Potholes

With the easing of restrictions and the fine weather, we have all been emerging from our own little bubbles. One of the hard facts that stares us in the face when out and about is the general disrepair of the roads. Vegetation appears to have run out of control, and the roads have a pandemic all of their own. This pothole plague is a blight on our roads damaging vehicles, creating a fatal hazard for cyclists, and hospitalising pedestrians. This problem can be squarely laid at the feet of Conservative councils and Conservative government.

Every new year Conservative Hampshire trumpet some new gizmo or wheeze that promises to fix the problem and then after a blaze of publicity it disappears into thin air. Remember the magic dragon? Meanwhile the pothole plague continues unabated. Now you might regard this as inevitable, but we should not. Conservative Hampshire refuses to pay damages unless the potholes are reported and yet it is one of the major payers of damages. We should continue to report potholes, but it has been depressing watching the slow rate of repair and the really bad repairs carried out. This incompetence is clearly the responsibility of Conservative Hampshire County Council.

Moving on, we have the usual blame game with Conservative councils blaming the Conservative government for lack of funding. This may cause some confusion as the common denominator is Conservative. You cannot do a proverbial washing of hands worthy of Pontius Pilate when the levers of power and tax raising sit with the same party.

The first message to take away is that voting or not voting has inevitable consequences. Hampshire is a rich county yet has an exceptionally low tax take. Not only can it not fix potholes, it is heading towards bankruptcy. The second message is do not assume that Conservative councils are capable of managing our money and services effectively