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Nations & regions urge ‘rapid decision’ on new runway following Brexit

Leaders from John O’Groats to Lands’ End write to the new Transport Secretary saying Brexit means airport expansion is all the more vital to the prosperity of the nations and regions

An influential group of over one hundred business chiefs, MPs, council and trade union leaders from across the UK have joined forces to pen a series of joint letters to the new Transport Secretary Chris Grayling MP urging the Government to deliver a rapid decision to build a new runway in London and the South East.

A series of four letters have now been sent from Scotland, the North East, the North West and Cornwall, coordinated by the airport expansion campaign group Let Britain Fly.

Gavin Hayes, Director of Let Britain Fly said: “The decision to build a new runway is not just about London and the South East, this is a decision of national importance that affects the economic well-being of the entire country.

“That is why business, political and trade union leaders from John O’Groats to Lands’ End are urging the Government to get on and make a rapid decision. It has now been over a year since the Airports Commission published its final report, so this is a decision that has quite frankly dragged on for far too long to the detriment of the UK economy.”

Each letter:

  • Expresses concern regarding the latest delay in making a final decision on airport expansion.
  • Says that the EU referendum result creates a new urgency for another runway, with the need to quickly secure new connections and trading partnerships with growth economies such as Brazil and China.
  • The decision to build a new runway is not just about London and the South East, it is a decision that affects the economic prosperity of the nations and regions of the UK.
  • Urges the government to make rapid progress and that a decision on airport expansion should be one of the top priorities of the new Prime Minister.

Signatories to the four letters include the following:

Scotland

Sir Ian Wood, Chairman, Wood Group
Willie Macleod, Executive Director, BHA Scotland
James N. Walker CBE, Managing Director, Walkers Shortbread
Willie Stewart, Director, Stewart Travel
Jim Fairbairn OBE, Executive Director, Howden Group
Jeremy Chittleburgh, Chiene & Tait LLP
Tristan Nesbitt, General Manager, Sheraton Grand Hotel Edinburgh
Alan Thornburrow, Chief Executive, Scottish Investment Operations
Amanda Macmillian, Managing Director, Glasgow Airport
Ryan James, Chairman, Glasgow Restaurant Association
Virginia Kavanagh, Regional Manager, Chase de Vere
Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh MP
Ian Murray MP
Alan Brown MP
Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of Commerce
Ayrshire Chamber of Commerce
Cairngorms Chamber of Commerce
Caithness Chamber of Commerce
Dumfries & Galloway Chamber of Commerce
Dunbartonshire Chamber of Commerce
Dundee & Angus Chamber of Commerce
East Renfrewshire Chamber of Commerce
Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce
Fife Chamber of Commerce
Forth Valley Chamber of Commerce
Glasgow Chamber of Commerce
Greenock Chamber of Commerce
Inverness Chamber of Commerce
Lochaber Chamber of Commerce
Midlothian & East Lothian Chamber of Commerce
Moray Chamber of Commerce
Perthshire Chamber of Commerce
Renfrewshire Chamber of Commerce
Scottish Borders Chamber of Commerce
West Lothian Chamber of Commerce
Scottish Chambers of Commerce

North East

Cllr Nick Forbes, Leader, Newcastle City Council
Cllr Simon Henig, Leader, Durham City Council
Cllr Michael Mordey, Sunderland Council
Cllr Iain Malcolm, Leader, South Tyneside Council
Cllr Mary Foy, Cabinet Member Economy, Gateshead Council
Cllr Grant Davey, Leader, Northumberland County Council
Norma Redfern, Elected Mayor of North Tyneside
Cllr Bruce Pickard, Deputy Mayor of North Tyneside
Mary Glindon MP
Roberta Blackman-Woods MP
Ronnie Campbell MP
Grahame Morris MP
Catherine McKinnell MP
Emma Lewell-Buck MP
Tom Blenkinsop MP
Ian Mearns MP
James Ramsbotham, Chief Executive, North East England Chamber of Commerce
Ted Salmon, North East Regional Chair, Federation of Small Businesses
Beth Farhat, Regional Secretary, Northern TUC
Lee Charnley, Managing Director, Newcastle United Football Club
Nick Jones, Interim Chief Executive, Newcastle International Airport
Nick Holmes, Director, NHC Management
Neil Barker, Director, emBarkArchitecture
Gillian Hall, Senior Partner, Watson Burton LLP
Stan Higgins, Chief Executive Officer, North East Process Industry Cluster
Rachel Turnbull, Chief Executive Officer, TT2
Jeremy Middleton, Director, Middleton Enterprises
David Cliff, Managing Director, Gedanken
Jonathan Blair, Managing Partner, Bond Dickinson LLP
Mark Thompson, Managing Partner, Ryder Architecture
Andrew Hodgson OBE, Chief Executive Officer, SMD
Christine Holland, Managing Director, Holland PR & Marketing

North West / Merseyside

Louise Ellman MP
George Howarth MP
Derek Twigg MP
Conor McGinn MP
Stephen Twigg MP
Jenny Stewart, Chief Executive, Liverpool Chamber of Commerce
Kath Boullen, CEO, St Helens Chamber of Commerce
Robert Hough, Chair, Liverpool City Region LEP
Jo Anderson, Mayor of Liverpool
Pete Radcliffe, Branch Chair, IoD Liverpool
John Syvret CBE, Chief Executive Officer, Cammell Laird Shiprepairers & Shipbuilders
Max Steinberg CBE, Chief Executive, Liverpool Vision
Bob Prattey, Chief Executive, ACC Liverpool
Gerald Andrews, Finance Director, ACC Liverpool
Andrew Cornish, CEO, Liverpool John Lennon Airport
Cllr Rob Polhill, Leader, Halton Council
Elain Bowker, Principle and Group CEO, The City of Liverpool College
Enda Rylands, Chairperson, Southport BID and Chairperson, Southport Business Tourism Steering Group
David Brewitt, Managing Director, Carpenter Investments
Peter Nears, Strategic Planning Director, Peel Group
Brian Kenny, Regional Director, Rathbones
Cllr Malcolm Kennedy, Cabinet Member for Regeneration, Transport & Climate Change, Liverpool City Council
Lorna Tyson MBE, Owner and Manager of Mere Brook House
Steve Pearse, Chairman, Friends of Liverpool Airport
Chris Bliss, Estate Director, Liverpool One
John Sutcliffe, Managing Director, Sutcliffe
Mick Whitley, Regional Secretary, Unite the Union
Cllr Barrie Grunewald, Leader, St Helens Council
Cllr Wendy Simon, Assistant Mayor & Cabinet Member for Culture, Tourism & Events, Liverpool City Council

Cornwall

Steve Double MP
Scott Mann MP
Derek Thomas MP
Thelma Sorensen OBE, Chairman, Cornwall Business Partnership
Al Titterington, Managing Director, Cornwall Airport Newquay
James Staughton, Chief Executive, St Austell Brewery
Gordon Seabright, Managing Director, Eden Project
Kim Conchie, Chief Executive, Cornwall Chamber of Commerce & Industry
Malcolm Bell, Chief Executive, Visit Cornwall
Ben Rhodes, Chief Executive, Devon & Cornwall Business Council
Marcus Rampley, Managing Director, Fugro GeoServices
Sarah Trethowan, Operations Director, Trac Services
Will Ashworth, Managing Director, The Watergate Bay Hotel
Toby Parkins, Founding Director, Head Forwards
Mike Carr, Joint Managing Director, Pendennis Shipyard Ltd
Dr Tony Batchelor, Chairman Geoscience Ltd and Chairman of the Camborne School of Mines Trust
Gareth Wright, Managing Director, Kings College London Service Centre
Andrew May, Chairman, Isles of Scilly Steamship Company

For further comment please contact Gavin Hayes on 07535 976964

Links to each letter in full

About Let Britain Fly

Let Britain Fly is the campaign to expand airport capacity in London and the South East to support jobs and growth. Let Britain Fly is supported by a broad and wide strategic campaign coalition that includes business leaders, business organisations, trade and professional associations, trade unions, think tanks, academics and economists.