Liberal Democrats pledge to fill 1.2 million potholes a year

EMBARGO: 22:30 Wednesday 19th June

• The Liberal Democrats have promised to give more of the road budget to local councils, letting them control spending to fix potholes. 

• Liberal Democrat research reveals ‘pothole postcode lottery’ with some areas seeing waits of 18 months for potholes to be fixed under the Conservatives. 

• Ed Davey said the Conservatives are driving the country onto a "motorway of decay".

Liberal Democrats have promised a £300m investment over the next Parliament to fix the country’s roads. The party will give councils more money to fix potholes by redirecting some of the road-building budget. 

Freedom of Information Requests conducted by the Party shows that some areas have waited up to 18 months for potholes to be fixed in this Parliament. A pothole postcode lottery exists across the country:

• Surrey County Council took 207 days, nearly six months, to fix a pothole. 

• Hertfordshire took 90 days - far above their non-urgent target of 20 days. 

• Westminster and Stoke-on-Trent Councils took over 18 months to fix a pothole in their area. 

Under the Liberal Democrat proposals, £300 million will be invested to fix potholes over the next Parliament, which could equate to around 1.2 million potholes being filled each year.

The Liberal Democrats would redirect some of the money in the existing road budget to local councils to ensure these road improvements are properly funded.

Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey said:

“The Conservatives have driven us down a motorway of decay - roads are crumbling and motorists are suffering as a result. 

“The Conservatives have overseen cuts to our transport network, maintenance works delays and the decline in the state of our roads. For all of their lip service to motorists, it's clear the Conservatives have failed them. 

“Only the Liberal Democrats have a real plan to fix the state of our roads by giving the money to local councils, who know their roads and are best placed to fix them.”  

ENDS

Notes to Editors:

The Liberal Democrat analysis can be found here.

The Asphalt Industry Alliance’s Annual Local Authority Road Maintenance (ALARM) survey 2024 found that the average cost of filling a pothole - planned rather than reactive - is £51.40. [Source - ALARM survey report 2024]