Tories accused of overseeing ‘pothole pandemic’ on England’s roads

Sixty-three claims for pothole-related damage were made by motorists every day last year, the Liberal Democrats have said.The party has called for road maintenance budgets to be fully-restored by the government, accusing the Conservatives of overseeing a “pothole pandemic” on English roads.Data from 85 local authorities in England, obtained by freedom of information requests, shows that compensation paid to motorists reached £1.77 million in 2022/23 – a slight rise on the previous year.The Liberal Democrats said that the number of pothole claims has grown significantly in the last year, with 23,042 in 2022/23 compared with the 13,579 recorded the previous year.