Heathrow expansion vote bill passes first stage

Tuesday, 24 February 2009 12:00 AM

A bill that would give Parliament a vote on whether Heathrow airport should be expanded passed is first parliamentary stage today.

Liberal Democrat MP Susan Kramer put forward the Airport Expansion Parliamentary Approval Bill, which would require parliamentary votes on major airport expansion rather than a ministerial decision.

Ms Kramer claims her bill is motivated by a concern for climate change and the rights of Parliament.

Conservative MP David Wilshire opposed the bill though suggesting it would simply delay planning processes and deny local jobs.

In a vote today MPs backed Ms Kramer's bill, with a majority of 44, thereby clearing its first parliamentary stage.

Richard Younger-Ross, Liberal Democrat MP for Teignbridge, welcomed the result, saying: "I am delighted to support Susan on this crucial bill and I hope that the government will now accept its defeat and allow this bill to progress to the next stage to become law.

"We must consider the environmental impact of airport expansion and the best place to do that is in the Chamber of the House."

Tags:
• airport expansion
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• aviation
,
• bills
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• climate change
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• domestic policy
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• environment
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• public services
,
• transport