Listen to the article
In UK, Government’s Ambitious Pothole Pledge Faces Significant Hurdles
Labour’s manifesto promise to fix “an additional one million potholes in England in each year” of Parliament appears increasingly difficult to achieve, according to a comprehensive investigation by UK fact-checking charity Full Fact.
The analysis, which examined transparency reports from over 150 local highway authorities, reveals pothole repairs actually declined by 3.5% in the 2024/25 financial year compared to the previous year. More concerning for the government’s pledge, early projections from 85 councils indicate no overall increase in pothole repairs for the current 2025/26 period.
This data suggests the government would need to oversee at least 2.85 million pothole repairs in 2025/26 to fulfill its first-year pledge, based on the 1.85 million potholes filled during 2024/25 across the 149 councils that provided usable data.
The investigation uncovered significant inconsistencies in how local authorities track and address the pothole problem. Despite calls from organizations like the RAC, there is no nationally agreed definition of what constitutes a pothole, making data comparison between councils nearly impossible.
Some authorities count clusters of potholes as single repairs, while others record each individual pothole fixed. Additionally, certain councils include pavement repairs in their figures, further complicating meaningful analysis of the nationwide situation.
The variation in repair approaches is substantial. Birmingham City Council, for example, reported filling just 4,514 potholes in 2024/25—less than half the 9,332 fixed the previous year—but projects a 50% increase to 6,788 repairs in the current financial year. Meanwhile, North Tyneside Borough Council expects to maintain consistent repair levels at around 6,000, and South Gloucestershire Council anticipates an 18% decrease in repairs.
Local factors significantly influence both pothole formation and repair statistics. South Gloucestershire Council noted that drier weather in early 2025 reduced pothole reports by approximately one-third compared to the previous year. Nottingham City Council explained its 19% reduction in temporary pothole repairs as a result of increased permanent highway maintenance and planned road work.
It’s worth noting that council budgets for 2024/25 were established before Labour took office in July 2024, and the government only held power for nine months of that financial year.
The Labour government has taken initial steps toward addressing the pothole crisis. In March 2025, it informed English local authorities that 25% of the previously announced £500 million in additional local road maintenance funding would be contingent on producing detailed reports about their road networks by June 2025.
More significantly, November’s budget included a commitment to provide over £2 billion annually by 2029/30 for local authorities to tackle potholes. The government claimed this investment would enable it to “exceed its commitment to fix an additional one million potholes per year.”
Previous research by the Asphalt Industry Alliance estimated 1.9 million potholes would be filled across England and Wales in 2024/25, roughly aligning with Full Fact’s findings.
The Department for Transport did not respond to Full Fact’s request for comment on the investigation’s findings.
With substantial regional variations in repair methodologies and projections, combined with the absence of standardized definitions and data collection practices, the government faces not just the challenge of filling more potholes, but also establishing consistent measurement systems to demonstrate meaningful progress on its high-profile pledge.
Fact Checker
Verify the accuracy of this article using The Disinformation Commission analysis and real-time sources.
8 Comments
The inconsistencies in how councils track and address potholes is a real obstacle to progress. Standardizing definitions and reporting methods could provide a clearer picture of the scale of the problem and help target resources more effectively.
The data showing a decline in actual pothole repairs is concerning, especially with an ambitious government target. Improving transparency and aligning metrics across councils could help identify best practices and challenges more effectively.
Interesting to see the challenges councils face in meeting the pothole repair pledge. Consistent definitions and data tracking across local authorities seems key to accurately assessing progress. I wonder what innovative solutions might help streamline the repair process.
This report highlights the complexities involved in meeting ambitious infrastructure repair targets. I hope the findings spur constructive dialogue between government, councils, and transportation organizations to develop a more coherent, data-driven strategy.
The lack of a consistent definition for potholes across local authorities is really hampering efforts to address the issue. I hope this report prompts more collaboration to establish clear standards and reporting mechanisms.
This investigation highlights the need for better coordination and standardization when it comes to pothole repairs. With no agreed-upon definition, it’s difficult to get an accurate picture of the scale of the problem and progress being made.
It’s troubling to see the government’s pothole repair pledge may be difficult to achieve based on the current data. This underscores the importance of robust data collection and coordination between national and local authorities.
Agreed, better data and coordination will be crucial. I’m curious to learn more about the innovative solutions councils could explore to streamline the repair process.