SNP accused of raiding £150m from Scotland's roads budget - leaving Scots motorists with pothole filled routes

Potholes are the scourge of motorists through the country, with Glasgow and Edinburgh two of the most impacted cities, with the Scottish Government being accused of failing to improve roads by cutting the budget.

The SNP have been accused of raiding £150m from Scotland's roads budgets - leaving hard-pressed Scots motorists with pothole-strewn routes. Drivers on the country's busiest roads have reported damage from driving over gaps in the infrastructure.

Councils have been forced to fork out thousands in compensation in some cases, while motorists have also had to pick up the bill. And now Scottish Labour have claimed that the Scottish Governmentare short-changing drivers by millions.

The party claimed that spending on Scotland's roads dropped by £150m in real terms last year, with this reduction from 2022/23 and 2023/24 amounting to a tenth of the overall roads budget. South of the border, Sir Keir Starmer has retained a pot introduced by the previous Tory administration for local authorities to spend on improving roads.

The UK Government has allocated £1.6bn to fixing potholes in England. This will come with an estimated £160m of Barnett Consequential funding for Scotland but this hasn't been passed on, with the SNP Executive insisting it is up to struggling councils to spend their budget on the issue.

Direct spending by the Scottish Government on roads fell by £70m in real terms, while road spending by local authorities dropped by £80m, according to Scottish Labour. Previous research undertaken by party found that it would cost £2.5bn to repair the pothole backlog which had led to a big increase in car insurance claims, rising by 69%.

Labour leader Anas Sarwar has highlighted these figures ahead of a day of campaigning in Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse where they are looking to defeat the SNP in a Holyrood by-election on June 5. He said: “Scotland’s roads are causing misery for drivers daily – from the potholes on local roads to the dangerous state of major roads like the A9.

“In communities right across Scotland, our crumbling roads are a damning symbol of the SNP’s failure and the decline it has presided over. Despite the dismal state of Scottish roads, the SNP government decimated funding for roads across Scotland.

“In Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse, Labour is investing in improving roads despite SNP cuts – but [SNP candidate] Katy Loudon voted against this funding. It’s clear only one party can deliver the new direction people across Scotland so badly needs and that is Scottish Labour.”

The Scottish Government has long been accused of mounting a war on motorists that includes overseeing low emission zones in Glasgow, Dundee, Inverness and Edinburgh, as well as handing over powers for a workplace levy.

It has also failed to make substantial progress in dualling the A9 between Inverness and Perth, with this one of the deadliest roads in the UK for fatal collisions. It has also u-turned on promises to dual the A96 fully between Inverness and Aberdeen despite local campaigning about it sorely needing an upgrade.

A Scottish Government spokesman said: "The Scottish Government has provided councils with a record £15 billion this year, a real terms increase of 5.5%. Local authorities have the autonomy to allocate that funding to meet local needs and priorities including road repair and upkeep.”