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Government wins third runway vote Government wins third runway vote
(9 minutes later)
MPs have voted to support the government's controversial plans for a third runway at Heathrow, despite a rebellion by Labour backbenchers. The government has won a vote over its controversial plans for a third runway at Heathrow, after a rebellion by Labour backbenchers.
They rejected a Conservative motion calling for the £9bn scheme to be reconsidered, by 297 votes to 278 a majority of 19 votes. The Conservative motion urging ministers to "rethink" plans was defeated by just 19 votes - Labour has a working Commons majority of 63.
Up to 40 Labour MPs had been expected to vote against the government. The Lib Dems supported the move as did some Labour MPs who are unhappy at plans to expand the airport.
The Tories and Lib Dems oppose the plan but Labour says it will aid the economy and not breach environmental targets. More than 50 Labour MPs had previously expressed concerns about the plans.
Some are thought to have been won over by restrictions the government has promised on air quality and noise pollution, new carbon emission targets and a pledge to initially cap flights on the new runway.
'Devastating'
But the debate before the vote saw a series of angry protests from Labour backbenchers - including from Andrew Slaughter, the Ealing MP who resigned from his junior government post earlier to fight the plans.
And Labour MP John McDonnell, who was suspended from the Commons for five days after the last Heathrow debate for grabbing the ceremonial mace in protest, said his constituents regarded the announcement on a third runway as "devastating" and warned local people would not allow their communities to be bulldozed out of the way for it.
But Labour MP, Alan Keen, whose Feltham and Heston constituency neighbours Heathrow, said that despite opposing expansion he would vote against the motion because it was "party political".
Shadow transport secretary Theresa Villiers said she wanted a "better not bigger" Heathrow and said ministers had lost the argument over the economic case for expansion.
But Transport Secretary Geoff Hoon said the Tories' proposals lacked coherence, would do "serious damage" to Britain's economy and accused the party of "political opportunism of the lowest kind".
The government had refused to put the issue to a Commons vote, saying MPs never voted on "quasi judicial planning matters" and that the plans would have to go through the planning process.
But the Conservatives used their "opposition day debate" to put the issue to a vote.