Lilian Greenwood MP: speeches

161 published records · newest first.

Speeches

8 Jan 2026 · Road Safety Strategy · Hansard source
More
I thank my hon. Friend for that question, and I pay tribute to the campaigning work of Terry Cunningham and his sister, Sue Rimaitis, who have acted following the sad loss of their mother Marie and her friend Grace. He is absolutely right that medical professionals have an important role to play, and we want to make sure that we work with their professional bodies to ensure that they report to the DVLA in those circumstances.
8 Jan 2026 · Road Safety Strategy · Hansard source
More
I am sorry to hear about the failure of my hon. Friend’s council to take action that would prevent further collisions. We know that rural roads are more dangerous, and that is why we are determined to take action to support local authorities to introduce measures to make them safer.
8 Jan 2026 · Road Safety Strategy · Hansard source
More
I am very happy to commend those from my hon. Friend’s constituency who do such fantastic work to campaign, as well as the police and trading standards on the work that they do. We are determined to act on the things that they have led on.
8 Jan 2026 · Road Safety Strategy · Hansard source
More
I thank my hon. Friend for his support. Clearly, local authorities can and should draw on historical collision data when assessing road safety measures, but proactive measures to reduce risks should not be contingent on a fatal or serious incident occurring. Local authorities have the power and the funding to carry out interventions, so it is vital that they listen to the concerns of local people and act to prevent serious incidents before they occur, rather than just responding to them afterwards.
8 Jan 2026 · Road Safety Strategy · Hansard source
More
The right hon. Member is right that many young drivers will seek lower insurance as a result of having a black box in their car. That issue was considered as part of Driver2020 and research carried out by the previous Government. The results from that were not conclusive in suggesting that such a measure would make a difference, but I remain open to being evidence-led, and if further information comes forward, we would be happy to consider those issues.
8 Jan 2026 · Road Safety Strategy · Hansard source
More
With permission, Madam Deputy Speaker, I would like to make a statement on our new national road safety strategy. It is a sad truth that, by the time I finish speaking and we hear the Opposition’s response, it is likely someone will have died or been seriously injured on our roads. It is an even sadder truth that that would likely have been entirely preventable. Even though we have some of the safest roads in the world, more than 1,600 people died on our roads last year, and nearly 28,000 were seriously injured. Over the course of my lifetime, road safety has improved immeasurably—in no small part thanks to a titan of my party, Barbara Castle—but it is safe to say the last 10 years represent a lost decade. Death and serious injury numbers have plateaued despite improvements in vehicle safety. The UK has slipped from third to fourth in Europe’s road safety rankings, and the human cost of too little action and too much complacency is clear: lives taken too soon, lives altered beyond recognition, and lives grieved by the families left behind. If that was not enough, a decade without a comprehensive road safety strategy has meant that the country lost out on nearly £7 billion in economic output last year. That should not just give us pause; it should spur us to action. We would not tolerate that on our railways or in our airspace, and I am determined to ensure that we no longer tolerate it on our roads. That is why I am standing here today: to say quite simply that enough is enough. The targets that we are setting match the full measure of our ambition. We want to reduce the number of people killed or seriously injured on British roads by 65% by 2035, and by 70% for children under 16. Our vision is clear: any road user—however they choose to travel—should be able to move safely on our roads. There are four main ways in which we will deliver that vision through the strategy. First, we will put all road users at the heart of the strategy. When it comes to protecting vulnerable road users, we will be guided by the evidence. We know, for example, that young drivers between 17 and 24 are at a higher risk of death or serious injury on our roads. They account for 6% of driving licences yet are involved in 24% of fatal and serious collisions. That is why we will consult not just on a minimum learning period for learner drivers, but on a lower blood alcohol limit for novice drivers. I would also recognise the important debate on young driver safety that my hon. Friend the Member for Shrewsbury (Julia Buckley) secured last January. Another key area is the safety of older drivers. In 2024, about 24% of all car drivers killed were aged 70 or older. While driving is rightly seen as a vital form of independence in older age, it cannot come at the expense of safety, so we will consult on mandatory eyesight tests for drivers over 70 and explore options for cognitive testing, recognising the risks of driving with conditions such as dementia. We also will not ignore the fact that motorcyclists are 40 times more likely to be killed or seriously injured on our roads compared with car drivers, so we will reform the motorcycle training, testing and licensing regime. That starts today with a consultation, including on removing the ability to ride on L-plates indefinitely. Let me move to advances in technology and data. We will consult on mandating 18 new vehicle safety technologies under the GB type approval scheme—a change that could prevent more than 14,000 deaths and serious injuries over 15 years. That includes autonomous emergency braking, a proven safety technology that Meera Naran has tirelessly campaigned for as Dev’s law, after the tragic loss of her son. I am delighted to see her in the Public Gallery; she has been an incredible campaigner on this issue. To learn from collisions and prevent future harm, we will establish a data-led road safety investigation branch covering the whole of Great Britain. It will draw on data to carry out thematic investigations and make recommendations. To give those involved in collisions the best chance of survival, we will ensure that police-recorded collision data and healthcare data are shared more effectively. The third theme is about infrastructure. Safer roads and effective speed management are essential pillars of the “safe system” approach that guides the strategy. That starts with investment. The Government are providing £24 billion between 2026 and 2030 to improve motorways and local roads, building on record funding for pothole repairs. We will also publish updated guidance on setting local speed limits and the use of speed and red light cameras, supporting local authorities to make evidence-based decisions. Because rural roads remain among the most dangerous, with motorcyclists often navigating sharp bends, we will build on the success of Project PRIME—perceptual rider information for maximisation of enjoyment and expertise—in Scotland, which saw real safety improvements thanks to new road markings. Finally, let me talk about enforcement. We know that most drivers are safe, and we do not want to get in their way. However, they need to feel confident that the Government have their back, so my message to the minority of drivers who are unsafe and reckless is simple: if you drive dangerously, if you drive illegally or if you make our roads less safe, you will face the consequences. Take drink and drug-driving. We know that it was a contributory factor in 18% of road fatalities in 2023, so we will consult on lowering the drink-drive limit, which has not been changed in England and Wales since 1967. We will review penalties for drink and drug-driving offences and explore the use of alcohol interlock devices. New powers will be considered to suspend licences for those suspected of the most serious offences. We also propose tougher penalties for those who drive without insurance—I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Swindon North (Will Stone) for his persistent advocacy on this issue. We will also look at penalty points for failing to wear a seatbelt and failing to ensure that child passengers are wearing theirs, too. Thanks to the tireless campaigning of my hon. Friends the Members for West Bromwich (Sarah Coombes) and for Rochdale (Paul Waugh), we are tackling illegal number plates. We will increase penalties for using illegal plates and ensure that the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency is empowered to carry out more robust checks on number plate suppliers. These rightly bold ambitions cannot be met by Government working alone. We call on the support of Members from all parts of the House and extend our hand in partnership to the devolved Governments, mayors, local authorities, the police and other stakeholders. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Brentford and Isleworth (Ruth Cadbury) for her support on behalf of the Transport Committee and my hon. Friend the Member for Rossendale and Darwen (Andy MacNae) as chair of the all-party parliamentary group for transport safety for his advocacy on this important issue. I have sat with families torn apart by deaths and serious injuries on our roads—it is one of the hardest parts of my job. Even through intolerable pain, they campaign, fight and demand change so that others can be spared their sense of loss. This strategy is for those brave families. I truly believe that this is a turning point for road safety in this country, when we finally put victims at the heart of policymaking, see road safety as a shared responsibility and understand that, while driver or rider error is inevitable, fatalities and serious injury are not. A multilayered system, from safer speeds and vehicles to safer roads and robust enforcement, is how we protect every road user. That is how we ensure that people walk away from collisions rather than being carried and how we deliver safer roads for everyone who relies on them. I have laid copies of the documents in the Libraries of both Houses, and I commend this statement to the House.
8 Jan 2026 · Road Safety Strategy · Hansard source
More
I can provide my hon. Friend with the assurance that we are going to do this. We will establish a new road safety board, which I will chair, to ensure that we make progress on the measures we have set out in the strategy and that we look at how soon we can act to ensure that those people see change happening.
8 Jan 2026 · Road Safety Strategy · Hansard source
More
The Roads and Buses Minister, my hon. Friend the Member for Wakefield and Rothwell (Simon Lightwood), who has responsibility for the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency, is sitting next to me. I recognise that there have been delays in dealing with some medical licensing. The DVLA is introducing a new IT system, which will certainly help to speed up the licensing investigations that the hon. Gentleman talks about.
8 Jan 2026 · Road Safety Strategy · Hansard source
More
I thank my hon. Friend for the work that she has done at a local level. We are consulting on new powers to give the police precisely the tools that they need to crack down on the criminals who feel that they can get away with illegal activity by using ghost plates.
8 Jan 2026 · Road Safety Strategy · Hansard source
More
I know that the hon. Lady has been a real campaigner on road safety during her time in the House. The ambitious targets that we have set can be delivered only by working in partnership with the police. I have had a number of meetings with the Minister for Policing and Crime. We both agree that this is an important issue and we will be working with police forces to ensure that it is enforced.
8 Jan 2026 · Road Safety Strategy · Hansard source
More
We know that drug-driving is a growing problem. We have already done further publicity on the dangers of drug-driving, because not everyone appreciates how dangerous it is, but we also want to crack down on those who do drive with drugs in their system. We are looking to improve testing and processing so that we can bring more convictions, and more importantly to deter people from ever getting behind the wheel of a car when they have taken drugs.
8 Jan 2026 · Road Safety Strategy · Hansard source
More
My hon. Friend will know that the Government are already taking action to address driving test wait times, which I know are incredibly frustrating. However, we need to ensure that young drivers are set up for a lifetime of safe driving. We know from evidence that a minimum learning period will save lives and improve safety. That is why we are consulting on it, but we will listen as part of that consultation.
8 Jan 2026 · Road Safety Strategy · Hansard source
More
I dealt with the prevention of future deaths report relating to the utterly heartbreaking case that my hon. Friend refers to. While there is not currently a suitable test of cognitive ability to drive safely, I recognise the need for us to do further work on the issue. We plan to reconvene the older drivers taskforce and expert groups on this subject to consider suitable options. I do not intend to delay—I intend to take evidence and to take action.
8 Jan 2026 · Road Safety Strategy · Hansard source
More
Local authorities already have the powers to introduce school streets, as the hon. Gentleman described, or to reduce speed limits outside schools. They have our full backing to use those powers to improve safety outside schools, including those in his constituency.
8 Jan 2026 · Road Safety Strategy · Hansard source
More
I thank my hon. Friend for her words and for the incredible work she has done to advocate on behalf of those who want safer streets and pavements and to raise the particular case of John and Karen Rowlands. I would be very happy to see their response to the motoring offences consultation.
8 Jan 2026 · Road Safety Strategy · Hansard source
More
I thank my hon. Friend for his question, and am very sorry to hear about that road traffic collision in his constituency. One of the things we are doing as part of this strategy is reissuing the manual for streets. That manual supports local authorities to introduce road safety measures, particularly in urban areas, extending things like pedestrianisation. We will ensure that pedestrians are put at the heart of our road safety strategy.
8 Jan 2026 · Road Safety Strategy · Hansard source
More
I thank the hon. Member for the work that he has done to support the Saltern family. It was humbling to meet Mark, Helen and Leanne, and to hear about their work supporting other victims of road traffic collisions. As he knows, we are consulting on strengthening the law around those who fail to stop and report a collision. What happened to Ryan is tragic and I am keen that we act as quickly as possible. Where legislation is required, we will have to wait until parliamentary time is available, but I am determined to act.
8 Jan 2026 · Road Safety Strategy · Hansard source
More
I thank the hon. Gentleman for his continued interest in these areas. As I said earlier in response to the shadow Secretary of State, when it comes to drink-driving, we are drawing on evidence. The UK is an outlier when it comes to our drink-drive limit, which has been the same for almost 60 years. This measure will simply bring us into line with Scotland and most of the rest of Europe. In Scotland, drink-drive fatal collisions halved in the decade after the drink-drive limit was reduced, and as I have said, evidence from Sir Peter North’s 2010 review estimated that the measure would save dozens of lives. That is what the road safety strategy is about. It is not about curtailing people’s freedom to drive; it is about saving lives, as are the measures that we are looking at on drug-driving, which we know is a growing problem. We are determined to crack down on it.
8 Jan 2026 · Road Safety Strategy · Hansard source
More
The hon. Member is absolutely right to say that on rural roads in particular dangers are posed by drivers who hit animals, and right to raise concerns about horse riders. He will know that the highway code was strengthened to ensure that those who are driving are mindful of horse riders and the need to pass them safely, slowly and with sufficient room. We will look at what more we can do to strengthen the advice and guidance, and ensure that people are aware of those issues in the highway code. I have listened carefully to many people who have raised with me their concerns about cats, and work is under way in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to look at further research on that issue.
8 Jan 2026 · Road Safety Strategy · Hansard source
More
It is local authorities that have the power to act in relation to road safety. We are determined to give them the guidance they need to take action in a proactive way to save lives in communities such as my hon. Friend’s.
8 Jan 2026 · Road Safety Strategy · Hansard source
More
The Government have done a great deal of work in collaboration with the Home Office on road policing. We know that this strategy will be effective only if there is enforcement. I cannot instruct chief constables on how they deploy their resources, but we are determined to work in partnership to ensure that this road safety strategy is effective, including the measures around enforcement.
8 Jan 2026 · Road Safety Strategy · Hansard source
More
Arm’s length bodies of the Department for Transport and the police work together closely on Operation Tutelage, to take people who are driving uninsured off the road. We are proposing tougher measures to deal with uninsured drivers. Frankly, if there were fewer road traffic collisions, that would reduce insurance costs for everyone.
8 Jan 2026 · Road Safety Strategy · Hansard source
More
I am happy to encourage my hon. Friend’s constituents to complete that survey. It is vitally important that the views of local people are heard by those local authorities who have the power to act to save lives.
8 Jan 2026 · Road Safety Strategy · Hansard source
More
This strategy will be delivered in partnership with local authorities. We are strengthening the guidance that we provide to them so that they can put in place those measures that are needed to save lives.
8 Jan 2026 · Road Safety Strategy · Hansard source
More
I thank my hon. Friend for her question and, as I said earlier, for the outstanding work that she has done to bring this issue to national attention. As she knows, alongside the road safety strategy, yesterday we launched five consultation documents, one of which is about motoring offences. It includes our intention to have tougher penalties for those who use illegal plates, and to strengthen the role of the DVLA in looking at number plate suppliers and taking action. I do not intend to delay, but we must obviously await the end of the consultation, and some of those measures will require legislation.

Published records only — not a full account of an MP’s work. How we work →