Regional Transport Inequality

Baggy Shanker Excerpts

Thursday 11th September 2025 Commons Chamber

[Baggy Shanker (Derby South) (Lab/Co-op)]

I thank my constituency neighbour, my hon. Friend the Member for Derby North (Catherine Atkinson), for securing this vital debate. In Derby, like many other parts of the country, transport is the glue that holds our community together, but Derby is also a city of makers. We have a unique transport manufacturing heritage to be proud of, and a future to be excited about.

If we are talking about investment in our public transport, however, it is a totally different story. While Derby powers our supply chain, the east midlands has been left lagging behind when it comes to funding our transport infrastructure. Under successive Governments, our region has sat consistently at the back of the queue for investment. In 2023-24, that meant that transport spending in the east midlands was just 54% of the UK average—shockingly, the lowest of any UK region or nation, as we heard earlier. That is not just a number. It is delays, lost opportunities and frustration for people just trying to go about their day to day.

Ask anyone in our community and they will say that they have been stuck on the same congested roads for years, and they have watched vital bus services disappear, as our region has faced the consequences of the deepest bus cuts in the country since 2008. Understandably, people are absolutely fed up. That is why I am proud that this Labour Government, along with our fantastic East Midlands Mayor, Claire Ward, are wasting no time turning the page. With a record £2 billion secured earlier this year to tackle congestion and improve connectivity across the east midlands, we are finally starting to put things right.

That is not all. Whether it is moving forward on upgrades to the A38 to end Derby’s traffic gridlock, or the introduction of the Bus Services (No. 2) Bill, protecting thousands of miles of lifeline routes across our region, progress is being made. There is still lots more to do to put decades of under-investment behind us. Securing projects such as the electrification of the midlands main line would supercharge our region, creating 5,000 jobs, reducing journey times and improving reliability, as well as unlocking over £400 million worth of economic benefit for the region.

To transform our transport infrastructure, we need sustained, long-term funding in our region that, at the very minimum, matches the UK average. I look forward to seeing that delivered through action and investment from a Government who back Derby and the east midlands.