Nigel Farage has taken aim at the state of roads across the UK in the lead-up to the local elections, as he played "pothole golf" to highlight the growing issue.
In a video posted to social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, Farage highlighted issues with potholes and poor quality roads across the UK.
The video shows Farage, with a young man named Ben, playing pothole golf with a putter inside a cavernous pothole on a main road in Malmesbury, north Wiltshire.
Farage noted that one of the biggest issues for motorists is roads strewn with potholes, as the politician noted that it was getting worse "all across the country".
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Nigel Farage has taken aim at the poor state of roads across the UK
X/REFORMPARTY_UK
The head of Reform UK said: "I'll tell you what, Ben, this is absolutely hilarious. He succeeded in Malmesbury in making the council take action, and frankly, this needs to happen all around the country. This one is so big you can play golf in it!"
The video is accompanied with the caption: "There are 827,000 potholes across the councils up for election on Thursday."
Reform UK's "contract" with voters does not include any specific details on the pledge to tackle potholes, but outlines plans to ban Clean Air Zones and Low Traffic Neighbourhoods.
The RAC estimates that there are more than one million potholes across the UK, with more than 9,400 vehicle breakdowns in the first three months of the year as a result of poor quality roads.
Nigel Farage played 'pothole golf' with a young campaigner named Ben
X/REFORMPARTY_UK
It has been suggested that there are an average of six potholes per mile on council-controlled roads in England and Wales.
In the 2024 Autumn Statement, Chancellor Rachel Reeves unveiled a near 50 per cent increase, compared to 2024-25, in funding for local roads maintenance.
This money is being pledged alongside the aim to fix an additional one million potholes across England each year.
The total amount of funding dedicated to the Potholes Fund standards at around £1.6billion, an increase of £500million compared to the previous financial year.
Farage said some potholes were so big, you could play golf in them
X/REFORMPARTY_UK
In March, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer issued an urgent warning to local councils around the UK, saying that funding could be withheld if they do not use money for potholes and road repairs.
Local authorities are now required to publish annual progress reports, or they could see 25 per cent of the uplift restricted, worth a staggering £125million.
He 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."
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Prime Minister Keir Starmer pledged additional funding for potholes last month
PA
Other political parties have also pledged to end the scourge of potholes across Britain's roads with projected increased funding, along with aims to make the repair process more sustainable.
