Oral Answers to Questions

Catherine Fookes Excerpts

Wednesday 9th July 2025 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I thank the hon. Lady for raising this issue. I know it is of concern to her, and to many people across the House. The system we have is broken; it does not serve anyone well. We have to reform it, and I set out in an earlier answer the steps that we are taking. We will share those with the House, and I hope that we can get the greatest support possible for the reform that I think everybody here knows has to happen.

[Catherine Fookes (Monmouthshire) (Lab)]

Q8. I am delighted at the spending review commitment of £445 million for Welsh rail. A new station at Magor and Undy will take cars off the congested M4, offer greener journeys and open doors for local residents without a vehicle to get jobs. It is also great value for money due to the track and infrastructure that is already in place. Does the Prime Minister agree that Magor and Undy is an excellent candidate to be the first Burns station to be built, so that it can start serving local people?

[The Prime Minister]

It is so good to see a strong Labour MP standing up for Wales and her constituency. She makes her case; I cannot confirm the plans yet, but we will consider recommendations from the Burns commission, which includes a proposal for a new station in her constituency. I am delighted that just this week we set out our major road and rail schemes across the country, including the A66, the Newark bypass and the midlands rail hub, creating tens of thousands of jobs, new homes and better journeys for millions of travellers.