Reform chair accuses contractors of pothole inefficiencies

The Chair of the political party Reform UK has claimed the reason there are so many potholes across the UK is because “Tier 1 contractors subcontract the jobs on a day rate, with no incentive for speed nor quality”. Writing on X, Zia Yusuf quoted “whistleblowers” who had come forward to assist with the party’s […]
Reform Party’s Doge units “will tackle pothole crisis”

Reform leader Nigel Farage has vowed to run a council rescue plan based on Elon Musk’s US “Department of Government Efficiency” (Doge). “We look at the millions a year being spent in many cases on consultants, we look at money being spent on climate change, on areas that county councils frankly shouldn’t even be getting […]
RSTA Chief Executive Mike Hansford joins MPs and roads experts as they meet face-to-face to help solve Britain’s pothole crisis

The Chief Executive of the Road Surface Treatments Association (RSTA), Mike Hansford, has met face-to-face with MPs and other leading industry figures to debate and discuss how to solve the UK’s pothole crisis. More than 70 parliamentarians were yesterday given unrivalled insight in how best to tackle the UK’s pothole crisis at a first-of-its-kind event […]
‘Pothole breakdowns’ double in first three months of 2025, says RAC

RAC patrols attended 9,439 pothole-related breakdowns in the first three months of 2025 – more than double the number they were called out to between October and December last year, new data from the RAC’s Pothole Index shows. What’s more, call-outs for damaged shock absorbers, broken suspension springs or distorted wheels – the breakdowns most likely to […]
Research names areas with most reported pothole payouts

Research has revealed that in recent years over £800,000 has been paid out to drivers who have experienced vehicle damage due to potholes. With this in mind motoring experts at BlackCircles sent Freedom of Information requests to local authorities across the UK to reveal the areas with the most reported potholes over the past five years, the […]
Scotland: Drivers face ‘crumbling’ local roads amid increase in insurance claims to councils over potholes

Drivers are counting the cost of Scotland’s “crumbling” local road network as pothole-related insurance claims soar. Research by Scottish Labour found that between 2019 and 2023 the number of insurance claims to councils citing poor road maintenance rose by 69 per cent. Eight local authority areas have seen claims from drivers more than double, while four have seen claims […]
Council to receive multi-million pound road improvement boost

Roads across Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole are set to benefit from a major programme of investment and improvement. More than £10million of Government funding has been allocated to support this work over the next 12 months – an extra £2million compared to last year. £1.2million of funding will help the Council proactively prevent potholes across […]
The UK cities with the most pothole-plagued roads revealed

With an estimated 1 million potholes on UK roads, drivers are becoming increasingly concerned about the rate at which roads are repaired and the costs of replacing car tyres damaged by poor road conditions. Motoring experts at Blackcircles sent Freedom of Information requests to local authorities across the UK to reveal the areas with the most reported potholes over […]
Beyond Potholes: Lilian Greenwood on how tech, policy and prevention will reshape the UK’s roads

Are potholes just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the real issues facing our roads? If you’re in the business of managing, maintaining, or modernising highways, you already know that reactive repairs are expensive, inefficient, and deeply unpopular. In this episode of Highways Voices, Future of Roads Minister Lilian Greenwood (pictured, with […]
Get tough on the cause of potholes: RSTA gets to the root of the problem

The only way to drive down the cost of vehicle repairs for the public is to stop potholes forming in the first place, according to the Road Surface Treatments Association (RSTA). The association is responding to the Government’s announcement that local authorities will have to now produce annual progress reports and prove public confidence in […]