A future Conservative government would "do whatever it takes" to deliver a third runway at Heathrow, as Labour leader Andy Burnham continues to keep an "open mind" on plans to expand Britain's busiest airport.
Shadow chancellor's pledge
Shadow chancellor Andrew Griffith is expected to use his speech to the Conservative Party conference in Birmingham to pledge sweeping reforms aimed at speeding up major infrastructure projects.
Declaring the Tories are "all in" for growth, Mr Griffith will vow to legislate to remove barriers that he says have delayed schemes such as Heathrow expansion for too long.
Labour's stance
His intervention comes after Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander told Labour's conference in Liverpool last week that Prime Minister Andy Burnham had not ruled out backing a third runway.
Heathrow bosses are aiming to secure planning approval for the project by 2029, although the runway is not expected to become operational until 2039.
Political reactions
Mr Griffith will also tell his party's backers: "Countries on the rise have the best infrastructure and connectivity to the world, but our national hub airport is being held back.
"The next Conservative government will do whatever it takes to end the delays and boost capacity by backing the third runway."
Mr Burnham said Heathrow Airport's future was "a matter for London and Londoners" when he appeared on the BBC's Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme last week.
"I think it's right that we hear what people have said through the consultation and then consider the way forward from there," he said.
At a Politico fringe event in Liverpool, Ms Alexander said: "I think Andy's got an open mind."
She said the Prime Minister wanted to "listen to the views of communities", including "the communities most affected in London" and businesses.
She continued: "He'll be listening to the views of other airports."
Industry and opposition
Thomas Woldbye, chief executive of Heathrow Airport, said: "We welcome the growing 'can do' consensus behind Heathrow expansion and the Conservative leadership's recognition of the role we can play in driving growth across the UK.
"Heathrow and our investors stand ready to work with politicians from across the spectrum to finally get the third runway built."
The planned £49bn expansion would increase Heathrow's capacity to up to 756,000 flights and 150 million passengers a year.
But the project has faced fierce opposition from climate experts and London Mayor Sadiq Khan, who described the runway as an outdated risk "we simply cannot afford to take".
But Chancellor John Healey has insisted the economic case for expansion "stacks up", arguing that a third runway is vital to driving national economic growth.
