Here are the responses of the St Neots and Mid-Cambridgeshire Election candidates on potholes and roads.
Ian Sollom (Lib Dem)
"The state of our roads is a disgrace – I think we can all agree they have deteriorated markedly over the last 14 years of Conservative government.
Councils responsible for local roads across the UK have had their central government funding slashed by 77 per cent in real terms, and of the billions the government takes in vehicle tax, only a fraction comes to the county councils that in charge of fixing potholes.
When the Liberal Democrat-led joint administration took over Cambridgeshire County Council the state of the highways department was shocking.
For more than a decade, the budget was so tight it couldn’t even maintain the status quo, leading to the managed decline that we’ve seen. Worse still, the previous Conservative administration were asleep at the wheel on repairs: proper investigation found 30 per cent of repairs failing.
The Lib Dem led council has since launched a multi-year change programme with 55 different projects, but more funding is still needed to undo the mess.
This is why the Liberal Democrats have pledged to give more of the national roads budget to local councils to maintain existing roads, pavements and cycleways, including repairing potholes."
Stephen Ferguson (Independent)
"From motorways to footpaths, the UK’s tarmac has never been in a worse state. It costs us, and it’s dangerous. A daily reminder of broken Britain. A direct result of 14 years of austerity, from the Conservative/Lib Dem coalition onwards.
They burned cash on vanity projects like HS2, but didn’t cough up for the essentials — there’s now a £14 billion repair bill. So the government’s plan to spend just £8.5 billion means our roads will just get worse!
From 2018 to 2024, motorists spent an eye-watering £9.5 billion on repairs due to pothole damage. And hidden costs are passed to everyone, with fleets of vans and lorries costing more to maintain, repair and insure.
Hit a pothole at speed on a bike or motorbike, and it’s about much more than money and inconvenience. A deadly disgrace.
Can we fix it? Clearly, the government must invest. But we should look to new technology to prevent potholes too. Scanning can spot tiny cracks before they even become potholes.
Connected vehicle suspension data and AI can be used to map potholes before they get bad. Research in Cambridge into ‘self-healing road surfaces’ looks promising.
Let’s work smarter, and fix more for our money!"
Marianna Masters (Labour)
"Whether we are we are driving, cycling, biking or taking the bus, well-maintained and safe roads are vital to everyone.
They connect our communities and should give us freedom and opportunities.
I know that cars are a lifeline for so many people in St Neots & Mid Cambridgeshire, yet drivers have been totally failed by this Conservative government.
All too often, travelling even short distances is an infuriating and time-consuming experience. Our time is valuable. And so are our vehicles.
The average repair charge for pothole damage costs around £250 – an unwelcome expense for households already struggling with the cost-of-living and high energy prices.
The Labour Party is on the side of drivers. We have a fully costed national plan to fix up to one million more potholes every year and crack down on soaring car insurance costs.
If elected as your Labour MP, I will work with local authorities to secure funding to make our roads safer for all who use them.
We need to speed up infrastructure improvements and cut costs, and delays, for people living and working here who just want to get from A to B safely, easily and without it costing a fortune."
Guy Lachlan (Reform UK)
As a car enthusiast, I spend a lot of time driving round the constituency's rural roads. What used to be a pleasure has become a stressful self-preservation exercise, as all road users weave around to find the least damaged sections of tarmac.
A recent survey by Cambridgeshire County Council found that potholes were their most complained-about subject, with 76 per cent of respondents being unhappy with the state of local roads.
But the Lib Dem and Labour controlled councils seem happy to drip-feed funding for repairs, to the detriment of all - especially cyclists and motorcyclists.
All this, while the GCP spends £24million on a single roundabout in Cambridge!
The war on the motorist is well and truly ensconced in the policies of all three major parties: Nationally, we contribute £38billion in motoring taxes, but less than £7billion a year is spent on minor road maintenance. This imbalance is a matter of choice by the legacy parties, and needs to end.
Reform UK will end the war on motorists by reducing fuel duty by 20p per litre, banning Low Traffic Neighbourhoods, abolishing the legal requirement for manufacturers to sell electric cars, and scrapping 20mph limits except in safety-critical areas."
Bev White (Party of Women)
After years of commuting on a motorbike, my husband now refuses to drive down certain sections of the A1 at night, after getting caught in an open gouge on the road, nearly coming off his bike.
One son convinced his employer to pay the large repair cost after hitting a pothole. A female friend doing self-employed care work, replaced three car tyres this year, two in quick succession, this pushed her into debt.
It is difficult to go out in a vehicle without hitting a pothole, or ride a bike without considering crumbling verges or sunken drain covers. It is hard to escape or avoid being impacted by our crumbling highway infrastructure.
What I have noticed is that the repairs on main roads tend to get repaired long before those in residential areas. This is understandable to a point, given the volumes of high-speed traffic.
However, it also means that it is usually women in low-income or unpaid caring roles, travelling backwards and forwards doing localised journeys at slower speeds who end up being penalised further as they add unexpected repair costs into already stretched family finances.
Maybe rather than saying ‘more money’ we should be asking if we are spending public money efficiently and effectively, and if not why not?
Kathryn Fisher (Green) and Anthony Browne (Conservative) are also standing in the St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire Election.
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