𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Councils must ditch cost-saving excuses and turn street lights on to protect women and girls, MPs and campaigners have warned. Some cash-strapped local authorities in Britain dim or switch off street lights between midnight and 5am to save money.

But campaigners believe a lack of well-lit routes could impact the safety of women and girls. This is why the Daily Express has launched a Safer Streets campaign, demanding councils light up our roads.

Alicia Kearns MP, Shadow Minister for Preventing Violence Against Women and Girls, said: “Councils should prioritise well-lit routes where women walk, travel, and wait, near transport hubs and known crime hotspots.

“The Daily Express is right to push for smarter action that genuinely improves safety.

“We cannot expect women to change our behaviour, or demand we keep ourselves safe. It is predators who must be stopped.

“The Government’s violence against women and girls policy is vague and toothless.

“We need a justice system that punishes those men who think they’re entitled to womens’ bodies, we need our border policed so unvetted illegal immigrants don’t reach our shores, and we need anyone guilty of a serious sexual and violent offence deported from our country.”

A BBC investigation in 2024 suggested just over half of English councils with responsibility for street lights have chosen to dim them or switch them off overnight over the last decade.

Meanwhile, one in three women (33%) fear they are being watched or followed as they arrive home after dark, polling for lock brand Ultion found.

The survey of 2,000 adults found nearly seven in 10 (69%) women feel unsafe after dark, and 76% actively change their behaviour to feel safer.

Tanya Braun, director of external affairs at pedestrian-safety charity Living Streets, said: “Street lights ensure people feel safe on our streets.

“Street lighting also saves lives. Pedestrians are one of the most vulnerable groups on Britain’s roads, accounting for one in every seven casualties in 2024, and UK collision records suggest pedestrians are more likely to be hit after dark on an unlit road than a lit road.

“People shouldn’t feel that they’re being placed under a curfew because they have to get home before dark. Keeping lights on is a simple way to get more people walking and wheeling, no matter the time of day.”

Former Deputy Prime Minister and possible Labour leadership hopeful Angela Rayner also warned last week that people do not want to be “isolated” with poor lighting at night.

She said: “We don’t have a joined-up transport policy, and we’re not working with the police on some of these issues.

“Actually, people want to see staff, or the presence of police, or they want to see the presence of transport staff.

“They don’t want to be out at night, isolated; they don’t want poor lighting in areas because that makes people feel less safe.

“So having a joined-up approach that recognises that.”

Overnight street lighting was reintroduced to Basildon Council, in Essex, in September last year, “in a commitment to improve community safety”.

Gavin Callaghan, the council’s leader, said he hoped shift workers and everyone out in the town after dark would now feel safer.

Essex County Council switched street lighting off across the county between midnight and 05:00 in 2014, but the times were later revised to 1am to 5am.

Basildon Council turned the lights back on in 2019 for a four-year period, but that ended in 2023.

In June, the authority agreed to spend £480,000 over four years to reintroduce overnight street lighting.

It comes as thousands of street lights across the UK are also being replaced with energy-efficient light-emitting diodes (LEDs).

These should reduce local authorities’ yearly CO2 emissions and save costs.

But there have been some concerns that the directionality of the lights means they appear dimmer.

Shadow Energy Secretary Claire Coutinho said: “If the choice is between a minuscule reduction in carbon emissions and keeping women and girls safe, then of course we should keep the lights on. We need to get away from strait-jacket net zero targets which don’t allow for common sense to prevail.”

The Government’s VAWG strategy does refer to “well-lit streets” but does not provide any specific details.

It says: “Women and girls must both feel safe and be safe in every aspect of public life, including shared and open spaces such as streets, parks, transport hubs, and public buildings.

“Safety is not just about reducing risk, it is about creating environments that foster confidence, dignity, and freedom of movement. Design and planning are critical tools in achieving this. Well-lit streets, accessible transport, and thoughtful urban design can deter violence, reduce opportunities for harm, and send a clear message that public spaces belong to everyone.”

A Government spokesman said: “We thank the Express for focusing on this vital part of the government’s Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy.

“Every woman and girl has the right to feel safe in public and to be protected from those who carry out violence. Brighter, better lit streets help deter offenders and cut the risk of harm, which is why work with local authorities continues to increase lighting in key spaces.”