The state of roads in the UK is worse than it was 12 months ago and pothole repairs are now crumbling as quickly as councils are fixing them, according to a survey of 1,000 drivers.
Despite an announcement last year that the government would shell out more than £2bn a year for local authorities to repair potholes on their roads, more than half of respondents (58%) said the quality of the highways had declined since 2025.
Eight out of 10 motorists said councils weren’t fixing the holes in a timely manner and 70% said when they were resurfaced, the fixes were failing within days or weeks.
At the start of the year, the AA said a five-year warranty attached to every non-emergency pothole repair in the UK would help ensure they were patched up correctly and ensure accountability.
The Asphalt Industry Alliance described the situation as a national embarrassment after figures were released revealing that there were 613,638 pothole-related callouts in 2025.
Mark Tongue, CEO and founder at Select Car Leasing, which carried out the most recent poll, said councils now faced a “colossal” task:
“Millions upon millions of pounds have been committed to pothole repairs in recent years, with Sir Keir Starmer announcing a record £7.3bn local roads boost in 2025 and the department for transport revealing how local authorities had begun to receive additional cash in April 2025,” he said.
“Almost a year down the road, though, are UK motorists really feeling the benefits? Not according to our poll, they’re not.”
