Potholes and road repairs emerge as top issue in England local elections

Potholes have become a test of whether councils can still deliver the basics. In an April 2026 YouGov poll, roads including potholes, parking and congestion were the top local issue for 37% of respondents, narrowly ahead of the economy and cost of living at 35%.

That pressure landed as the government tightened the rules on road money. On 14 April 2026, ministers said councils in England would face new requirements on how they spend pothole and road-maintenance funding, with up to a third of next year’s allocation at risk if they cannot show the money is being used effectively. The Department for Transport said the aim was to make sure taxpayers see real improvements, while councils that perform well could keep more of the cash.

The stakes are high because the numbers behind the repair backlog are so large. The government had already set aside £1.6 billion for local road maintenance in 2025/26, including an extra £500 million that it said would be enough to fix more than seven million potholes a year. The Local Government Association said that extra funding would help start to address the backlog, but warned the underlying problem still stood at nearly £17 billion and could take more than a decade to clear.

Parliament’s House of Commons Library has painted a similarly bleak picture. It cited a 2025 industry estimate that 17% of the local road network in England and Wales is in poor condition, and said clearing the maintenance backlog would cost £16.81 billion and take 12 years. The Asphalt Industry Alliance has said local streets are resurfaced only once every 93 years on average, a figure that underlines how slowly years of neglect are being repaired.

The problem is showing up in breakdowns as well as budgets. RAC members reported 6,290 pothole-related incidents in February 2026, averaging 225 a day, nearly three-and-a-half times the 66 a day recorded in February 2025. The increase suggests the issue is worsening for drivers even as parties campaign on promises to fix it.

Labour’s pledge to fix an additional one million potholes in England each year of the next parliament now faces scrutiny against that backdrop. With repair costs mounting, motorists can face an average bill of around £460 for pothole damage, while compensation claims are often settled for less. For voters heading to the polls, the crumbling road outside their homes is not just an inconvenience. It is visible evidence of whether government can still do the most basic job of all.