Sarah Champion MP Challenges Prime Minister on Smart Motorways

Sarah Champion, Member of Parliament for Rotherham has called on the Prime Minister to honour his word on pledges to ban new smart motorways. During his leadership campaign, Rishi Sunak branded smart motorways ‘unsafe’. A spokesperson for his leadership campaign added that Mr Sunak would ban new smart motorways and invest in improved safety features for existing schemes.[i]

Speaking during Prime Minister’s Questions, Sarah said:

“To date, 79 people have been killed on Smart motorways’

‘Last January, the Government said it would pause their roll-out’

‘The Prime Minister has said, “smart motorways are unpopular because they are unsafe. We need to listen to drivers and stop with the pursuit of policies that go against common sense.”’

‘Since then, 3 new schemes have gone live with 3 more expected shortly.’[ii]

‘Prime Minister, especially during a cost-of-living crisis, – how do you justify pushing ahead with these death-trap roads?”

Responding, the Prime Minister said:

“Safety on our roads is our absolute priority and we will do everything we can to make sure drivers do feel safe.’

‘Last year, we in fact paused the rollout of smart motorways not already in construction while we consider the data and next steps and in the meantime, we have committed almost £900m for safety improvements across the entire network.”

Sarah’s intervention follows a Parliamentary debate she hosted last week in which she set out the dangers of all-lane running motorways, in which the hard shoulder is converted to a full-time running lane.

Speaking during that debate, Sarah said:

“How much evidence do the Government need? How many more people have to die? How many more families are left to grieve their loved ones?’

‘We cannot continue to gamble with the lives of motorists.’

‘Removing the hard shoulder greatly increases the risks for motorists. Technology meant to ensure their safety is unreliable, incomplete and ineffective.”[iii]

Commenting, Sarah said:

“In pausing the rollout of new smart motorways, the Government has acknowledged that there are serious questions about safety that need answers. Rishi Sunak has himself previously branded them unsafe.’

‘But despite this, new schemes continue to come online and constituencies like mine are left hosting death-trap roads.’

‘Only last week, on the very day I spoke in Parliament, key safety technology was out of action for several hours.’

‘It is high time that the Government acknowledged its mistake and restored the hard shoulder across the motorway network.”

[i] https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11128903/Rishi-Sunak-says-hell-brakes-smart-motorways-prime-minister.html

[ii] M4, Junctions 3-12 began operation in December 2022. M6 Junctions 13-15 began operation in August 2022. M27 Junctions 3-12 began operation in December 2022. M1 Junctions 13-16, M6 Junctions 21a-26 and M56 Junctions 6- 8 are all scheduled to complete construction by Spring 2023.

[iii] Sarah’s full speech is available at: https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2023-02-22/debates/421B0D28-07F6-4159-9221-1520D09A097D/SmartMotorways#contribution-52B9A7AF-3F53-4071-A63F-C61D529641A3