Reform councils accused of being ‘worst at fixing potholes’
It comes as the Government launched its new traffic light system for tackling potholes, which shows a quarter of Local Highway Authorities led by Reform have been given a ‘Red’ rating
Nigel Farage has been accused of failing motorists (Image: Getty Images)
Reform UK has been accused of failing motorists as new analysis showed Reform-led Councils were proportionally the least effective at fixing potholes.
It comes as the Government launched its new traffic light system for tackling potholes, which shows a quarter of Local Highway Authorities led by Reform have been given an overall ‘Red’ rating – the worst possible rating. The Department for Transport (DfT) has brought in a new mapping tool with154 local highway authorities rated as red, amber or green based on road conditions and how effectively they are spending the Government’s road maintenance funding.
Three Reform Councils – Derbyshire, Leicestershire, and West Northamptonshire – have been given the ‘Red’ rating out of only 12 Councils led by Reform. The grading also found Tory Councils are failing to effectively tackle potholes, with nearly one in five of their Councils given an overall ‘Red’ rating.
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Anna Turley MP, Chair of the Labour Party, said: “This shows that Reform Councils are the worst at fixing potholes. Reform often give easy answers to problems but when it comes to delivering for drivers by fixing potholes and repairing roads, Reform Councils are falling well short. Labour is on the side of motorists. We’re delivering the biggest-ever investment to end England’s pothole plague and fixing a million more potholes every year.”
The data was collected between March 2025 and June 2025, before Reform took control of the local authorities. Among those classified as red are Cumberland, Cumbria; Bolton, Greater Manchester; Leicestershire; Suffolk; and Kensington and Chelsea, west London. The DfT said red authorities will receive “dedicated support to bring them into line with best practices” through a £300,000 programme.
Green authorities include Essex; Wiltshire; Coventry, West Midlands; Leeds, West Yorkshire; and Darlington, County Durham. In November’s budget, the Government committed to providing a total of £7.3 billion for local road maintenance funding for the four years up to and including 2029/30.
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said: “For too long drivers have paid the price because our roads were left to deteriorate. I have heard time and again their frustration on footing the bill because they hit a pothole – money they should never have to spend in the first place.
“We’ve put our money where our mouth is, increasing the funding for local highway authorities with £7.3 billion to fix roads and given them the long-term certainty they have been asking for. This Government’s record investment will save drivers money on repairs, make roads safer and help restore pride in our communities.”
A Reform UK spokesman said: “This is a timely report which exposes the failure of previous Conservative and Labour councils to get our local highways services working effectively. Despite inheriting some of the worst roads in the country, Reform councils have been committed to fixing our highways.
“In Derbyshire alone – which we inherited as the pothole capital of England – the Reform administration cleared the entire pothole backlog left for them by the Tories in their first six months. Whilst there is always more work to be done, Reform has started the process of reversing decades of managed decline under the Tories and Labour.”
