INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Theresa May has asked all Conservative lawmakers to back her plan before the House of Commons on MondayLondon:
A junior minister in British Prime Minister Theresa May's government quit Thursday to vote against her plan to build a third runway at
London's Heathrow airport, which returns to parliament next week.Greg Hands represents a constituency in London, where there is strong
opposition to the expansion from residents who fear the extra noise and pollution caused by many more flights.May is demanding that all her
Conservative MPs back the plan when it finally comes before the House of Commons on Monday after years of debate.Hands, a member of the
international trade ministry, said he had written to the prime minister earlier in the week to explain that he must stand by an election
pledge to vote against the plan."As the government will be whipping the vote on Monday, this means I am resigning from the government," he
said on Twitter.Hands is one of several Conservative MPs opposed to Heathrow's expansion, among them Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson.A
former London mayor who now represents a constituency near Heathrow, Johnson once pledged to lie in front of bulldozers to stop
construction.The opposition Labour party is also divided on the issue and is allowing its MPs a free vote, although the motion is expected
to pass.(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by TheIndianSubcontinent staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
