Declaring that “growth will not come without a fight”, she said that the government would back airport expansion and offered more clues about plans to unshackle housebuilding. The Heathrow decision is the surest sign yet of the government prioritising growth,

Rachel Reeves has rejected criticism of the Government’s support to expand Heathrow Airport after she set out plans to remove barriers to growth in the hope of kickstarting the UK’s stuttering economy.

Ms Reeves had earlier said a third runway at the hub airport was "badly needed", that the previous government had taken no action on it and claimed no full-length runway has been built in Britain since the 1940s. She added that "around 75% of all long haul flights in the UK go from Heathrow" and "over 60% of the country's air freight".