How the Reform Council Fuels the Pothole Crisis—and What to Do About It

By Monday, councils across the country must publish reports on pothole repairs as part of a new government £1.6bn drive to fix the country’s roads.

In Derbyshire, sometimes branded the pothole capital of England, the results will likely be read with interest.

The county council’s new Reform UK leadership vows local roads will improve within a year, echoing Nigel Farage, who lashed out at “monstrous” potholes as the party put the issue centre of its successful May local elections campaign.

But official data points to the scale of the task locally. The RAC identified Derbyshire as the worst region in England for potholes, with Department for Transport figures showing the local authority has the most roads and motorways where repairs should be considered.

The figures indicate the problem has been getting worse. The percentage of B and C roads in red condition has almost quadrupled in five years, from 10 per cent in 2019 to 38 per cent in 2024. For motorways and A roads the leap is from 12 per cent in 2019 to 28 in 2024.

Data obtained by the Liberal Democrats showed Derbyshire was the area most riddled with potholes in 2021/22, with 90,596, the highest of any of 81 councils who responded.

Derbyshire County Council say its roads have been surveyed differently to other local authorities, making comparisons difficult.

Across the country, the cost of repairing pothole-plagued roads has hit a record high of almost £17bn, with the Asphalt ­Industry Alliance (AIA) finding one in six miles of local roads had less than five years of structural life remaining.

With Sir Keir Starmer insisting town halls “get on” with fixing potholes, local authorities must now reveal how much they are spending, the number of potholes filled and the condition of their roads – or risk losing 25 per cent of a £500m government uplift.

Charlotte Hill, the Reform councillor now in charge of Derbyshire’s roads after the party ousted the Tories in May, welcomes the increased transparency of the new reporting system.

“We knew what we were getting ourselves into. And I think the data just represents that,” she told The i Paper.

“We have a bigger budget than last year in Derbyshire now so that we have the ability to address more issues within the highways.

“We’re now increasing the programme over this summer period. Starting next week, the workload will be doubled, and that will mean that we can get ahead of the reactive stuff more during the good weather, so that those repairs don’t get worse over the winter weather.”

Under the new reporting system, a RAG (red, amber, green) rating is being produced for councils on pothole maintenance.

The Prime Minister has said the rating system will show “who is the best and who is not the best”.

Derbyshire’s new Reform team has indicated there are 66,000 Derbyshire potholes to be repaired and says the county’s highways will be noticeably better within a year.

As part of this, the efficiency and tender process of contracts would be reviewed, said Cllr Hill, who has worked within the highways industry for several years.

She believes the problems in Derbyshire, which Reform seized from the Tories in May’s local election, stems from potholes being “reactively” fixed instead of preventive measures being prioritised.

“It is a frustration of ours and of our residents that they can go and resurface Road A and road B, but road C joining up to road A and road B gets ignored,” she said.

“I think that’s where the costly impacts have come previously. It’s trying to have a longer term overview of this and being able to not look at just a 12-month picture, but a five-year picture.

“Officers have been working quite hard on it, and likely the gangs on on the ground as well have. Because of that previous title [pothole capital of England], now hopefully we get a good chance to flip that around.”

New techniques brought in by the Conservative administration to tackle the problem include Roadmender Asphalt, a material containing old tyres.

The Pothole Pro repair machine, capable of fixing a pothole in eight minutes is also being considered.

Nearly six out of 10 people who voted Reform in last summer’s election said more road maintenance to fix potholes should be given the “highest priority”.

And while Cllr Hill says she “fully support residents being able to see the condition of their roads” as part of the new government reporting requirement, others have expressed reservations about funding.

Cllr Adam Hug, transport spokesperson for the Local Government Association, said the extra £500m for roads could be used more effectively without “additional bureaucratic hurdles that create uncertainty”.

“This funding uncertainty stops highways authorities from planning and commissioning works as cost effectively as possible, or from causing the least disruption to road users,” he said

David Giles, chair of the Asphalt Industry Alliance (AIA), says local authorities are reporting highway budgets must more than double for the next five to 10 year to tackle a backlog of repairs, now almost £17bn in England and Wales.

“So while the Government’s commitment to additional funding for the 2025/26 financial year – the short-term cash injection with greater accountability announced in December – was welcome, it is unlikely to improve structural conditions or reduce road user complaints,” he said.

A Department for Transport spokesperson said: “We are determined to end the pothole plague, which is why we are already investing £1.6bn this year to help local authorities resurface local roads and fix the equivalent of up to seven million extra potholes.

“This is just the start – the Government will also be investing a further £24bn over the next four years to upgrade motorways and local roads across the country, delivering lasting infrastructure Britain can rely on.

“The public deserves to know how their councils are improving their local roads, which is why we are asking councils to publish reports on their websites setting out exactly how they are spending the money.”