Neglect by Conservative controlled Devon County Council has made Devon the pothole capital of England with a £200m backlog of repairs. That £200m is just to bring the roads to an ‘acceptable’ standard not to a ‘good’ standard!

That puts into context the ‘promise’ by the Labour Government to allocate an extra £500m to fix potholes across the country. It is just not enough.

Liberal Democrats will:

• Establish that prevention is better than cure.
• Limit temporary pothole repairs and, where possible, ensure every pothole is repaired permanently.
• Ensure Council contractors adhere to UK-wide repair and inspection standards.
• Ring-fence spending on ALL road maintenance.
• Make sure that the Council is fully transparent about its roads repair backlog.
• Review the opportunity to bring road maintenance ‘in-house’ and abolish the ‘cost-plus (profit)’ model of using external contractors.

Liberal Democrats take the view that for a vibrant growing economy, investment in infrastructure is essential. It was the building of high quality canals and railways in the Victorian era that drove the industrial revolution. A country neglecting its railways and roads is not serious about economic growth.