Business of the House

Leigh Ingham Excerpts

Thursday 2nd July 2026 Commons Chamber

[Sir Alan Campbell]

Yes, in short; I will ask the Secretary of State to ensure that MPs from the area, including the right hon. Gentleman, get the information that they seek. These are very tough decisions indeed. On the one hand, it is quite right that Opposition—and, indeed, Government—Members should call for greater expenditure on defence; that is why every Department has been asked to look at its spending commitments, including Transport. These are tough decisions, and I understand that they are frustrating and can have a big effect on local areas. I will seek a meeting for the right hon. Gentleman and local MPs, so that they can make their case to the relevant Minister.

[Leigh Ingham (Stafford) (Lab)]

The Leader of the House will know that I never miss an opportunity to raise the subject of the state of Staffordshire’s roads, but they may not have heard this variant before. Residents in Church Eaton have reported a sinkhole on their high street. I have seen it. Nobody seems able to get it filled in. It is on a main road, close to a primary school, and it has become something of a legend among local residents, to the extent that one constituent wrote a poem about it. Could the Leader of the House grant a debate on the condition of rural roads, so that we can get to the bottom of why repairs like this keep falling through the cracks?

[Sir Alan Campbell]

My hon. Friend has been a doughty campaigner for her constituents on the issue of local roads, and I pay tribute to her for that. Her constituents are rightly angry about this issue, and I expect better—well, perhaps I do not, but we ought to—from a Reform county council. I hope the council has heard my hon. Friend this morning. We are doubling investment in local road maintenance, and providing a record £7.3 billion boost for councils over the next four years. My advice to the council is this: the money is there—get on and use it.