East Midlands: Local Authorities and Economic Growth Debate
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Natalie Fleet
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East Midlands: Local Authorities and Economic Growth
Natalie Fleet Excerpts(6 days, 9 hours ago)
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Natalie Fleet (Bolsover) (Lab)
I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Gedling (Michael Payne) for securing this debate. I can assure him that potholes are as bad in Conservative-run Derbyshire as they are in Nottinghamshire.
Our area has been shut out of the conversation around economic growth for too long. I am excited to see the change with a Labour East Midlands Mayor and a Labour Government, who recently confirmed £15 million for Bolsover district council. That will see eight projects delivered to boost business and tourism across Pinxton, Shirebrook and Bolsover.
However, one area desperately needs investment so that we can unlock our economic potential: transport. Some 80% of residents in Bolsover live in transport-related social exclusion. That compares with 18% of residents across England. It is the second-highest figure in the whole country. From South Normanton to Barlborough, transport issues affect growth and have a huge impact on everyday life. People in Clowne are desperate for a bus to Chesterfield royal hospital. Just last week, Morton was cut off completely from public transport after its bus was first cancelled and then reinstated, but with Morton taken off the route. How can people get to work if there is no bus service to take them? How do parents get their little ones to childcare? Why would a business invest in areas where people cannot get to their employer? Who is to blame?
Derbyshire county council must take responsibility. The Conservative-run council has a bus service improvement plan, but buses continue to fail residents across Bolsover. Bus services are reduced, villages are cut off and buses are either late or do not turn up at all. Rural communities rely on buses for growth, for work and for leisure. Conservative Derbyshire county council are letting us down. Bolsover deserves better and I urge anyone who agrees to make that known at the ballot box on 1 May.
Several hon. Members rose—