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Conservatives Unveil £225m ‘National Pothole Patrol’ to Speed Road Repairs

The plan seeks faster local repairs via new machines, a single reporting hub, and claimed savings from consultancy cuts.

Overview

  • - The Conservatives announced a £225 million road repair programme that they say will be paid for by cutting spending on external communications consultants.
  • - Half of the funding, £112.5 million, would supply hundreds of specialist road‑repair machines to councils to fix defects more quickly.
  • - A unified national reporting platform would replace separate council websites so drivers can log potholes in one place and crews can be dispatched faster.
  • - To make a political case, the party pointed to Department for Transport figures from 2023–24 showing Conservative‑run councils repaired five times more road length than Labour‑run authorities.
  • - The rollout targets a growing problem for drivers, with reports of widespread vehicle damage and a record £18.6 billion repair backlog, as Kemi Badenoch also criticised a recent fuel duty rise.