Labour promises to end “pothole hell”

Labour has today (WEDNESDAY 12TH JUNE) pledged to “end pothole hell”, as it set out its costed plan to back drivers.

Labour has pledged to fund local authorities to fix up to 1 million more potholes nationwide every year and crack down on soaring car insurance costs – saving drivers up to £250 in lower repair costs alone.

In 2023 it was estimated that the East of England had 3,400 of damaged roads, with 14% of roads in poor condition.  

An AA survey from the same year also revealed a shocking 51% of residents in the East described their local roads as “terrible”.

Under the Conservatives, local roads have become symbolic of the state of our country – they are plagued with potholes that damage vehicles and push up insurance costs for drivers.

This is a cost-of-living issue that matters to millions of people. Pothole damage cost drivers almost £500m last year, with the average damage worth £250.

Car insurance costs have also spiralled out of control, increasing by over £200 on average in just two years. This has been driven by damage from pothole-ridden roads, soaring inflation and rising car thefts.

As well as bringing down costs for drivers and turning the tide on fourteen years of neglect of our local roads, Labour’s plan will break down bureaucratic barriers that leave projects bogged down in Britain’s broken planning system.

Labour’s Plan for Drivers will:

Fund local authorities to fix up to 1 million more potholes per year: improving the state of our local roads and preventing the damage to vehicles that is costing drivers hundreds of pounds in repairs and higher insurance costs.

Tackle soaring car insurance costs: by calling in the regulators to crack down on the causes of soaring costs.

Break down planning barriers holding back infrastructure upgrades: to ensure vital upgrades to our roads are delivered on time and to budget.

Labour will also end the sticking plaster approach to roads repairs by providing multi-year funding settlements to local leaders. This will change the way local authorities repair roads, supporting them to deliver longer-lasting repairs to local roads, prevent potholes forming in the first place, and secure better value for money for the taxpayer.

Labour’s wider plans for better transport will also deliver for drivers by accelerating the electric vehicle charge-point rollout, reducing traffic on our roads by providing better buses and trains, and delivering a new road safety strategy to prevent tragic deaths and injuries.

Labour’s plan to fix up to 1 million additional potholes a year will be paid for by deferring the controversial A27 Bypass - which offers poor value for money - and spreading the £320m funding for this project to local roads repairs across the country. Plans to break down planning barriers will help speed up other projects, including other planned upgrades along the A27.

Jess Asato, Labour's Candidate for Lowestoft said: 

“There is nothing more symbolic of the state of our country after fourteen years of Conservative neglect than on our crumbling roads.

“People across Lowestoft, Beccles and the Villages are sick and tired of the woeful state of our roads. Potholes are a dangerous menace that cost households hundreds of pounds in repair costs, and put lives at risk.

“Labour is the only party with a plan to tackle the soaring cost of driving and fix our crumbling roads.”

Labour’s Shadow Transport Secretary, Louise Haigh, said:

“Cars are a lifeline for millions up and down the country. They get people to work, allow parents to get kids to school, and help carers support relatives – but drivers have been totally failed by this Conservative Government.

“The Conservatives have left Britain’s roads plagued with potholes, and have sat back as car insurance costs have spiralled out-of-control.

“Labour is the only party truly on the side of drivers. Our plan will fix up to a million more potholes every year, saving drivers hundreds of pounds in lower repair costs, and will crack down on soaring car insurance costs.

“We will make our roads safer for all who use them, and remove the barriers which bog down our planning system – speeding up infrastructure improvements and cutting costs for taxpayers.” 

Notes

Costings

Labour would fund our plans to support local authorities to fix up to 1 million potholes a year by deferring the planned A27 Bypass, which has an estimated cost of at least £320 million. [3]

Labour in Government will spread this funding as evenly as possible over the next Parliament, supporting local authorities to fix up to 1 million potholes per year, assuming average funding of around £64 million per year.

Labour’s analysis has calculated the cost per pothole fixed using a weighted average of the current cost of proactive and reactive road maintenance, with this figure adjusted for inflation over time.

Labour’s Plan for Drivers

Funding Local Authorities to Fix 1 Million More Potholes Per Year

There are now 100 times more potholes on UK roads than craters on the moon. [4]

England’s pothole crisis is a cost-of-living issue. Pothole damage cost drivers almost £500m last year, with the average damage worth £250. [5] But only a quarter of compensation claims for pothole damage are successful. [6]

Labour’s plan to fund local authorities to fix up to 1 million additional potholes a year will be paid for by deferring the controversial A27 Bypass and spreading the £320 million for this project to local roads repairs across the country.

This will deliver better value for money for drivers and for taxpayers, with investment in local roads maintenance delivering around £6.50 in benefits for every pound spent, [7] compared to less than £2 from the A27 Bypass. [8]

Labour will also end the sticking plaster approach to roads repairs by providing multi-year funding settlements to local leaders. This will change the way local authorities repair roads, supporting them to deliver longer-lasting repairs to local roads, prevent potholes forming in the first place, and secure better value for money for the taxpayer.

Tackling Soaring Car Insurance Costs

Average car insurance costs have soared by over £200 in just two years, [9] with estimates that 1 million people cancelled their car insurance due to cost-of-living pressures in 2022. [10]

Labour will take action on soaring costs by calling in the Competition and Markets Authority and urging the Financial Conduct Authority to launch urgent investigations into the rising cost of car insurance, including investigating whether postcode pricing practices are unfairly targeting ethnic minorities and those on lower incomes. [11] [12]

Breaking Down Planning Barriers

Labour has set out plans to reform Britain’s planning laws to grow our economy and get Britain building. [13]

Labour will put an end to the culture of waste and inefficiency that blights the planning system and costs the taxpayer. Under the Tories our broken planning system has seen repeated delays to major infrastructure projects, with costs soaring as a result.

Labour’s reforms will help deliver much needed upgrades to our road network, including other planned upgrades along the A27.

Wider Plans to Deliver for Drivers

Accelerating the Electric Vehicle Charging Rollout

A Labour Government will accelerate the electric vehicle charging rollout by:

•  Setting new targets to accelerate the charge point rollout

• Supporting local authorities to make better use of charge point funding by providing better guidance on its use and reviewing the effectiveness of existing funds to ensure funding is targeted at the right places

• Removing planning barriers holding up the delivery of charge points

• Remove barriers to securing grid connections and facilitate the largest upgrade to our national transmission infrastructure in a generation

Reducing Traffic 

Labour has set out plans to reduce the traffic clogging up our roads, by improving the state of public transport to make it a more attractive choice:

Labour’s Plan to Fix Britain’s Broken Railways will deliver a publicly owned and passenger-focused railway that is a more attractive choice for passengers. [14]

Labour will grow our rail freight industry to reduce the strain on our roads, by setting targets to grow and promote rail freight. A single freight train is able to carry as much as 129 lorries. [15]

Labour’s Plan for Better Buses will make travelling by bus a more attractive choice, by supporting local leaders to take back control of their bus services, creating and saving up to 1,300 vital bus routes. [16]

A New Road Safety Strategy

Labour will deliver a comprehensive, new road safety strategy to bring down traffic deaths and injuries on our roads:

Between 1997 to 2010 the last Labour Government halved the number of people killed on our roads each year. Under the Conservatives that progress has stalled, with only an 11% reduction between 2010 and 2023. [17]

As well as fixing dangerous potholes on our roads, Labour will deliver a new Strategic Framework for Road Safety, which has not been updated since 2011, despite repeated Conservative promises to do so. [18]

This will allow us to review the measures needed to bring down tragic fatalities and injuries on our roads.