Chancellor John Healey has confirmed that the government continues to support a third runway at Heathrow Airport, a stance that appears at odds with Andy Burnham's long-standing opposition to the project when he was Manchester mayor. Healey told the Commons that Labour was backing the scheme because "the economic case stacks up and will help bring growth", following on from former chancellor Rachel Reeves's pledge in June to get "spades in the ground" and have the runway built by 2035. The confirmation is notable given Burnham's history of criticising the project, including branding it a "model for an ever-overheating UK economy" as recently as last year.

Burnham has opposed Heathrow expansion since at least 2018, when he argued spare capacity at Manchester and Birmingham should be used instead, and later warned it would "trap infrastructure spending inside the M25" at the north's expense. Heathrow Airport Limited wants to build a full 3,500-metre runway, requiring the M25 to be rerouted, at an estimated cost of £33billion, including £1.5billion for the motorway move; the privately financed scheme would raise capacity to 756,000 flights and 150 million passengers annually. The plans remain opposed by climate experts and London Mayor Lord Khan of Tooting, though Heathrow argues expansion is now more urgent after Istanbul overtook it as Europe's busiest airport in July.