Labour MPs will try to sidestep Jeremy Corbyn to back Heathrow third runway

Pro-expansion MPs frustrated by silence from party leader and his shadow Chancellor

Labour has failed to set out a clear policy on Heathrow expansion, party MPs say (Getty)

Rebel Labour MPs plan to try to bounce their party into backing a third runway at Heathrow Airport, even without the support of Jeremy Corbyn.

They will call a vote of all Labour MPs and peers on an aviation report drawn up by a group of backbenchers who sit on the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP) transport committee.

The report is said to endorse a third runway, ahead of the long-delayed Government announcement on whether to expand Heathrow or Gatwick, expected within weeks.

Gavin Shuker, the Luton South MP who chairs the transport committee, said he was deeply frustrated by Mr Corbyn’s failure to set out Labour’s position.

The leader’s key ally, shadow Chancellor John McDonnell, has a west London seat under the Heathrow flight path and has long been opposed to a new runway there.

If the tactic of forcing the vote works, it could be copied on other key policy areas, when reports are completed by the Labour committees shadowing other government departments.

Mr Shuker told the BBC: “On a number of key issues, on Syria, on Trident and otherwise, we have dodged the question the people have put to us about where we stand.

“You can’t just keep on going through the process of free votes and abstentions.

“People don’t know what we stand for and, if there isn’t going to be clear leadership on these issues, I don’t think that anyone should be surprised that – within the rules of the Labour party – we’re going to utilise those to make sure that we have a clear position.”

Most of the PLP committees are chaired by anti-Corbyn MPs, including former frontbenchers Chris Leslie, Caroline Flint, Tristram Hunt, John Woodcock and Emma Reynolds.

This month, it emerged that the Prime Minister Theresa May could seek to resolve her Heathrow headache through a “potential waiving of collective responsibility” – a free vote for her MPs.

Cabinet big-hitters Boris Johnson, the Foreign Secretary, and Education Secretary Justine Greening are among fierce opponents of expanding Heathrow.

Last year, the Davies Commission recommended the building of a third runway at Heathrow, but the Government announced further investigation into noise, pollution and compensation before a decision.

David Cameron was expected to announce which project would get the go-ahead after the EU referendum, but his resignation following the Brexit victory has left the decision for his successor, Mrs May.

Labour MPs and peers meet every Monday evening when Parliament is sitting, making it possible that the Heathrow vote will be staged before that Government announcement.