The BMF remains extremely concerned about the current state of the UK's roads, which present a real risk of serious injury or worse for motorcyclists and other vulnerable road users. Tackling the scourge of potholes and ensuring better and safer roads for riding is at the top of the BMF’s agenda and we regularly meet with Ministers and officials from the Department for Transport (DfT) and National Highways (NH) to press for a firm government commitment to fixing the UK roads long-term. This includes pressing central government to make sufficient and ongoing funding available to local authorities to deliver permanent and timely repairs to the road network, including both “A” roads and rural roads. We have also sought greater transparency from Ministers and Local Authorities on specific progress on pothole and road surface repairs. The BMF has also been active in supporting media campaigns highlighting the pothole problem, and we have previously appeared on regional and national TV and radio highlighting the particular risks to motorcyclists from un-repaired potholes, as well as from “temporary” pothole repairs (referred to as the “patch and dash” approach often employed by Local Councils) that then quickly fail.
In addition, the BMF works closely with our key partner, the National Motorcycle Council (NMC), to improve the poor state of the UK’s roads, through the BMF’s support of the Pothole Partnership launched on 15 January 2024, which brings together both road users and industry in a joined-up approach to tackle potholes. On 15 January 2026 the BMF supported “National Pothole Day” with key media messaging emphasising the work of the Pothole Partnership and the need for a “game changing” approach to fixing the pothole problem so as to reduce the significant risk to motorcyclists from the continuing poor state of the UK’s roads. The campaign received significant national and local media interest with key reporting on the Pothole Partnership’s Call for Action appearing on national and local news programmes.
Following sustained lobbying by the BMF and the NMC of Ministers and officials (both of the previous and current governments) we were pleased to see a welcome government announcement during 2025 that another £1.6 billion in ring-fence funding will be allocated to fix the UK’s roads. This funding will make a real difference to Local Authorities being able to get on and carry out much needed repairs to the road network, including both major and rural roads. Importantly, alongside the announcement of £1.6 billion of extra road funding, the Government has said that 25% of the funds allocated to Local Authorities will be withheld until Local Authorities can prove that they are delivering more proactive road maintenance, including delivering a programme of effective road maintenance before potholes start to form and moving away from the wasteful patchwork approach. Local Authorities also now need to report their progress on pothole repairs and provide wider road maintenance data to access the full amount of government funding. Local Councils must publish reports on their websites detailing repair spending, the number of potholes filled, general road conditions in their area and their strategies to minimise disruption whilst repairs and resurfacing works are carried out.
Following continued pressure on the Government by the Pothole Partnership and the BMF to fix the UK’s roads, the Government has this week announced a major £27 billion funding boost to upgrade England’s motorways and major A-roads over the next 5 years. This will be one of the largest ever road investment plans that will resurface over 9,000 kilometres worth of motorway and major A-road lanes – almost a quarter of the network. You can read more about the RIS3 announcement here: RIS3-2026-to-2031
The key issue now will be to ensure that Local Authorities get on with the necessary repairs to the road network. Centrally, the BMF will continue to hold Ministers and road transport officials to account to ensure that promised funding is allocated for repairs and that this is spent appropriately by Local Councils with visible signs of improvement. BMF Members will be able to monitor the progress of their own local councils through the reporting that councils are now required to publish on their websites. The BMF is also encouraging our members to write directly to their Borough Councillors to request specific details of the funding they have been allocated by central government and their plans and timeline for fixing potholes in
their particular region. Additionally, where progress on repairs is not evident, we would encourage BMF Members to contact their local MP directly to demand urgent action so that the relevant Council delivers the necessary pothole repairs to ensure the continued safety of motorcyclists.
In the meantime, the general public can continue to report specific potholes in the UK via the www.gov.uk/report-pothole link by entering the relevant post code, or by using apps like https://www.fixmystreet.com, which will direct reports to the correct local authority for action.
