Local residents in west London, Spelthorne and Windsor are more likely to vote for their local councillor if they support Heathrow expansion than if they oppose it according to new research from independent polling company Populus.
The research suggests that far from being politically difficult, supporting a third runway at Heathrow could actually be a vote winner for local councillors. 48% of residents said they supported expanding Heathrow, while 34% were opposed.
57% of voters said they feel positive towards Heathrow, while 37% feel neutral and just 6% feel negative towards the airport.
The research is significant because it covers a statistically representative sample of those who stand to be most affected by Heathrow expansion and who have traditionally been perceived as opposed to growth. It confirms that a large proportion of people in local boroughs support the airport and its plans for a third runway.
Only one local authority – Richmond – had more residents who opposed expansion than supported it, all other areas saw many more people supporting than opposing a third runway.
Colin Matthews, Heathrow’s Chief Executive, said:
“A third runway at Heathrow has traditionally been seen as the best option for the UK but politically difficult in West London. This research suggests that the political costs of supporting a third runway at Heathrow have been overstated.”
“Far from being a political challenge, there is widespread local support for Heathrow. Many more people around Heathrow support a third runway than oppose it. More than 100,000 jobs depend on Heathrow and people want to see the airport flourish.”
Populus interviewed 1,000 adult residents (18+) in seven London Boroughs local to Heathrow Airport by telephone between 25 February and 23 March 2014. In total, 7,000 residents were interviewed. Results were weighted to be demographically representative of all adults in each borough.
Selected polling results:
Taking everything into account, based on what you have seen, read and heard, how positive or negative would you say you feel towards Heathrow Airport? On a scale of 0-10, where 0 means very negative, 10 means very positive, and 5 is neutral.
Total | Spelthorne | Hillingdon | Hounslow | Ealing | Windsor and Maidenhead | Richmond | Kingston | |
Positive (7-10) | 57% | 63% | 62% | 60% | 57% | 56% | 51% | 48% |
Negative (0-3) | 6% | 4% | 4% | 6% | 4% | 6% | 10% | 5% |
Neutral (4-6) | 37% | 33% | 34% | 33% | 39% | 37% | 37% | 46% |
Taking everything you know into account, do you currently support or oppose expanding Heathrow?
Total | Spelthorne | Hillingdon | Hounslow | Ealing | Windsor and Maidenhead | Richmond | Kingston | |
Support | 48% | 49% | 51% | 50% | 52% | 49% | 38% | 45% |
Oppose | 34% | 32% | 31% | 34% | 26% | 32% | 49% | 30% |
Neither/Don’t know | 19% | 18% | 18% | 16% | 22% | 18% | 13% | 24% |
Net support/oppose | +14 | +17 | +20 | +16 | +26 | +31 | -11 | +15 |
If your local councillor supported Heathrow expansion, would it make you more or less likely to vote for that candidate, or would it have no impact?
Total | Spelthorne | Hillingdon | Hounslow | Ealing | Windsor and Maidenhead | Richmond | Kingston | |
More likely to vote for candidate if they opposed expansion | 17% | 16% | 15% | 19% | 14% | 15% | 28% | 12% |
More likely to vote for candidate if they supported expansion | 25% | 26% | 25% | 31% | 28% | 23% | 20% | 20% |
