According to this article the recent change in government will mean that plans for a new runway at Heathrow will be scrapped. It looked at though the new runway would have gone ahead under the Labour government with Gordon Brown saying it was needed for economic reasons. Councils, residents and green groups has all opposed the expansion and it seems the new coalition government agrees with them. It has cancelled the plans for the new runway as part of a joint Conservative Liberal Democrat policy agreement. The new government has also said it will refuse any plans for new runways at Gatwick and Stansted. It is not yet clear whether there will be alternative plans to increase the capacity of Britain's airports but the Conservatives are thought be considering the option of a high speed rail link to and from Heathrow.