Radio presenter Nick Ferrari, 65, admitted he “might not be alive” in time to see plans for a third runway at to be implemented.
The Chancellor appeared live on Nick’s radio programme on Thursday (January 30), admitting the UK “can’t carry on like this” as she discussed the future plans.
Reeves said: “I absolutely understand that not everyone will support what I announced yesterday, I really do. But we can’t, as a country, keep saying no to big infrastructure investment.
“This is a nationally significant project that can increase our growth as a country, can help Great British businesses export all around the world, can help entrepreneurs wanting to access new markets.
“Heathrow is our only hub airport for the UK. 60% of freight goes from Heathrow, 70% of long-haul flights go to Heathrow. But we are missing out to airports in Amsterdam and Frankfurt where they have embraced expansion.
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Nick Ferrari fears he won’t be alive to see the first plane take off from the new runway (Image: LBC)
“We haven’t built a new runway in Britain since the 1940s. We can’t carry on like this. If we want to be a well-connected, global country then we need to make these investments and that is what this government is going to do.”
But after the interview, Nick reminded listeners: “You heard it here first. When asked when will the first plane take off from Heathrow runway three, the Chancellor told us on this day, January the 30th, 2025 ‘in 10 years’.
The Chancellor has announced plans for a third Heathrow runway (Image: Getty)
“Put it in your diary! Will I be here to celebrate it? Will I even be on earth to celebrate it? Who knows, but 2035… lift-off. Put your chairs in the upright position or whatever it is, stow your desks and trays and off we go, doors to manual, whatever.”
Nick has been candid about his health battles over the years, including a lifelong struggle with gynaecomastia. The star has had enlarged breast tissue since he was a teenager, and in 2019 had the fat frozen off his chest in a bold procedure.
He admitted to the Daily Mail: “From childhood, I’d always carried too many pounds, but, as I reached puberty, the fat suddenly raced to my chest. I had gynaecomastia — or, at least, that’s what medical dictionaries called it.