Conservatives back Heathrow third runway in economic growth pitch
At the Conservative Party conference in Birmingham, the Shadow Chancellor is expected to back a Heathrow third runway as Kemi Badenoch bids to rebuild support behind Labour and Reform UK.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story.
The Conservative Party conference in Birmingham has put economic growth at the centre of its agenda, with the Shadow Chancellor expected to use a speech to back expansion at Heathrow Airport. The speech is expected to set out a host of policies, including support for a third runway.
The message from the conference was that Britain needs to build major infrastructure again. In remarks aired from the event, the party said it was fully behind the third runway at Heathrow. It called the inability to add extra capacity a national embarrassment and compared the current situation with Britain's engineering history, saying this is the country of Brunel and Bazalgette yet it still cannot build the runway.
The conference also serves as a test for Kemi Badenoch. She is trying to counter the influence of Reform UK and set out a path for the Conservatives to return to government. But the party is still polling behind Labour and Reform. That leaves a question for Badenoch and her party: whether the public is ready to listen to what the Conservatives have to say.
No further policies from the speech were detailed in the coverage. The Heathrow position is the main concrete policy highlighted so far.
On screen
Stills are sampled automatically at 60-second intervals. Where shown, the still is the nearest available frame from the relevant broadcast segment and is included to show what was on screen during that part of the broadcast. A still may not correspond to the exact second of a quoted phrase.
Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, grouped by how many channels reported each one. Select a dot to see the source excerpt.
| Claim |  |  |
|---|---|---|
| Reported by all 2 channels | ||
| The Conservatives remained third in the polls, behind Labour and Reform UK. | Reported by BBC Two | |
| Only on one channel | ||
| Andrew Griffith is expected to support Heathrow Airport expansion, including a third runway. | Not reported by BBC Two | |
| The Conservative Party conference focused on economic growth. | Not reported by BBC Two | |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
ITV Lunchtime News framed the conference around economic growth and the Shadow Chancellor's expected backing for a Heathrow third runway. It used a clip that called the lack of extra capacity a national embarrassment and linked the policy to Britain's engineering past. The report also stressed Kemi Badenoch's wider political challenge, noting that the Tories are still polling behind Labour and Reform.
- “We're fully behind the third runway at Heathrow Airport.”
- “It's a national embarrassment that we can't add that extra capacity.”
- “This is the country of Brunel and Bazalgette and yet we still can't build that third runway.”
Broadcast Timeline
News broadcasts tracked for this story, in time order.