Dr Luke Evans, Member of Parliament for Hinckley and Bosworth, has urged Chancellor Rachel Reeves to commit to funding "much-needed" improvements to local stretches of the A5.
The GP-turned-MP has regularly raised local sections of the A5 in the House of Commons, particularly Watling Street bridge which is regularly hit by lorries and frequently features in the list of Britain's 'most bashed bridges'.
Speaking after his question to the Chancellor, Dr Evans said "I will continue to campaign for improvements for the A5, particularly around local pinch points and the Watling Street bridge. This is something this Prime Minister and Chancellor will now be aware of, as they recently visited MIRA on the outskirts of Hinckley."
Research by Midlands Connect shows that bridge strikes in Hinckley costs six figures to the economy, per year. This follows surveys conducted by Midlands Connect, which found that over 80% of people polled across Hinckley, Nuneaton and Rugby support improvements to the A5 and believe it would be important to local residents.
Speaking in the House of Commons, Dr Luke Evans MP said "The Prime Minister, the Business Secretary and the Chancellor had the joy of coming to my constituency to see the MIRA technology park. They will have come via the A5.
"The previous Prime Minister talked about the funding that would be submitted via the A5, but in the spending review that money seems to have dropped, so will the Chancellor commit to the same funding for the A5 that we had from the last Government, because it is really important for my area?"
Rachel Reeves, Chancellor of the Exchequer, said "The irony is that the last Government made a lot of commitments but did not put any money into delivering them. That is the difference that this Government are making, with fully funded plans to upgrade transport. The Department for Transport now has its settlement and it will look at a number of projects."
The Chancellor's response to Dr Evans followed an announcement by the Labour Government that they were re-committing to a £15 billion fund for tram, train and bus projects in mayoral authorities across the Midlands, the North and the West Country which was announced by Conservative Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in 2023. When Labour came to Government in July 2024, the project was put into review.
