The Commons voted in favour of a third runway at Heathrow Airport on Monday by 415 votes to 119.
The government has said that the expansion will create around 100,000 jobs and will be built at no extra cost to the taxpayer. Ministers have also said that Heathrow will be fined or flights will be grounded if certain environmental restrictions are broken.
The transport secretary, Chris Grayling, said that the expansion is necessary to provide “a clear path to our future as a global nation in the post-Brexit world”. The CBI described the outcome of the vote as “a truly historic decision that will open the doors to a new era in the UK’s global trading relationships”. However, the project has always faced opposition.
Greenpeace UK has said that it is ready to join forces with London Mayor Sadiq Khan and a group of London councils to launch a legal challenge.
One of the most outspoken opponents of the expansion plans, Boris Johnson, has been criticised for missing the vote to fly to Afghanistan on an official visit. Johnson has previously told his supporters that he would “lie down with you in front of those bulldozers and stop the building, stop the construction of that third runway”. Johnson said that calls for him to resign over his opposition of the plan would achieve “absolutely nothing”.
Eight Conservative MPs voted against the expansion: Justine Greening, Greg Hands, Adam Afriyie, Sir David Arness, Bob Blackman, Zac Goldsmith, Matthew Offord and Theresa Villiers. Other conservatives abstained or stayed away. Hands resigned from his position as trade minister so that he could vote against the expansion.
To find out how your MP voted, the BBC has produced a handy tool, which can be found here.
