Tory MP vents on spitting, scooters and 'street scars'

Neil O'Brien pushes to make UK 'vaguely civilised again'

- MILLIE COOKE

A Conservative MP has called for a "crackdown on spitting" and "large and instant fines" for people playing music on public transport as part of an attempt to make the UK "vaguely civilised again".

Neil O'Brien also called for an end to vandalism of street furniture, action to stop e-bikes and scooters being ridden on pavements, an end to "street scars" where gaps in street paving are replaced with tarmac, and a "galvanising" national goal to cut down the volume of litter. The Leicestershire MP also called for a push to plant trees on every residential street "where this is remotely possible".

Writing in his Substack blog, Mr O'Brien, who was a minister in the previous Tory administration, said the desire to live in an "orderly and civilised society” was "one of the most underdiscussed and under-appreciated things in politics".