Reeves expected to welcome Heathrow expansion plans

Chancellor Rachel Reeves is expected to welcome Heathrow's expansion on Wednesday, the BBC understands, as she reveals Labour's latest plans for growth. A move to encourage in principle a planning application for a third runway at the airport will mark the first stage of the process and come as part of a major speech setting out several other projects aimed at boosting the economy. The announcement will likely anger campaigners - including within Reeves' Labour Party - who have opposed a third runway for decades because of environmental concerns. The Conservatives have criticised Labour's plans as "hastily cobbled together". In an article in the Times, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said wider government plans would "kick down the barriers to building, clear out the regulatory weeds and allow a new era of British growth to bloom". A third runway at Heathrow would cost tens of billions of pounds and take more than a decade to complete. But expansion plans at Gatwick and Luton airports starting during this parliament, and the redevelopment of the area around Manchester United's Old Trafford stadium could be confirmed in the speech. Reeves' speech will also focus on development between Oxford and Cambridge to create a "Silicon Valley of Europe".<br/>