U.K. Treasury chief Rachel Reeves says that the new Labour government is backing the construction of third runway at London’s Heathrow Airport.

Plans to expand London's other airports are already further along than Heathrow's and have in the past been viewed as an alternative to a third Heathrow runway. Work is set to start this year to expand capacity at Stansted's terminal. The government is due to make a decision on Gatwick airport by 27 February.

In a major growth speech in Oxfordshire, Reeves said that a third runway at London's Heathrow Airport was "badly needed," adding it would boost investment, support economic expans