Mike Kane MP: speeches 2025

Speeches

• 28 Jan 2025 · Airport Expansion · Hansard source

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  I cannot comment on the third runway because there is no development consent order before us, but the hon. Lady makes an extraordinarily valid point about noise. That is why the Liberal Democrats should get behind us and support airspace modernisation. We have an analogue system in a digital age, which was designed more for the days when Yuri Gagarin went into space than for today. We can give people under flightpaths more choice in future by differentiation, if we have a better system of airspace modernisation.

• 28 Jan 2025 · Airport Expansion · Hansard source

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  I think that that involves fixing the problems with Eurostar. We are seeing others coming into that market, and European Union colleagues are running overnight long-distance train services, which are reducing the need for aviation across the continent and reducing carbon. We should be ambitious as a country that we can tap into that network. The right hon. Gentleman is right on this matter.

• 28 Jan 2025 · Airport Expansion · Hansard source

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  I am generally very grateful for the Liberal Democrats’ support for airspace modernisation. It is complicated and difficult. We are throwing our hat over the wall in trying to reach it. It will be easier in certain parts of our country than others, but we have already taken action. We set up the airspace modernisation design service. We are bringing the best and the brightest together. If we can make the planes fly in a straight line, we will use less carbon. It is the lowest of low-hanging fruit for carbon reduction in the aviation sector, and we are moving at pace on it.

• 28 Jan 2025 · Airport Expansion · Hansard source

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  Without a doubt. People are proud of their airports. Mine was 80 years old a few years ago, and I saw people turn up in droves to show their pride in aviation in this country. I felt sorry for the people of Doncaster, Sheffield and the environs when they lost their airport. I commend the mayor, the council and the local MPs who have lobbied me relentlessly on this matter. The council now has a deal with the operator, and the first flight took off very recently. I wish them every luck with it, and they will have my full backing to do what needs to be done.

• 28 Jan 2025 · Airport Expansion · Hansard source

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  There is no DCO currently. If one comes forward, I am sure that the right hon. Gentleman will make his voice heard.

• 28 Jan 2025 · Airport Expansion · Hansard source

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  I have spoken to the right hon. Member about Manston in opposition and in government. We wait to see what will be brought forward there, but it could be an exciting opportunity, particularly for cargo; we could have zero emission vessels shipping content into the port of London. We will wait and see whether the airport comes with a development consent order, and we will judge that on its merits.

• 28 Jan 2025 · Airport Expansion · Hansard source

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  Well, the Conservatives built a road, but it just floods all the time—maybe we can start by dealing with that. The hon. Lady is right that Manchester airport is in my constituency. Mine is actually the most visited constituency in the north of England; in fact, 30 million people visited it last year alone, although they may not have stayed as long as I would have liked. The airport has been on an incredible journey, especially with its decarbonisation. I hope to meet the airport operators shortly to continue that journey with them.

• 28 Jan 2025 · Airport Expansion · Hansard source

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  I am hearing that Members on the Liberal Democrat Benches are against wealthy people and against our constituents flying, in some cases. There is no bigger champion of active travel in this House than me—except for my ministerial colleague, my hon. Friend the Member for Wakefield and Rothwell—and I hope to do a lot more on that when it comes to ports and airports. All people, regardless of their income, should have a choice about how they get around. We had a broken system over the past 14 years, which meant people had no choice. Now, they are getting better buses, their potholes are fixed, and we are investing more in active travel than ever before.

• 28 Jan 2025 · Airport Expansion · Hansard source

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  The hon. Member is such a doughty campaigner that I think he had an urgent question in the House a few weeks ago when his plane was cancelled! “Well done,” is all I can say. That day we had a really good question and answer session on connectivity in Northern Ireland. We have two great airports in Belfast, and Derry/Londonderry’s airport serves the north-west. His first question is about planes flying in a straight line—an obscure piece of policy, which is in our manifesto, called airspace modernisation. We can cut up to 10%, 20% and, I am told in the case of some easyJet flights, even 30% of carbon emissions by just getting planes to go in a reasonably straight line and not circle around. It introduces resilience at airports and makes the passenger experience much better. I hope those on the Opposition Benches will support the policy when it comes to this place.

• 28 Jan 2025 · Airport Expansion · Hansard source

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  We have made tough decisions about the phasing out of internal combustion engines up to 2030. When I visited Newcastle airport, I saw a wonderful operation—it is also producing solar energy to power its operation. We need better connectivity between Newcastle and London, and I have raised that with carriers. If we are to develop our offshore wind, carbon capture and green energy technology, it must be linked up with the cruise industry, Newcastle airport and the great north-east coast that provides so many jobs, services and industries for people across our nation.

• 28 Jan 2025 · Airport Expansion · Hansard source

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  That last one floored me ever so slightly. “Delphic”, the hon. Member says—or ambiguous and obscure, which is slightly like Liberal Democrat policies on aviation. They are one foot in, one foot out, shake it all about. They say one thing to one community under a flightpath, and another thing about jobs to another community under a flightpath. Whatever I say will end up on the Focus leaflets, but they cannot have it both ways. They cannot support growth, jobs, airspace modernisation and sustainable aviation fuels and then say to their constituents, “Look what this terrible Government are doing.” We have a firm plan for aviation in this country, and we are going to carry it out.

• 28 Jan 2025 · Airport Expansion · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend is absolutely right. He is a very good campaigner for his local airport and for the public service obligation flights out of that airport. Not making these tough decisions does not mean there is no carbon—it simply means that customers vote with their feet and go to Schiphol, Frankfurt or Charles de Gaulle to hub out to their destinations. We have to look at things in the round when we are talking about decarbonising the UK aviation sector.

• 28 Jan 2025 · Airport Expansion · Hansard source

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  Airports near the hon. Member’s constituency will have a key part to play for workers across our nation with respect to the decarbonisation agenda and sustainable fuels, because Immingham sits within his constituency. That will be key to the UK’s plans to decarbonise our economy, along with good rail connectivity. Airports are a market within the private sector—planes want to go to particular places—but if we can expand and grow our economy across all our regions, as we hope to, I hope that this will be a golden age for all our airports.

• 28 Jan 2025 · Airport Expansion · Hansard source

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  I thank the Chair of the Transport Committee for her question. The airports national planning framework under the last Government has not been updated for some time, and we will shortly bring forward proposals to do that as part of our package. While there is currently no development consent application for Heathrow, we have been clear that expansion proposals would need to demonstrate that they contribute to economic growth, are compatible with our climate change targets, and meet strict environmental standards for air quality and noise pollution—the four tests.

• 28 Jan 2025 · Airport Expansion · Hansard source

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  I am grateful to my hon. Friend for his question and, even from this Lancastrian, for his chairmanship of the APPG for Yorkshire. I will say a couple of things. We have five great northern runways, and we need to begin to improve their capacity and connectivity. That is key to regional economic growth. Hopefully, whoever comes forward with the DCO for Heathrow will, as they have in the past, look at spreading the wealth and at logistic hubs right not just around our country, but Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

• 28 Jan 2025 · Airport Expansion · Hansard source

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  I cannot agree more. The Government’s defined mission will be growth. The aviation sector is one where we can grow the economy, because it provides the connectivity and the high-skilled, trade unionised jobs that support families and careers right across our country.

• 28 Jan 2025 · Airport Expansion · Hansard source

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  I can assure the hon. Gentleman of that. SAF was stuck in the muck under the last Government; we waited years for announcements, and we have done more on that in six months than Tory Administrations did in 14 years. We are investing in cleaning up aviation fuel and funding technology on contrails, so that the air people breathe is always as clean as we can make it.

• 28 Jan 2025 · Airport Expansion · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Member. She is actually right, and well done to her for being there during the SAF debate and supporting the Government. At the moment, the technology does not exist to fully decarbonise aviation. We are looking at hydrogen, we have the advanced fuels fund and we are investing £1 billion in the ATI, but, as the Prime Minister announced recently when he went to Merseyside, we are investing billions in carbon capture and other technology to offset those emissions. That is what we will have to do in the near future, but I envisage a day when we will have aircraft in our skies, particularly internally in the UK, with zero emissions coming out of their tailpipes.

• 28 Jan 2025 · Airport Expansion · Hansard source

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  I re-emphasise that there is no development consent order for Heathrow at the moment. We know that for all airports, surface access is essential. The public transport penetration rate within an hour is key to the markets that airports can access from across the planet to support their growth. We have a world-class transport system in the south-east, but in any development consent order, Heathrow or its related parties will have to prove how we can get new people to that site.

• 28 Jan 2025 · Airport Expansion · Hansard source

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  I agree. As I have said, airports that make the right decisions in the next few years on improving the airspace and improving their connectivity through surface access all have the potential to grow like my airport has grown exponentially. I urge Members to get behind their airports and support their growth and decarbonisation agendas.

• 28 Jan 2025 · Airport Expansion · Hansard source

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  There is always a trade-off to be had, if applications come forward, between noise, carbon and growing our economy. We recognise that Heathrow has operated at over 95% capacity for most of the past two decades, which has presented limited opportunities for growth in route networks and passenger numbers. We live in an interconnected world, where people want to visit their family members and do business across our planet. This Government have moved faster in the first six months than the previous Government did in 14 years, by introducing the sustainable aviation fuel mandate, so that 2% of all fuel sourced from 1 January this year must come from a renewable source. Where was the hon. Member when we introduced that in this House? It is one of the most forward-thinking, sustainable measures that we have brought to this place. In the next few months, as part of His Majesty’s legislative agenda, we will be introducing the revenue certainty mechanism to create a world-class SAF industry here in the UK. I hope to see the hon. Member supporting the Government from the opposition Benches as we clean up our transport sector, our aviation sector and our economy as a whole.

• 27 Jan 2025 · Draft Airports Slot Allocation (Alleviation of Usage Requirements etc.) Regulations 2025 · Hansard source

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  I beg to move, That the Committee has considered the draft Airports Slot Allocation (Alleviation of Usage Requirements etc.) Regulations 2025. It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms McVey—as constituency neighbours, we share runway 2 between us. In fact, I was on speed dial with your predecessor and another neighbour, the former Chair of the 1922 Committee—I was probably the most powerful Back-Bench Labour MP in the place at the time. I thought that would get more of a rise—

• 27 Jan 2025 · Draft Airports Slot Allocation (Alleviation of Usage Requirements etc.) Regulations 2025 · Hansard source

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  I thank hon. Members for being here for the consideration of the draft regulations. Let me respond to the hon. Member for Orpington, in particular, by saying that the Department will write to industry and stakeholders now to make them aware of the provisions that are coming into force. The airport slot co-ordinator will take into account the new entrants as part of the co-ordination activities for winter 2025. There is no indication of a pandemic, but the hon. Member is right that we do not know what is around the corner. There are press reports today of bird flu in the UK, and we have seen reports of monkeypox. As he rightly said, the regulations will help with resilience. We will monitor the legislation and ensure that it is implemented is through the course of normal activity within the Department. In response to the hon. Member for South Antrim, let me say that when the measures providing slot alleviation because of covid-19 were introduced, they did not apply to Northern Ireland. There were no slot co-ordinated airports there, and because the measures were temporary and lasted for six months—or one scheduling session—at a time, after which they needed to be reviewed, the Northern Ireland authorities were happy with that approach. However, the position is now different. The new measures are permanent, and it made sense to apply them throughout the whole of the UK.

• 27 Jan 2025 · Draft Airports Slot Allocation (Alleviation of Usage Requirements etc.) Regulations 2025 · Hansard source

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  Thank you. Let’s get down to business. The regulations will be made under powers conferred by the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Act 2023, also known as the REUL Act. The regulations amend Council Regulation (EEC) No. 95/93, which sets out the rules for the allocation of airport slots. Slot allocation rules apply only in co-ordinated airports where capacity at the airport is unable to meet demand for slots. There are now nine airports covered by these rules, including London City, Gatwick, Heathrow and London Stansted, as well as Birmingham, Bristol, Leeds Bradford and Manchester. The regulations will update the definition of a new entrant carrier—or airlines as they are known—for slot allocation purposes. That will allow air carriers with a small presence at a co-ordinated airport the opportunity to benefit from greater priority when it comes to the allocation of airport slots. The change aligns UK regulations with international guidelines and has the potential to provide more choice for consumers in terms of route, destinations and carriers. In addition, the regulations will amend assimilated EU law to enable the UK to respond in the event of a pandemic, epidemic or other outbreak of disease, such as the covid-19 epidemic. It will remove the need for emergency legislation to provide alleviation from slot usage rules, as was the case during covid-19. That will protect consumers, the environment, and the aviation sector. The draft statutory instrument will amend regulation 95/93 to change the definition of a new entrant carrier. The purpose of the new entrant rule is to stimulate competition. New entrant carriers are given priority in the allocation of slots, as the regulation requires that 50% of slots shall first be allocated to new entrants. Currently, an air carrier is a new entrant if it has fewer than five slots at an airport on a given day. Under these regulations, a new entrant is defined as a carrier that holds fewer than seven slots at airports. The update is designed to enhance the presence of new entrant carriers at slot co-ordinated airports. The instrument will also build on previous regulations that provided carriers with slot alleviation during the covid-19 pandemic. It will introduce a permanent provision for carriers to obtain slot alleviation where there are Government-imposed measures relating to a pandemic, epidemic or other outbreak of disease. Consequently, it will simplify the process by which an event such as covid-19 can be managed for slot co-ordination purposes. The provisions were subject to consultation with the aviation sector in 2023, and received strong support from across the industry. In the regulations, the Government have recognised the need to update the definition of a new entrant, and to provide additional reasons for allowing alleviation from slot usage rules. I commend them to the Committee.

• 27 Jan 2025 · Draft Airports Slot Allocation (Alleviation of Usage Requirements etc.) Regulations 2025 · Hansard source

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  That is great, and I am sure that if the Minister in Northern Ireland is not happy then the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) will ask an urgent question in the House before we know it. I thank Members again for their consideration and for their questions. To conclude, the regulations will make two permanent changes to regulation 95/93, as the hon. Member for Orpington said, reducing barriers to entry at UK airports and making the slot allocation system more resilient. They are putting the UK on the front foot, and ensuring we build on the lessons learnt from covid-19. Question put and agreed to.