Burnham Fuels Doubts Over Heathrow Third Runway Expansion Andy Burnham has raised fresh doubts over the Heathrow third runway expansion, weeks after the Chancellor backed the project, saying it is a matter for London. Andy Burnham has fuelled fresh doubts about the Heathrow Airport expansion, just weeks after the Chancellor backed the project. The intervention came as the Labour conference got under way, when the Prime Minister repeatedly refused to endorse the scheme to build a third runway in an interview. 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 mixed signals have renewed uncertainty over the timing and political backing for expanding the UK's largest airport.Heathrow Third Runway Expansion PlansHeathrow Airport Limited wants to obtain permission to build a full-length, 3,500-metre runway. The project would require the M25 motorway being moved. Heathrow insists the project will create jobs, unlock growth and make travel more affordable.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.A public consultation on the Government's Heathrow expansion national policy statement closed on September 1. The Government is now considering the responses before deciding the way forward.Burnham's Record Of 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 he was against a third runway at Heathrow because of the need to limit national levels of aviation. He argued that spare capacity at Manchester and Birmingham should be used instead.The following year he warned that the expansion would trap infrastructure spending inside the M25 for 10 years. His long-standing opposition contrasts with the Government's stated support for the project.Government And London OppositionAsked on the BBC whether he supported the project, Mr Burnham said that principally it was a matter for London and Londoners. Pressed further, he continued that it was not right for him to just jump straight in on the back of the consultation.He added that it was right to hear what people had said through the consultation, and then consider the way forward from there. The comments echo his previous warnings about the project's impact on national aviation limits and regional investment.The plans to expand the UK's largest airport have long been opposed by climate experts and Mayor of London Lord Khan. John Healey told the Commons earlier this month that Labour backs the project despite the change of Prime Minister.Mr Healey told MPs that after years of delay, years of indecision, years of often vexatious challenge, the Government had given the go-ahead to this project quite simply because the economic case stacks up and will help bring growth. The consultation on the national policy statement closed on September 1, and the Government is expected to respond in due course.