An SNP MSP has urged John Swinney to “stop genuflecting to the Greens” and back a third runway for Heathrow.
Fergus Ewing said the First Minister “has got to be for it or against it”, rather than sitting on the fence.
The Inverness Nairn MSP had asked the FM to support the third runway at Holyrood last week, but Swinney refused to say whether he was in favour or not.
Ewing told the Record: “Obviously I think it would be foolish for us not to fully endorse the campaign for Heathrow expansion because our exports will benefit.
“We do not have the means to transport these goods in Scottish airports. We will always have to use Heathrow or Amsterdam. It is our best way of exporting our goods.
“It is time for the First Minister to be ‘full on John’. We need to stop genuflecting to the Greens, which is what he seemed to be doing the other day.
“He has got to be for it or against it. For years and years the SNP was for it under Alex Salmond. And then Nicola Sturgeon decided we would come out against it. It didn’t go down well with business. If he does back the third runway, he can start to forge a new path for the SNP and get business on side.”
Swinney dubbed himself “full-on John” in an interview last month as he vowed to fix Scotland’s public services.
Labour Chancellor Rachel Reeves said the Heathrow expansion will boost Scotland’s whisky and salmon industries. Salmon is the airport’s biggest export.
The SNP Government has so far been cagey and has not come out for or against the expansion. But Nationalist MP Pete Wishart said the move showed the Labour Government is “without a clue how to fix broken, Brexit Britain.”
Fellow SNP MP Graham Leadbitter said: “A Heathrow extension could have a positive impact on Scotland’s economy, potentially opening up new and exciting routes for some of our key exports, however that begs the question of why our Scottish exports rely so heavily on one London airport?”
Heathrow Airport is much bigger than any airport in Scotland. In 2023 the value of exports from Heathrow was £117 billion, compared to £187 million for Edinburgh Airport.
A Scottish Government spokesperson said last week:
“The decision to allow expansion at Heathrow Airport lies with the UK Government… However, Ministers need to better understand the wider economic impact of Heathrow expansion on Scotland – as any further centralisation of economic growth to the South East of England would be unacceptable. Enabling or supporting the expansion of any airport in the south of England must not make the potential for long haul growth to service Scotland’s trade, tourism or connectivity more challenging.”
To sign up to the Daily Record Politics newsletter, clickhere