Michael Dugher MP, Labour’s Shadow Transport Secretary, responding to the Government’s roads upgrade announcement, said:

“This is just yet another re-announcement on promised road improvements. The Government has ‘announced’ plans for road investment at least three times since 2013.  And no additional money has been announced. 

“Ministers will be judged not on what they promise to deliver in the next Parliament, but on what they have actually delivered in this one - and the truth is barely a shovel has been used in anger on our nation’s highways over the last four and a half years.  

“The Tory-led Government’s record on road investment has been one of cutting investment, then promising to restore it after 2015, cancelling road schemes such as the A14 and then reinstating them, and constantly failing to meet deadlines for the completion of improvements.

“And local roads have been completely ignored under this Government.  Maintenance investment in local roads has declined by 11 per cent in real terms from 2010 to 2014.  And local authority budgets, which provide funding for roads maintenance, have been slashed by a third.  They are pretending to give with one hand, having taken away so much with the other.

“We know David Cameron’s record on infrastructure is one of all talk and no delivery.  Infrastructure output has fallen significantly since May 2010 and less than a third of projects in the Government’s pipeline are actually classed as ‘in construction’.

“If Ministers were as good at upgrading roads as they are at making announcements about upgrading roads, life would be considerably easier for Britain’s hard-pressed motorists who have been consistently let down by this Government”.