Burnham Fuels Doubts Over Heathrow Airport Expansion Andy Burnham has raised fresh doubts about Heathrow Airport expansion, saying it is a matter for London and Londoners, weeks after the Chancellor backed the third runway. Andy Burnham has fuelled fresh doubts over the Heathrow Airport expansion, just weeks after the Chancellor backed the scheme. In an interview as Labour conference gets under way, the Prime Minister repeatedly refused to endorse the plan to build a third runway. He suggested it was a matter for London and that the Government was waiting for the outcome of a consultation. However, John Healey told the Commons earlier this month that the Government supports the project. The exchange highlights internal tensions over the expansion of the UK's largest airport, a long-debated infrastructure project.Heathrow Third Runway PlansHeathrow Airport Limited wants to obtain permission to build a full-length, 3,500-metre runway. The project would require the M25 motorway to be moved. In June, former chancellor Rachel Reeves said she was determined to get spades in the ground for the third runway in the current Parliament, and for it to be built by 2035.However, that timing looks to be slipping with suggestions that 2039 is the earliest possible date. The plans have long been opposed by climate experts and Mayor of London Lord Khan. Heathrow insists the project will create jobs, unlock growth and make travel more affordable.Burnham's Long-Standing OppositionMr Burnham has a record of attacks on the proposal going back years. In January last year, the then-Manchester mayor branded it a model for an ever-overheating UK economy, warning it could not come at the expense of essential investment in northern infrastructure.In 2018 he said: I am against a third runway at Heathrow because of the need to limit national levels of aviation. We should use spare capacity at Manchester and Birmingham instead. The following year he warned that the expansion would trap infrastructure spending inside the M25 for 10 years.Consultation and Political DivideAsked on the BBC whether he supported the project, Mr Burnham said: Principally, it is a matter for London and Londoners. Pressed further, he continued: It is not right for me to just jump straight in on the back of the consultation.He added: I think it is right that we hear what people have said through the consultation, and then consider the way forward from there. A public consultation on the Government's Heathrow expansion national policy statement closed on September 1.Mr Healey told MPs earlier this month: After years of delay, years of indecision, years of often vexatious challenge, we have given the go-ahead to this project quite simply because the economic case stacks up and will help bring growth. The divide within Labour over the expansion could shape the party's stance as it prepares for the next election.