Chancellor’s Heathrow plans hit severe turbulence! Labour split erupts as London Mayor and top party donor vow to oppose Reeves’s third runway ideas (and Ryanair boss says it’d take 25 years to build) [Video]

17:30 EST 29 Jan 2025, updated 18:05 EST 29 Jan 2025

Rachel Reeves opened up a deep split at the heart of Labour last night as she gambled on expanding Heathrow Airport to revive her flagging growth plans.

The Chancellor publicly backed controversial plans for a third runway at Britain’s biggest airport as she vowed to ‘fight’ the ‘blockers’ holding back the economy.

The PM and Chancellor faced criticism last year after their gloomy warnings on the economy were blamed for shattering business and consumer confidence.

Ms Reeves yesterday insisted she was ‘optimistic’ about Britain’s economic prospects. But she refused to rule out a fresh round of tax rises and spending cuts in March if the public finances continue to deteriorate.

Within minutes of the Chancellor backing Heathrow, London’s Labour mayor Sadiq Khan condemned the proposal, saying it would be impossible to deliver ‘without a hugely damaging impact on our environment’.

Sir Sadiq, who backed a previous legal challenge to …