Labour has pledged to dramatically increase funding for road repairs and fix potholes across the UK as drivers continue to deal with expensive repairs from road defects.
Prior to Chancellor Rachel Reeves's Spring Statement, Keir Starmer was questioned on the investment into potholes during Prime Minister's Questions prior to the Spring Statement, with Labour MP for Burton and Uttoxeter Jacob Collier likening the state of roads to a Staffordshire oat cake.
The PM outlined that the West Midlands Combined Authority would receive an additional £8.6million, alongside the massive £1.6billion investment across the nation.
Stamer, 62, added that Labour was doing work that had been neglected by the previous 14 years of Conservative rule.
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Labour has pledged to fix one million more potholes every year
REUTERS/PA
Earlier this week, Prime Minister Keir Starmer unveiled a major £4.8billion funding boost for major roads across the UK to tackle the plague of potholes and boost road schemes.
However, the funding is dependent on councils across the UK needing to publish how many potholes they have filled. If they fail to do so, they will lose funding for roads.
The £1.6billion investment will be delivered to councils in the new financial year from April, with Starmer calling on councils to put the money to good use and improve journeys for motorists.
The record £1.6billion highway maintenance funding will include an extra £500million, which Labour says is enough to fill seven million potholes a year.
Data from the RAC suggests that drivers encounter an average of six potholes per mile in England and Wales, with average repair costs for pothole damage setting drivers back £600.
Starmer said: "The broken roads we inherited are not only risking lives but also cost working families, drivers and businesses hundreds – if not thousands of pounds – in avoidable vehicle repairs.
"British people are bored of seeing their politicians aimlessly pointing at potholes with no real plan to fix them. That ends with us. We’ve done our part by handing councils the cash and certainty they need – now it’s up to them to get on with the job, put that money to use and prove they’re delivering for their communities."
The funding announcement has been met with support from the sector, including the Asphalt Industry Alliance (AIA), who said the funding was "welcome".
However, they noted that short-term cash injections like the £4.6billion is "not likely to improve conditions".
A spokesperson for the AIA added: "Decades of underfunding now means that the backlog of carriageway repairs stands at almost £17billion and one in every six miles of the local road network reported to have less than five years’ structural life remaining.
"So, if we want our local roads to improve, the focus needs to shift from the number of potholes filled to giving local highway engineers the tools to do the job so that they don’t form in the first place."
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It is estimated that it would cost a staggering £XXbillion to fix all potholes across England and Wales
GETTYThe organisation added that local authorities would need budgets to more than double for the next five to 10 years to properly tackle issues with roads and potholes.
The spokesperson added: "That’s why we have been calling for a multi-year frontloaded and ringfenced funding commitment, similar to those that the rail and motorway sectors benefit from.
"This would allow authorities to plan, provide better value for money for taxpayers and deliver a more resilient network while helping to kickstart the Government’s economic growth plans."
