Road Safety Strategy

John Slinger Excerpts

Thursday 8th January 2026 Commons Chamber

[Lilian Greenwood]

I thank my hon. Friend for raising this issue. The Minister for Roads and Buses, my hon. Friend the Member for Wakefield and Rothwell (Simon Lightwood), was listening carefully and will be happy to write to my hon. Friend or meet her to discuss it further.

[John Slinger (Rugby) (Lab)]

The hon. Member for Clacton (Nigel Farage) described the Government’s plans to reduce the blood alcohol limit as “absolutely ridiculous” and “wholly unacceptable”, and said that the current system worked “pretty effectively”. Does my hon. Friend the Minister agree that the families of the 260 people who tragically died last year as a result of intoxicated drivers’ behaviour would strongly disagree, and that we should reject those claims?

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Ms Nusrat Ghani)]

Let me just give colleagues a bit of guidance: if you are going to mention another Member in the Chamber, the protocol is to let them know in advance.

[John Slinger]

I did, Madam Deputy Speaker.

[Lilian Greenwood]

It is noticeable that the hon. Member for Clacton (Nigel Farage) is not here, but I would invite him to sit down with any of the families I have sat down with and claim that there is no need for action— 260 lives were lost last year, and every single one of those deaths was preventable.