Oral Answers to Questions

David Warburton Excerpts

Wednesday 25th January 2017 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

We will be out around the world with the EU, America and other countries negotiating good free trade deals for this country that will bring prosperity to this country. The right hon. Gentleman wants to talk about Brexit, but I have to say to him that he is the leader of his party and he cannot even agree with his shadow Chancellor about Brexit. The shadow Chancellor cannot agree with the shadow Brexit Secretary, the shadow Brexit secretary disagrees with the shadow Home Secretary, and the shadow Home Secretary has to ring up the leader and tell him to change his mind. He talks about us standing up for Britain; they cannot speak for themselves and they will never speak for Britain.

[David Warburton (Somerton and Frome) (Con)]

Q3. On 27 December, another young woman lost her life driving through the west country on the A303. In the past decade, more than 1,000 people have been killed or injured on that road. For 40 years, Governments have promised to dual the lethal parts of the road where two lanes become three or three lanes become two, with no central reservation. The queues on the road are also legendary. I know that the Government are committed to an upgrade, but will the Prime Minister assure us that the proposed tunnel beneath Stonehenge will not hold up essential work elsewhere, and that we will soon see cones on the road and spades in the ground?

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend raises an important issue, and he is absolutely right to do that. I can assure him that we are working generally to improve the safety of our roads. He refers specifically to the issue of the A303 and to the tragic incident that happened on 27 December. We have committed to creating a dual carriageway on the A303 from the M3 to the M5. I understand that Highways England has recently launched a consultation into the route under Stonehenge, and my hon. Friend will want to look closely at that issue. This is all part of our £2 billion investment in road improvements that will improve connections in the south-west, but I can assure him that we have road safety at the forefront of our mind.