Mike Kane MP: speeches

Speeches

• 25 Feb 2025 · Doncaster Sheffield Airport · Hansard source

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  Shakespeare said: “Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.” I think it is all three in the case of my hon. Friend the Member for Doncaster East and the Isle of Axholme (Lee Pitcher). As a Lancastrian, I am feeling rather intimidated by the line-up of Members on the Benches behind me, but thank God I have the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) on my side, even though he is sitting on the Opposition Benches. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Doncaster East and the Isle of Axholme on securing this important debate about the economic contribution of Doncaster Sheffield airport. I also congratulate him on being appointed as Labour’s utilities business champion. My hon. Friend has a great CV, from working his way up in the water industry to delivering logistics and infrastructure, so he knows what he is talking about when it comes to aviation infrastructure. He may be Mr Doncaster, but our hon. Friend the Member for Doncaster Central (Sally Jameson) is Mrs Doncaster. As the aviation Minister, I fear the Division Lobby some evenings, as I am rugby tackled day in, day out about getting Doncaster Sheffield airport reopened. My hon. Friends care about the future of the airport, their constituents and the wider South Yorkshire region. I have listened very carefully to the considered comments made by my hon. Friend the Member for Doncaster East and the Isle of Axholme, and by all the Members who contributed, and I will try to address most of them, but first I want to say a few words about Doncaster Sheffield airport. I know there was deep disappointment in South Yorkshire and beyond when the previous owners decided to close the airport at the end of 2022. That marked the end of a 17-year operation as a commercial airport, but before that it had a long and illustrious history as RAF Finningley. My hon. Friend mentioned Jean Lennox Bird, the first female RAF pilot in the UK. As we approach International Women’s Day, her contribution should not go unnoticed by the House. The airport was well regarded by the people and airlines that used it, and it was frequently rated by Which? magazine as the best airport in the UK, with excellent customer service and passenger experience. Passenger numbers were continuing to grow prior to the pandemic, with more than 1.4 million passengers in 2019. From my many discussions with hon. Members from Doncaster and the Doncaster area—quite a few of them are sitting around me tonight—I know that its closure was deeply felt by the local community. I understand that the “Save Doncaster Sheffield airport” petition has had more than 100,000 signatures, which is impressive. I am pleased to hear about the progress made in the airport’s reopening and the benefits that could bring, which I will come to shortly, but I want to set out the importance of aviation for the growth and prosperity of the nation. Madam Deputy Speaker, you know that I grew up under an aviation runway in my home constituency of Wythenshawe and Sale East. Going to Manchester airport as a child and seeing the BAC One-Elevens, the Tridents and the Concordes, and even the space shuttle doing a low pass on the back of a jumbo jet in the mid-1980s, was inspirational for me, as it is for so many people as a career for the future. As we keep saying, growth is this Government’s No. 1 priority. In her recent speech, the Chancellor was clear about the importance of the aviation sector in enabling that economic growth. Her speech invited proposals for a third runway at Heathrow and announced a new partnership between Prologis and East Midlands airport to build a new advanced manufacturing park, unlocking £1 billion in investment and jobs. That is a clear demonstration of how aviation can contribute significantly to the economy, through being a key enabler of international trade, investments and connectivity. Aviation is also a major employer in its own right, as I see in my own constituency. In 2022, the air transport and aerospace sectors alone directly provided around 240,000 jobs across the UK, providing opportunities in every part of the country. Overall, in 2023 the air transport and aerospace sectors directly contributed over £20 billion to UK GDP. That is why aviation is a key component of the Government’s transport strategy, enabling economic growth and connectivity, and investing in sustainability by connecting people, places and business. Regional airports such as Doncaster Sheffield airport have an important role to play. They serve our local communities—people are proud of them—and they serve business by supporting thousands of jobs in the regions and acting as a gateway to international opportunities, whether that is a family holiday or supporting major investment decisions. They also provide important connectivity, helping to connect communities across the UK and the wider world. I have been interested in hearing about the South Yorkshire airport city vision, which has the reopened airport at its heart. It is proposed that a reopened Doncaster Sheffield airport could help to raise economic and social wellbeing in Doncaster, delivering employment and facilitating wider development, which could help to unlock growth for South Yorkshire. As my hon. Friend the Member for Doncaster East and the Isle of Axholme said, the council’s business case indicates that the airport’s reopening and wider development has the potential to support more than 5,000 direct jobs, boost the economy by £5 billion and provide wider welfare benefits of £2 billion by 2050. I welcome the efforts of the council and the Mayors of Doncaster and of South Yorkshire to secure the future of the airport and the economic opportunities for the region. Significant progress has already been made, with the agreement of City of Doncaster council to lease the airport. The return of aviation activities in December last year was an important milestone, as was mentioned, as 2Excel landed the first aircraft there in three years. As the aviation Minister, I add my thanks and congratulations to it for sticking with the airport. As my hon. Friend said, another important milestone was reached earlier this month, as Munich Airport International was appointed by City of Doncaster council to help to progress the airport’s reopening. There will be many more milestones and many more challenges, but, as the Chancellor set out in her recent speech, this Government will work with City of Doncaster council and the Mayor of South Yorkshire to support their efforts to reopen Doncaster Sheffield airport as a thriving regional airport. As well as the airport, this Government are committed to supporting all modes of travel in the region to support the local economy. Last November, South Yorkshire was allocated £17 million-worth of bus improvement plans and funding to support bus services. Just last week, the Mayor of South Yorkshire was informed that he would receive more than £5 million in the next financial year to invest in active travel, which is in addition to almost £9 million for South Yorkshire. In January, the Department announced funding for low-emission vehicles as part of the levy funding, as well as funding for zero-emission buses, proving the Government’s commitment to decarbonisation. The South Yorkshire mayoral combined authority received £8.4 million of funding from the ZEBRA 1 programme for 27 electric buses and charging infrastructure. Furthermore, the Government are progressing planning and design work to support future delivery of our plans for northern rail connectivity, and we will set out details in due course. That will inform the work being undertaken, such as the development of Rotherham mainline station. I am also pleased to support South Yorkshire’s local transport priorities with an investment of £570 million through the city region sustainable transport settlements programme. That is a five-year deal with £5.7 billion of Government investment to improve the transport networks of eight city regions across the UK. As part of our commitment to local transport, we announced in the autumn Budget that we will uplift funds and funding nationally in this area in 2025-26 by £200 million, helping to improve the local transport in our largest city regions and drive growth and productivity across the country. I mention that because transport is a rich tapestry, and having an airport as a hub is important. We know that the destinations that airports reach are dependent on public transport penetration time of within an hour, so improving public transport and active travel in this area will help Doncaster Sheffield airport to reach the markets it wants to reach in the future. My hon. Friend the Member for Doncaster East and the Isle of Axholme also spoke about airspace at Doncaster Sheffield airport. Airspace modernisation is one of our manifesto commitments, and the Government are committed to its delivery. It remains a key aviation priority for the Department, which aims to deliver quicker, quieter and cleaner journeys to benefit those who use and are affected by UK airspace. We have seen great progress in airspace modernisation in the north, with airports now preparing for their public consultations. I know that officials and the Civil Aviation Authority will be working tirelessly to make sure that we reopen that airspace in the interests of Doncaster Sheffield airport. Again, I congratulate my hon. Friend on securing this debate, which has been an opportunity for hon. Members to highlight the importance of Doncaster Sheffield airport to their constituents and regions. My officials and I look forward to continuing engagement with both South Yorkshire combined authority and City of Doncaster council to support their efforts to reopen this airport. Question put and agreed to.

• 13 Feb 2025 · Regional Airports · Hansard source

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  As my hon. Friend says, freight is hugely important for growth. That is why the Chancellor recently announced plans to build a new advanced manufacturing and logistics park at East Midlands airport, which will unlock up to £1 billion of investment and 2,000 jobs on the site.

• 13 Feb 2025 · Regional Airports · Hansard source

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  This Government are committed to growth, which regional airports support by serving their local communities, creating jobs, and acting as gateways to international opportunities. Heathrow expansion could give more regions access to a bigger international network through their local airports, thus boosting productivity further.

• 13 Feb 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  The right hon. Member raises an important point. The resilience of the UK aviation sector is important, and key to its success, so we will facilitate any discussions to make sure we are always on an improvement trajectory.

• 13 Feb 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  The Government are committed to regional airports. I am proudly wearing my “Yes to R2” badge from when we built a second runway at Manchester airport in 2001. The position is quite the opposite of what my hon. Friend describes: under the 2018 airports national policy statement, the number of connections from Heathrow to regional airports was expected to increase if Heathrow expanded, increasing productivity in those regions.

• 13 Feb 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  The airports national policy statement from 2018, which was two Governments ago, made it clear that any proposal—we have not had a proposal come forward—should treat surface access appropriately, and that should be funded by the private sector where possible.

• 13 Feb 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  This was a policy cooked up by the Valuation Office Agency under His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs by the last Government. We have engaged with airports on this matter and asked them to continue to engage with the Valuation Office Agency.

• 28 Jan 2025 · Airport Expansion · Hansard source

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  What a breath of fresh air my hon. Friend was in his by-election, and he is now on these Benches, campaigning for his airport in Blackpool. I am really looking forward to visiting the airport and to my night out there—I hope that will come with fish and chips on the prom, as well.

• 28 Jan 2025 · Airport Expansion · Hansard source

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  That is the problem when a new Member is called last, but he is agile—mentally on his feet—to get that in. We are investing in hydrogen zero-emission technology, with £1 billion for the ATI. I hope the hon. Gentleman is sat on the Opposition Benches in the months ahead when we implement the revenue certainty mechanisms, so we can kickstart a new age of SAF production in the UK that will bring jobs and growth right across our great country.

• 28 Jan 2025 · Airport Expansion · Hansard source

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  There has been a lot of AI news in the press today. I say gently to the right hon. Gentleman that I grew up under a flightpath in my home town in Wythenshawe and Sale East. I grew up under the BAC-111s, the Tridents, the Concordes and the Guppys. [ Interruption. ] I see that my hon. Friend the Member for Manchester Withington (Jeff Smith) agrees with me. I remember how dirty, noisy and smelly those planes were. Technology has come forward leaps and bounds, and the noise envelope around most of our airports has reduced considerably. Through our investments, we hope to improve the technology further under this Government and the next.

• 28 Jan 2025 · Airport Expansion · Hansard source

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  I support the Chancellor’s pursuit of growth. For too long, we have been stagnant, and we know that this area can provide growth. I have seen that in my constituency, as I have pointed out. Where was the hon. Member when we talked about sustainable aviation fuels? Where was she when we committed £63 million to the advanced fuels fund to help the SAF industry grow in this country? We have announced £1 billion for the Aerospace Technology Institute to look at zero emission flights. Would it not be great if, one day, a Minister could stand here and say that all internal flights will be zero-emission? I want to leave my successor, whoever they are, the opportunity to say that within the next decade.

• 28 Jan 2025 · Airport Expansion · Hansard source

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  Sustainable aviation fuel is vital to meeting our climate targets. I commend Manchester Airports Group, which includes Stansted and East Midlands, and Manchester in my own constituency, on its work to decarbonise. It is ahead of the game. It flies one in six people in and out of the UK. When it gets it right, that represents a huge emissions reduction.

• 28 Jan 2025 · Airport Expansion · Hansard source

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  I know that the hon. Member feels passionately about the issue of airport expansion, but I would like to make it clear that the press stories that have generated this urgent question are speculative and I cannot comment on their contents— [ Interruption. ] But we do have a world-class aviation sector in the UK. The Government are committed to securing the long-term future of the aviation sector, and we recognise the benefits of the connectivity it creates between the UK and the rest of the world. It is a sector that I am incredibly proud of. In 2022 the air transport and aerospace sectors directly provided around 240,000 jobs in the UK, of which just under 1,000 were in aerospace. In 2023 the air transport and aerospace sectors directly contributed around £25 billion to gross domestic product, of which around £14 billion was from the air transport sector and around £11 billion was from aerospace. We have been clear that any airport expansion proposals would need to demonstrate that they contribute to economic growth, are compatible with the UK’s legally binding climate change commitments, and meet strict environmental standards on airport quality and noise pollution. There is currently no live development consent order application for a third runway at Heathrow airport, and it is for a scheme promoter to decide how it takes forward any development consent order application for that runway. The Government would carefully consider any development consent order application for the third runway at Heathrow, in line with relevant planning processes. The Secretary of State is currently considering advice on Luton airport and Gatwick airport expansions. As these are live applications, I cannot comment on them further today. I understand the concerns of many Members of the House about how airport expansion may be compatible with our climate change targets. I would like to assure them that the Government have committed to delivering greener transport through sustainable aviation fuel and airspace modernisation. This will help meet the UK’s net zero targets, and it supports the Government’s mission to make Britain a clean energy superpower. Airport expansion will need to be considered carefully alongside these commitments.

• 28 Jan 2025 · Airport Expansion · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for his chairmanship of the Environmental Audit Committee, of which I was a proud member for many years, looking at the circular economy, which this Government are taking forward. The Government have committed to delivering greener transport, including through SAF, airspace modernisation and the other measures that I laid out. I am proud of that range of measures. The Front-Bench across this Department are decarbonising the transport sector further and faster in the first six months of this Government than in 14 years of the last.

• 28 Jan 2025 · Airport Expansion · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend is exactly right. Our four tests remain, and they have to be passed. Again, we are speculating that a development consent order will come before us. I am sure that he, as a doughty campaigner for his constituents, will make his voice heard.

• 28 Jan 2025 · Airport Expansion · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Gentleman for his considered approach in all these matters. I was pleased to receive him at the Department the other day to talk about a particular constituency issue that related to Gatwick. We do not have a development consent order, but noise and pollution are the tests to meet our climate commitments, and they will remain the tests. It will be up to the Chair of the Transport Committee, my hon. Friend the Member for Brentford and Isleworth (Ruth Cadbury), and Members across this House to hold the Government’s feet to the fire on this matter.

• 28 Jan 2025 · Airport Expansion · Hansard source

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  I think it was Woody Allen who said that 80% of success in life is turning up, and I must gently ask once again where the hon. Gentleman was when we were introducing the sustainable aviation mandate in this House. I hope he will be here when we introduce the revenue support mechanism in the months ahead and decarbonise our aviation sector. I think people have the right to go on holiday at least once a year, to do business across the planet and to visit friends and family. I am not sure what the hon. Gentleman’s policies are. If he wants to send them to me, I will put them on one of my Labour roses.

• 28 Jan 2025 · Airport Expansion · Hansard source

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  I say again what I said earlier: capacity in London is at 76% on average, and at 95% at Gatwick and Heathrow. What is the Liberal Democrat answer to that? Do we not want people to fly across the world to bang the drum for British business? Do we not want them to visit their friends and family? Are the Liberal Democrats for constraining people’s flying? There are a lot of questions, but no answers from Liberal Democrat Members.

• 28 Jan 2025 · Airport Expansion · Hansard source

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  I have to say, my hon. Friend is so tenacious on this matter that I sometimes go pale when I meet her in the Division Lobby, because every day she asks after it. She is such a campaigner on it. I saw her go around party conference lobbying the industry and airlines to do what her constituents sent her to Parliament to do and to try to come up with a solution for her local airport. I can only commend her tenacity to the House.

• 28 Jan 2025 · Airport Expansion · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend is exactly right. Those tests must be met, including through the development consent order. Just for the record, I voted for the framework in 2018, because I thought that it passed those tests.

• 28 Jan 2025 · Airport Expansion · Hansard source

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  My right hon. Friend is a doughty campaigner for his constituents, but there is no DCO at the moment and we do not know the impact—that will be a matter for Heathrow or a third party to bring forward. I would like to hear a more full-throated support for our airspace modernisation plan, which will improve resilience, capacity and flexibility when it comes to aircraft noise over affected communities. When it comes to growth, my constituency, as you well know, Mr Speaker, has seen £2 billion of the Manchester MIX scheme at Manchester airport, with the development of the Hut Group and the most advanced Amazon fulfilment centre on the planet. We know that aviation brings growth and jobs. We know that there is a trade-off to be had, and we will have those conversations if a development consent order is brought before us.

• 28 Jan 2025 · Airport Expansion · Hansard source

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  I could not agree more with the right hon. Member, though it pains me to say it. We have five great northern runways stretching from John Lennon to Manchester, Leeds Bradford and Newcastle, and we should be focusing on regional connectivity in particular. On Leeds Bradford, my recollection is that because of the lack of decision making by the last Government, confidence was lost in its development. Let us see if we can get a framework for improving connectivity at Leeds Bradford, including for those in the constituency of the Under-Secretary of State for Transport, my hon. Friend the Member for Wakefield and Rothwell (Simon Lightwood).

• 28 Jan 2025 · Airport Expansion · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for his support for growth at our ports, which includes our maritime ports. There is £63 million for the advanced fuels fund and £1 billion for the Aerospace Technology Institute to look at net zero emissions. We have already introduced—it was almost the Government’s first act out of the gate; it came into force on 1 January—the SAF mandate, so this year 2% of all fuel will have to be from a sustainable source, and we will shortly legislate on the revenue certainty mechanism to kick-start the SAF industry in the UK. The Government could not have done more in the six months we have had in office.

• 28 Jan 2025 · Airport Expansion · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Lady for her question, but I do not think I will take any lectures from Liberal Democrat Members about sitting on the fence. Theirs is the politics of licking their finger, putting it in the air to see which way the wind is blowing, and then putting it in a leaflet. There is no development consent order for Heathrow yet. I am sure the hon. Lady will have her opportunity to raise her concerns at a later date in this place.

• 28 Jan 2025 · Airport Expansion · Hansard source

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  Well, the brass neck! The last Government crashed the economy, sending mortgages through the roof, and called an early election to avoid having to make difficult decisions. Transport policy should be enabling growth as a priority in this country, so that we can bring about the change that the British people voted for. For 14 years we had a Government who had become so sclerotic in aviation, and indeed maritime—that is also part of my brief—that no decisions were brought forward on decarbonising the maritime or aviation sectors, or making the difficult decisions that this country needs to make. As the hon. Member rightly says, there is currently no development consent order before us, and that is for Heathrow or a related party to bring forward.