Heidi Alexander MP, the Secretary of State for Transport, has set out a £7.3 billion investment to fix potholes and a system to hold councils accountable and has taken to the national press to explain how the plan will be executed.
Writing in The Telegraph, Ms Alexander said:
“When the Prime Minister says people feel politics doesn’t work for them, he’s right. For too long transport has understandably borne the brunt of the nation’s frustrations. That is changing under my watch.
“I’m building a reliable transport system that gets you where you need to be, that makes people’s lives easier, and that represents value for each taxpayer pound. These are the common-sense expectations Telegraph readers have, and it’s driving my mission as Transport Secretary.
“Make no mistake, improving everyday journeys is so much more than getting from A to B. It’s often the difference between people giving up and getting on; between boarded-up high streets and flourishing small businesses; between accessing work and wasting talent.”
Referring to her own much-publicised incident with a pothole, Ms Alexander continued:
“And as I found out myself in April, potholes can turn daily trips into a £500 repair bill. They blight our communities at best, and are downright dangerous at worst. Eradicating them for good is my biggest priority.
“That’s why we promised a record £7.3bn to get our roads up to scratch. We’re already seeing some progress. After a near decade-long decline, the percentage of roads being maintained increased last year. But money alone isn’t enough.”
The Telegraph’s “Fix our Potholes” campaign rails against shoddy patch-up jobs “and rightly so,” added the MP for Swindon South. “We need new practical ways to hold local government’s feet to the fire.There is no question that Britain needs to work better for more people in more places. For transport, that means throwing the weight of government behind the everyday priorities you care about.
“Better roads. Reliable trains. Family getaways. That’s how we deliver growth in every postcode. It’s how we power the engine of aspiration. It’s how we get Britain believing in itself again.”
(Picture: UK Parliament)
