A new survey of MPs by independent polling company Ipsos MORI explodes the myth that Heathrow is politically undeliverable. The poll shows 91% of those MPs who back a third runway at Heathrow think it would get parliamentary approval.
The poll also shows that a third runway at Heathrow is the overwhelming choice of MPs from the options left on the Airports Commission’s shortlist. 58% of MPs think that a third runway at Heathrow is the best option for solving the issue of hub airport capacity, compared to 13% for a second runway at Gatwick. Just 13% think the best option would be to do nothing.
Heathrow CEO, John Holland-Kaye, said:
“More and more people are backing Heathrow as the best solution for the UK hub capacity crisis. The countries Britain needs to trade with are changing fast and only a hub airport can provide direct access to these markets.
“There is growing momentum and support for a third runway at Heathrow. This week alone, Britain’s biggest business organisation – the CBI – has come out in support of a hub airport; the Airports Commission has said that it recognises the need for a hub airport but has ruled out a new airport in the Thames Estuary; and now this poll shows MPs back a third runway at Heathrow as the best solution for the UK.”
On Monday, the CBI described the UK’s lack of hub capacity as a “ticking time bomb” and said that UK business wants action and politicians to commit to spades in the ground by the end of the next Parliament. They published research showing that while all airports have a role to play in growing the UK’s connectivity, not all airports play the same role. The track record shows that it tends to be hub airports that deliver the new connections to emerging markets that we desperately need.
Detail of polling questions
To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statements? Having a successful hub airport is critical to the UK's future economic success
Agree | 88% |
Disagree | 7% |
Base: All MPs asked (95), summer 2014
Thinking once more about hub airport capacity. Of these options, which ONE do you think is the BEST option for solving the issue of hub airport capacity in the UK?
A third runway at Heathrow | 58% |
A new Thames Estuary airport | 8% |
A second runway at Gatwick | 13% |
Lengthening one of the runways at Heathrow | 4% |
Do nothing / Use existing airports | 13% |
Don't know | 4% |
Base: All MPs asked (95), summer 2014
And in your opinion, how likely or unlikely would each of the following options be to get parliamentary approval?
Likely | Unlikely | |
A third runway at Heathrow | 91% | 9% |
Base: All MPs who think a third runway at Heathrow would be the best option for solving hub airport capacity (55), summer 2014
Methodology details:
- Fieldwork dates: 9 June – 6 August, 2014.
- 143 MPs were interviewed (58 Conservatives, 66 Labour, 15 Liberal Democrats and 4 from other parties).
- An initial sample of 421 MPs were contacted to ensure that those interviewed closely represent the profile of the House of Commons.
- Interviews were conducted face-to-face.
- The total sample interviewed is closely representative of the House. Based on those asked each question, data have been individually weighted where necessary to reflect the true balance by party and ministerial or spokesperson position.
- Sometimes the percentage result for “Total MPs” may be greater than the sum of the percentage results for Conservative, Labour and Liberal Democrat MPs, as it also includes results from other parties. Where results do not sum to 100%, this may be due to computer rounding, multiple responses, or the exclusion of “don’t know” categories.
- All answers are in % format. Data is weighted.
