As I bounced dangerously around a Sussex road, I was reminded of the parlous state of our highways – and the serious neglect of local issues
I
t’s the potholes, stupid. Despite the attempts of national politicians to pretend otherwise, the local elections should have been about potholes. Believe it or not, the state of our roads beat the cost of living, the NHS and immigration as the top election issue in the final YouGov poll. They ranked highest in the Local Government Association’s list of local service dissatisfactions. Voters knew what these elections were about, even if no politician was ready to agree.
Yet potholes featured barely at all in the election coverage. As party leaders queued up to be interviewed, they were not going to descend to street-level. British local politics has been nationalised for decades. To the BBC and the media generally, the elections have been seen as US-style midterms. The issues debated have been the cost of living, immigration and antisemitism. All very important, of course, but hardly something local councils have a great say over.
Which brings us back to potholes. As I bounced and pounded my way along a Sussex road last week, I had to guess which puddle ahead of me was one inch deep and which three inches. Did I face a bump or a smashed tyre? The RAC reckons there are now six potholes per mile. Three-quarters of Britons who drive on the continent find Britain’s road surfaces the worst in Europe. Meanwhile, pothole damage to cars has almost doubled in three years and councils have paid out millions in damage claims.
