Oral Answers to Questions

Mark Menzies Excerpts

Wednesday 24th January 2024 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I do not want to see anyone reliant on food banks, but while they are in place I have nothing but praise and thanks for the people who run them. However, it is wrong to say we are not making progress. When I came into this job, inflation was running at 11%, which has had the single biggest impact on families’ cost of living. Now, thanks to the efforts of this Government—most of them opposed by the hon. Gentleman’s party—inflation has been more than halved, at 4%, and we are combining that with significant tax cuts to put more money into people’s bank accounts at the end of every month. That is the right way to go about supporting people, combined with our extensive cost of living support for the most vulnerable. All the statistics show that that support has helped and has made a difference, and that is what you get with responsible management of the British economy.

[Mark Menzies (Fylde) (Con)]

Q15. In November I held an Adjournment debate on the south Fylde line and the need for a passing loop to double its hourly service and increase resilience against the delays and cancellations which again caused misery for travellers over Christmas. The assurances that I received from the Rail Minister built on the positivity generated by the reallocation of HS2 funds. Since then progress has been desperately slow, and my efforts to advance this critical piece of infrastructure for the people of Fylde have been frustrated. Will the Prime Minister meet me to discuss how the Government can help to get the south Fylde line back on track?

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend is correct: local transport projects are and must be prioritised, and every region of our country will have more transport investment as a result of the decision that we made on HS2. Work is under way to consider potential upgrades to the west coast main line, including improvements at Preston station which may support additional local services from south Fylde. I know that the Rail Minister is considering these options carefully as we speak, and will update my hon. Friend in due course.