The expansion of Heathrow would be an expensive disaster for Britain and the world. Burnham needs to block it | George Monbiot

<p>A third runway would fly in the face of reason. If we are to prioritise human life over short-term ‘growth’, we need to use planes less, not more</p><p><br> If a third runway is built at Heathrow, what will be the impact on the wealth of the nation? It will cost us somewhere between £23.4bn and £62.5bn. These are not my <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/jun/19/heathrow-third-runway-boost-gdp-less-than-stated">figures</a>; they weren’t calculated by environmental groups, but by the Department for Transport.</p><p>For decades, government ministers have told us that airport expansion is essential for “growth”. As chancellor, Rachel Reeves claimed that a third runway at Heathrow would add <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/feb/01/reevess-heathrow-third-runway-report-was-commissioned-by-london-airport">0.43% to GDP</a>, figures we later discovered came from a report commissioned by the airport. The transport department’s own <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/44b48a15-1f7b-44fa-803c-27659b3d2690?syn-25a6b1a6=1">analysis</a> concluded that the real addition to GDP would be between 0.03% and 0.05%: eight to 14 times less. Against this, it weighed the social and environmental costs of the project, to reveal a massive net loss. It found that a third runway would cause major harm to the health and wellbeing of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/jun/18/heathrow-third-runway-likely-to-affect-health-millions-people-nearby-official-report">up to 3 million local people</a>.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/oct/03/heathrow-third-runway-climate-warnings-economic-reality">Continue reading...</a>