Business of the House

Andy MacNae Excerpts

Thursday 4th June 2026 Commons Chamber

[Sir Alan Campbell]

I cannot give the right hon. Gentleman that assurance to take back this evening, but I can assure him that if he wishes to raise that directly with Ministers, to put right a wrong, as he describes it, I will arrange a meeting.

I should have said this earlier; it was remiss of me not to do so: the shadow Leader of the House and I read out a long list of people who unfortunately have passed, and the common thread that runs through that list is public service. It is a remarkable list of people, and it is sad that sometimes it is only when we are reading out a list of people whose lives have ended that we recognise the importance of public service. There are lots of very, very good public servants out there doing a good job day in, day out, and I pay tribute to every one of them.

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

As we look forward to the Railways Bill, it is worth reminding the House that Rossendale remains the only local authority area in the north without any sort of commuter rail link, despite being only 15 miles from central Manchester. The line exists; it just needs reinstating as a commuter line. That would be a game changer for Rossendale and east Lancashire, and it is exactly the sort of project that would maximise the economic impact of Northern Powerhouse Rail, yet when Lancashire combined county authority published its transport implementation plan last month, the project was missing from the list. I find it incomprehensible. No explanation was offered. It feels like, once again, the leadership in Preston have forgotten us in Rossendale. Will the Leader of the House join me in calling on Lancashire combined county authority to think again, and agree to a debate on this specific topic?

[Sir Alan Campbell]

I am sure that those in Lancashire combined county authority will have heard my hon. Friend’s contribution. The Government are committed to delivering simpler, more reliable and better joined-up journeys for people across England, including in his area, and we have recently published our “Better Connected” strategy. I encourage him to keep up the pressure, and there are Transport questions next week.