Oral Answers to Questions

Steve Yemm Excerpts

Wednesday 21st January 2026 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

That’s about the same cheer we hear across the whole country.

We are increasing defence spend to the biggest spend since the last Labour Government. We are doing that because of the decisions we took at the Budget in relation to the money that is available. The right hon. Member wants more money for defence spending, and he wants it faster, but what did he do at the Budget? Did he stand up and say, “I support this”? No, he voted against it, against the measures necessary to carry out the upgrade.

[Steve Yemm (Mansfield) (Lab)]

Q3. Sadly, on Christmas day my constituent Beryl Barrett passed away after tragically falling into an unrepaired pothole. I am sure that the whole House will join me in sending my condolences to the family. In my constituency there are literally thousands of potholes in our roads, which Nottinghamshire county council is failing to repair. Does the Prime Minister agree that it is time that the council took action, and will he meet Beryl’s family so that we can work together to ensure that there are no more accidents like that?

[The Prime Minister]

I send my deepest sympathies to Beryl’s family, and I will make sure that the Roads Minister meets them at the earliest opportunity. This shows why tackling potholes really matters. We are investing £2 billion in the east midlands to fix the roads and improve local transport. We are also putting in place tough new standards so that councils must prove they are fixing roads properly, and I am pleased that many excellent Labour councils across the country are leading by example.