tackle underlying poverty”.
He said the excitement of seeing people buy their council homes in the Eighties drew him to the Conservatives under Margaret Thatcher, but said the Tory leader he felt closest to was another Conservative with working-class roots, John Major.
“I think he embodied the ideals of aspiration and opportunity social mobility which I think needs to be at the heart of the Conservative message in the 21st century,” said Crabb.
“We’ve got to show the Conservative Party is a party of the ladder, helping people to make progress in their lives.”
