Business of the House

Andy MacNae Excerpts

Thursday 20th November 2025 Commons Chamber

[Sir Alan Campbell]

I wish Jacques and all our athletes all the success in the world. We are very proud of them all. Sometimes funding is a major issue, but the Government are trying to put that right because we have great faith in our young people, and particularly the importance of sport in their lives. The hon. Lady might wish to call for a debate on these matters, and I am sure there are many others across the country who would be able to make similar points through their MPs.

[Andy MacNae (Rossendale and Darwen) (Lab)]

It is national Road Safety Week and soon the Government will unveil their much-anticipated road safety strategy. In my constituency, road safety is now the issue that is raised most often with me and our neighbourhood police, but when we raise these concerns with the Reform leadership at Lancashire county council, they consistently refuse to take action. The Reform policy is to wait for accidents to take place, stating that there need to be at least 10 collisions, of which 20% must have killed or seriously injured, before action is taken. This flies in the face of common sense and is an insult to our residents, who see close calls and near misses every day. We must listen to our communities. I have been calling on the leadership of Lancashire county council to work with me, but so far they have refused even to meet. Road safety should be above local politics, so will the Leader of the House agree to a debate in Government time on this important matter?

[Sir Alan Campbell]

I thank my hon. Friend for raising this question, which is timely, given that this is Road Safety Week, and I thank him for all the work he does on behalf of his constituents. Reform-led Lancashire county council comes up quite frequently. As I have said before, it appears that it has over-offered and is under-delivering. I find it astonishing that the leadership will not meet my hon. Friend, because whoever is leading in a local authority should be meeting with MPs. If they will not meet him, I am sure that a Transport Minister will do so.