SCOTTISH LABOUR WILL SAY THEY WILL FIX THE SNP’S MESS ON ROADS
by Bill Heaney
Anas Sarwar has said a Scottish Labour government would fix the mess the SNP has made of Scotland’s roads with a £350 million pothole fund to repair nearly five million potholes.
Scottish Labour has pledged to establish a new road repair fund worth £350 million over the next five years, enough to fix an estimated 4.8 million potholes and begin getting Scotland’s roads back into a decent condition.
The party said the state of Scotland’s roads is another example of the SNP failing to get the basics right, with motorists, families, and businesses paying the price every day through damaged cars, unsafe journeys, and crumbling local infrastructure.
Councils have already had to pay out £4.2 million in compensation between 2019/20 and 2023/24 for damage caused by potholes, proof that motorists are picking up the tab for SNP failure.
Scottish Labour said its plan would help end the SNP’s war on motorists by backing long-overdue investment in road repairs and making sure communities are no longer left battling pothole-ridden roads year after year.
The funding would be repurposed from the active and sustainable travel budget, while protecting bus infrastructure investment, and would be backed by tougher oversight and more preventative maintenance to improve road conditions in the long term.
Scottish Labour has previously revealed that spending on local roads has fallen by 13 per cent since 2010-11 because of SNP cuts to council budgets.
Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar, RIGHT, said: “Scotland needs change after 20 years of SNP government. Across Scotland, motorists are paying the price for the SNP’s failure to get the basics right.
“Our roads are in a sorry state, potholes are causing misery every single day, and drivers, families and businesses are left to pick up the bill.
“This is what 20 years of SNP government looks like. Crumbling roads, rising repair costs, and a government that has turned its back on motorists.
“I’m standing to fix the mess, get the basics right, and build a better future for Scotland.
“That means fixing the mess the SNP have made of our roads and ending their war on motorists.
“A Scottish Labour government will invest £350 million to repair nearly five million potholes and make our roads safer for everyone who relies on them.
“On May 7, vote for Scottish Labour on both votes to fix the roads and deliver the change Scotland needs.”
Gee whiz the puff never ends come election time as the politicos promise the moon.
West Dunbartonshire Council are responsible for the roads. So why are the potholes being not being fixed?
Folk can report potholes, bad potholes, but nothing gets done. Pavements too go unrepaired.
And the cost of claims arising out of injury and loss due to defective surfaces comes to a very pretty penny. Money that would and should have been spent fixing the problem in the first place.
By comparison the national trunk roads are well maintained because when you think about it you dont get potholes on the M8 or other national highways because Transport Scotland repair potholes timeously whereas, as we all know, our council doesn’t.
Makes you wonder if Mr Sarwar actually knows who is responsible for pothole repairs, like our own WDC council.