LONDON (AP) — Britain’s Parliament approves third runway at Heathrow Airport on 415-119 vote. </s> Britain's Parliament approves third runway at Heathrow Airport on 415-119 vote

LONDON (AP) — Britain's Parliament approves third runway at Heathrow Airport on 415-119 vote. </s> The UK House of Commons voted by a 415-119 margin to approve the building of a third runway at London Heathrow Airport.

After years of debate in the UK over expanding Heathrow, the UK parliamentary vote follows the strong backing for building a third runway at the busy hub by UK Prime Minister Theresa May. The project to build a third runway is expected to cost around £14 billion ($18.5 billion); in addition to paving the runway, it will likely require an expansion of existing terminal infrastructure and a realignment of the M25 motorway. The plan is for the runway to be operational by 2026.

The vote was not without controversy. Britain’s trade minister, Greg Hands, resigned his post ahead of the vote, saying he could not back May on the issue. Boris Johnson, currently the UK’s foreign secretary and formerly the mayor of London—and a long-time opponent of a third Heathrow runway—missed the vote because of a trip to Afghanistan, prompting taunts of “Where’s Boris?” from some Members of Parliament during the vote.

Now part of a government officially backing the plan, Johnson once said he would “lie down in front of bulldozers” to stop a third Heathrow runway.

Progress on the project is expected to continue to be slow, with several environmental and community groups predicted to launch judicial review proceedings against the plan. Also in opposition is International Airlines Group (IAG), the parent group of the airport’s largest operator, British Airways. IAG CEO Willie Walsh has repeatedly questioned the high cost of building a third runway at Heathrow. </s> A third runway at Heathrow Airport was approved Tuesday by Prime Minister Theresa May's Cabinet, setting the stage for a parliamentary vote on the matter after years of debate over how to increase airport capacity around London. </s> Image copyright Getty Images

MPs have backed controversial plans to build a third runway at London's Heathrow airport.

The government won a key vote in the Commons by 415 votes to 119 - a majority of 296.

Tory MPs were under orders to support the government - but Boris Johnson, a leading opponent of expansion, missed the vote because he was in Afghanistan.

Labour's official position was to oppose expansion, but its MPs were given a free vote. The SNP abstained.

How did the MPs vote on the Heathrow Expansion Bill? For: 415 Against: 119 Did not vote: 116 Did my MP vote For or Against the third runway at Heathrow? Enter your postcode, or the name or constituency of your MP Enter your postcode, or the name or constituency of your MP

The vote was welcomed by business group the CBI as "a truly historic decision that will open the doors to a new era in the UK's global trading relationships".

But Greenpeace UK said it was ready to join a cross-party group of London councils and the city's mayor, Sadiq Khan, in a legal challenge against the third runway.

And Friends of the Earth said in a statement: "MPs who backed this climate-wrecking new runway will be harshly judged by history.

"The evidence on the accelerating climate crisis, which is already hitting the world's most vulnerable people, is overwhelming - and expanding Heathrow will only intensify the misery."

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption John McDonnell makes an impassioned plea to halt Heathrow expansion

Environmental activists earlier staged a "lie-in" over Heathrow in Parliament's central lobby, just metres away from MPs preparing to vote on the proposals.

Police locked-down the area after 12 protesters, who described themselves as from a "pop-up" Vote No Heathrow campaign, sprawled across the floor chanting.

The government has pledged the airport will be built at no cost to the taxpayer, will create 100,000 jobs and will benefit the entire country, through guaranteed internal flights to the rest of the UK.

Image caption Boris Johnson, who has returned from a trip to Afghanistan, was criticised for missing the vote

Ministers also insist the project will have built-in environmental protections, with the ability to fine Heathrow or ground aircraft if promises on night flights and other contentious issues are broken.

Eight Conservative MPs voted against the government, including former cabinet ministers Justine Greening and Theresa Villiers, Greg Hands - who resigned last week as international trade minister - and Adam Afriyie, Sir David Amess, Bob Blackman, Zak Goldsmith and Matthew Offord.

More Labour MPs supported the government than backed their leader Jeremy Corbyn, who had opposed the expansion.

The development was supported by 119 Labour MPs, while 96 voted against the move.

MPs from across the political spectrum, some with constituencies on the Heathrow flight path, spoke out against the plan.

At the start of a four-hour debate, Transport Secretary Chris Grayling said Heathrow was "full" and a new runway was needed to secure "a clear path to our future as a global nation in the post-Brexit world."

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Greg Hands: 'I made an unequivocal pledge' on Heathrow

But in an impassioned speech, Labour's shadow chancellor John McDonnell warned that villages that had existed for 1,000 years would be "wiped off the face of the earth" to enable a company to maximise its profits.

"There are human costs to this decision that this House needs to recognise and contemplate before they vote tonight to worry and blight my community once again on a programme that will never - pardon the pun - take off," he told MPs.

Opposition MPs shouted "Where's Boris?" as a Conservative MP who resigned from government over Heathrow expansion urged colleagues to join him in opposing a third runway.

Former International trade minister Greg Hands, who represents Chelsea and Fulham, raised concerns about air quality and night flights but said it was a "debate about being true to your word and to your election pledges".

Mr Johnson said following Mr Hands' example and quitting the government to vote against Heathrow would "achieve absolutely nothing," before departing on a trip to Afghanistan. </s> MPs have overwhelmingly backed the government's £14bn proposal to expand Heathrow Airport with a third runway.

In a vote late on Monday, the House of Commons supported the plan by 415 to 119, giving the government a huge majority of 296.

Ministers were aided by the support of 119 Labour MPs voting in favour of the plan, with many of the party's trade union backers in favour of a third runway.

Eight Tory MPs, including Windsor MP Adam Afriyie and ex-ministers Justine Greening and Greg Hands, rebelled against the party's three-line whip and voted against expansion.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, who gave his MPs a free vote on the issue, was joined by 93 of his colleagues in voting against a third runway.

Immediately after the vote result, Greenpeace vowed to join a cross-party group of London councils and the city's mayor Sadiq Khan in a legal challenge.

Monday's proceedings were subject to a demonstration by a dozen protesters lying down in parliament's central lobby while chanting "vote no, Heathrow". They later left voluntarily.

"This Heathrow flight has failed all safety checks, yet ministers have boarded it anyway and persuaded a majority of MPs to go along with them.

"But we can't just look the other way while the whole dashboard flashes red with warning lights.

"The UK government won't be able to tackle illegal levels of air pollution, never mind leaving a healthier environment to the next generation, if a new Heathrow runway is built.

"If ministers don't want to uphold the laws protecting us from toxic fumes and climate change, we're going to ask a court to do that."

Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, who famously vowed to lie down in front of bulldozers to prevent expansion of the airport, was visiting Afghanistan and so skipped the vote.

The trip, during which Mr Johnson met NATO and Afghanistan officials as well as British troops, allowed the cabinet minister to avoid having to resign from government in order to register his disapproval of expanding Heathrow.

Business groups and airline leaders responded with delight. Carolyn Fairbairn, director-general of business lobby group the CBI, described the support for expansion as a "truly historic decision" which will "open the doors to a new era in the UK's global trading relationships".

Mike Cherry, chairman of the Federation of Small Businesses, said expanding the west London hub is "clearly in the long-term national interest of the UK economy".

He insisted that "the debate is now over, it is time to build".

Tim Alderslade, chief executive of Airlines UK, the industry association representing UK carriers, described the vote as a "welcome shot in the arm for UK plc". He went on:

"Airlines stand ready to respond to the unlocking of new capacity by creating new routes and helping to connect the UK to new markets and destinations.

"The economic boost this will provide to all regions of the UK will be transformational."

If Heathrow is granted development consent following a planned public consultation, construction would begin in 2021 ahead of the third runway opening in 2026. </s> Transport Secretary Chris Grayling declared it was a “historic moment” as he announced at the House of Commons today that plans will proceed if air quality obligations are met. 



The proposals for the new runway were approved by the Government’s economic sub-committee, chaired by Prime Minister Theresa May, and approved by her full cabinet. 



Mr Grayling added the decision was deemed in the national interest and will benefit the whole of the country. 



Around 15 per cent of the new landing slots are set to “facilitate regional connectivity”.

What is the Heathrow third runway plan?



The scheme, which will be voted on by MPs on July 11, will be funded privately and could be finished by 2026.



The plans for expanding Heathrow have been debated for nearly 20 years.



The expansion of Heathrow airport in west London was backed by the previous Labour government, who voted in favour of it in 2009.

However, the plan was later scrapped and put off for five years.



The Conservatives have reportedly been divided over the plans, leading to Theresa May needing support from Labour and the SNP for the vote to go ahead. Expansion could prove particularly divisive for Troy Boris Johnson, whose constituency encompasses the area most affected by a third runaway but whose party has voted to press ahead with plans despite residents’ objections. Campaigners against the expansion were concerned about noise pollution and the new runway breaching the UK’s legal air pollution limit due to hundreds of new airplanes taking off and landing every day.

John Stewart, chair of the campaign group Hacan, said communities would "face a tsunami of noise" with a third runway. He added: "This is a bad day - many people under new flight paths will find their lives changed forever.” Where will Heathrow third runway go? The third runway is planned to be built above the other two to the north west of the current Heathrow Airport terminals.

Plans above show the third runway will cut straight across the 12-lane M25 motorway, which will be put in a tunnel. Hundreds of homes in surrounding villages including Longford, Harmondsworth and Sipson could be demolished to make space for the £14bn project. 

 However, residents affected by the scheme will get compensation worth 125 per cent of their value, along with legal fees and stamp duty included - with £2.2billion pot worth of compensation on offer. </s> LONDON (AP) — The Latest on the third runway at Heathrow Airport (all times local):

Britain's government has given the go-ahead for the construction of a third runway at London's Heathrow Airport — a decision that paves the way for the long-running issue to be put up for a parliamentary vote.

The Department for Transportation last year asked the public for comments on the plans to build the new runway at Heathrow, arguing the project would permit an additional 260,000 flights a year and add 74 billion pounds ($99 billion) to the British economy over 60 years.

Heathrow is already one of the world's largest airports, but the decision on whether to expand it has been a source of contention, particularly in Prime Minister Theresa May's Conservative government.

Even if lawmakers approve the decision, it is likely to be challenged in the courts.

The British Cabinet is expected Tuesday to approve the construction of a third runway at Heathrow Airport, a decision that could pave the way for the long-running issue to be put up for a parliamentary vote.

The economic secretary to the Treasury, John Glen, told the BBC, "we need to expand our capacity and this is the right thing to do."

The location of a new runway in southeastern England has been debated for years amid concerns over pollution, traffic and noise.

The Department for Transportation last year asked the public for comments on the plans to build the runway at Heathrow, arguing the project would permit an additional 260,000 flights a year and add 74 billion pounds ($99 billion) to the British economy over 60 years.

Heathrow is already one of the world's largest airports, but the decision on whether to expand it has been a source of contention, particularly in Prime Minister Theresa May's government. </s> LONDON (AP) — Britain’s government has given the go-ahead for the construction of a third runway at London’s Heathrow Airport — a decision that paves the way for the long-running issue to be put up for a parliamentary vote.

The Department for Transportation last year asked the public for comments on the plans to build the new runway at Heathrow, arguing the project would permit an additional 260,000 flights a year and add 74 billion pounds ($99 billion) to the British economy over 60 years.

Heathrow is already one of the world’s largest airports, but the decision on whether to expand it has been a source of contention, particularly in Prime Minister Theresa May’s Conservative government.

Even if lawmakers approve the decision, it is likely to be challenged in the courts.
The UK's House of Commons votes 415–119 to approve a third runway at London's Heathrow Airport.