In an exclusive interview with the Standard, SNP transport spokesman Drew Hendry declared the party was “neutral” between a third runway at Heathrow and a second at Gatwick.
The SNP would decide which airport to back after hearing how each would answer Scottish demands for cheaper ticket prices and guaranteed connections with international flights.
“That does not mean we do not care about environmental issues or the effect it would have on people locally,” he said. “Whatever decision must be made in the most balanced way.
“But my primary job is to represent the people of Scotland.”
The prospect of Scottish MPs acting as kingmakers on a decision affecting millions of resident and businesses in the South-East is bound to infuriate some Londoners, but Mr Hendry said Scottish interests were also at stake.
It will dismay bosses at Heathrow who thought the SNP’s support for a third runway was guaranteed.
Heathrow lobbyists have been pressing for a free vote at Westminster to settle the matter, in the belief that Scottish and Northern Irish MPs would automatically back them on the basis of better connections offered by the UK’s hub airport.
But Mr Hendry said he would be negotiating with both airports and with the Government on behalf of Scots. “We are absolutely neutral at the moment,” he said. “The Airports Commission report has given Heathrow the nod but it specifically did not rule out Gatwick either.” Setting out Scottish demands he said: “The key thing for us is that for too long Scotland has done pretty badly in terms of maintaining routes from regional airports, particularly Inverness and even Aberdeen.”
Ticket prices were routinely higher for Scots going abroad via London, he said: “The first thing we will be looking for is a fair deal in terms of onward flights. It is costing Scottish consumers much more per head. Onward connections are much more expensive — the prices are ridiculous.”
Asked if his stance should alarm west London residents worried about noise and air quality, he said: “We share common purpose. We want to make sure we get the best overall solution.”
The SNP did not want people to “suffer undue noise” and was concerned about keeping the country’s carbon footprint as low as possible.
But Zac Goldsmith, Conservative MP for Richmond Park and frontrunner to be his party’s mayoral candidate, warned SNP MPs would be “crossing the line in terms of our democracy” if a deal is struck for cheaper flights for Scottish travellers in return for votes.
Mark Field, Tory MP for the Cities of London and Westminster, argued that the SNP should abstain on a Westminster vote on locating a new runway in the South-East.@JoeMurphyLondon
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Number of votes and number of MPs
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The SNP obtained 1,454,436 votes at the May 2015 general election and they have 56 MPs.
The LibDems obtained 2,415,862 votes and they have 8 MPs.
UKIP obtained 3,881,099 votes and they have 1 MP.
The Greens obtained 1,157,613 votes and they have 1 MP.
Neither the LibDems, UKIP nor the Greens want a Heathrow runway. They had between them 7,454,574 votes. (By contrast, the SNP has 1,454,436 votes.)
And the SNP says it will be the deciding party in a vote on a runway??
Number of votes per MP
Just 25,970 voters on average elected each SNP MP.
Compared to 3.8 million voters for one UKIP MP.
And 1.1 million voters for one Green MP.
32,900 voters per English Conservative MP.
349,000 voters per Lib Dem MP.
and so on.
