Maria Eagle MP A Strong Voice in Tough Times
On Tuesday I was thrilled to find out that the Government had announced that they would consult on banning tyres that are more than ten years old from buses, coaches, lorries and mini buses as well as looking at options to ban tyres over 10 years old on taxis and private hire vehicles.
DWP Estimates Day Debate – Motability and PIP
Yesterday I spoke in the Department for Work and Pensions estimates day debate ⬇️⬇️ Many of my constituents have been hit hard by this Government’s changes to disability benefits, with many who have been moved onto PIP from DLA losing their entitlement to higher rates, losing their motability cars and ultimately their freedom to travel. Many have serious long-standing health problems, and are waiting almost a year for their appeals against the decisions to be heard. This is unacceptable. See my speech below.
Posted by Maria Eagle MP on Wednesday, February 27, 2019
This is a victory for the Tyred Campaign and Frances Molloy who, despite her personal pain at losing her son Michael in the Bestival Crash, has acted solely to try and prevent any other families having to go through the needless loss of a loved one because of dangerous old tyres on our roads.
I would like to congratulate my constituent Frances Molloy and her campaign team at Tyred who have determinedly kept this vital public safety campaign at the forefront of the minds of Government Ministers and the transport industry and have simply not been willing to give up. The people of Merseyside have offered unstinting support and I would like to thank the local authorities who have passed motions, the City Mayor Joe Anderson, the Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram and the trades unions, particularly GMB and Unite who have been so supportive.
Sadly this brilliant step forward for the campaign has been overshadowed by news on Wednesday that an inquest found that a crash on the M5 was caused by an 18 year old tyre which burst. Five lives were lost in this horrific crash, the measures Frances and I have long campaigned for would have prevented this tragic loss of life.
I have now tabled parliamentary questions to find out when the Government found out about the results of this inquest. I strongly suspect they knew about this before the news broke and that this is the reason they are now backing a ban on tyres older than ten years. If true this would be incredibly disappointing, I have told many Transport Ministers, including Jesse Norman, that old tyres had to be banned before they were the cause of another accident. Advice that fell on deaf ears.
Nothing will bring Michael, Kerry and Colin back but hopefully, this is the first step to making sure that there are no more needless such deaths caused simply by the age of a vehicle’s tyres.
Click Here to Read About this in the Liverpool Echo