Gabrielle Wilde
Guest Reporter
Campaigner "Mr Pothole" has told GB News that his optimism about Labour's involvement, particularly regarding Lilian Greenwood as transport minister, has been shattered.
The campaigner explained that there is "non political will" to address the road issues that he has been highlighting for many years.
The comments come as recent data from the RAC reveals the scale of Britain's pothole crisis, with compensation claims more than doubling.
The figures, obtained through Freedom of Information requests to 18 local authorities with the largest road networks, show councils are reluctant to pay compensation.
Speaking to GB News, Mr Pothole said: "You need to resurface your roads.
“It is an economic argument, badly maintained roads are costing the UK economy £14.4billion a year.
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“So if you actually invested to save by putting £3billion a year in a resurfacing programme, within ten years, you'd save £7billion a year.
“I don't believe there's an economic argument not to invest in our roads.
“I just think there is no political will to and I had real faith in Labour coming in and Lilian Greenwood, as a transport minister, because she was chair of the select committee when I did some work with them. I've been sorely disappointed."
He added: "I've got no faith in any politician of any colour to ever do anything about our roads after I have been campaigning for so long.
“Not unless we spend £3billion a year every year resurfacing our roads. Will we ever break this cycle?
“It will keep getting worse. And I did warn about what would happen in terms of the state road many years ago."
Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced in her Budget last month an additional £500million for pothole repairs in the 2024/25 financial year.
This will increase local roads maintenance funding in England to nearly £1.6billion.
The Department for Transport defended the investment, stating: "For too long, this country has suffered from a pothole plague, which is why this Government is taking action."
However, the funding falls significantly short of Mr Pothole's recommended £3billion annual investment.
The current situation appears to support his prediction, with the RAC data showing councils spending significant sums defending against claims rather than fixing roads.
Find Out More...
The campaigner explained that there is "non political will" to address the road issues that he has been highlighting for many years.
The comments come as recent data from the RAC reveals the scale of Britain's pothole crisis, with compensation claims more than doubling.
The figures, obtained through Freedom of Information requests to 18 local authorities with the largest road networks, show councils are reluctant to pay compensation.
Speaking to GB News, Mr Pothole said: "You need to resurface your roads.
“It is an economic argument, badly maintained roads are costing the UK economy £14.4billion a year.
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“So if you actually invested to save by putting £3billion a year in a resurfacing programme, within ten years, you'd save £7billion a year.
“I don't believe there's an economic argument not to invest in our roads.
“I just think there is no political will to and I had real faith in Labour coming in and Lilian Greenwood, as a transport minister, because she was chair of the select committee when I did some work with them. I've been sorely disappointed."
He added: "I've got no faith in any politician of any colour to ever do anything about our roads after I have been campaigning for so long.
“Not unless we spend £3billion a year every year resurfacing our roads. Will we ever break this cycle?
“It will keep getting worse. And I did warn about what would happen in terms of the state road many years ago."
Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced in her Budget last month an additional £500million for pothole repairs in the 2024/25 financial year.
This will increase local roads maintenance funding in England to nearly £1.6billion.
The Department for Transport defended the investment, stating: "For too long, this country has suffered from a pothole plague, which is why this Government is taking action."
However, the funding falls significantly short of Mr Pothole's recommended £3billion annual investment.
The current situation appears to support his prediction, with the RAC data showing councils spending significant sums defending against claims rather than fixing roads.
Find Out More...