Rachel Reeves instructed keep away from UK highway chaos as congestion to value ‘£307bn’ | Politics | News | EUROtoday

Rachel Reeves has been instructed to vary tack and keep away from highway chaos as congestion is predicted to value the UK economic system greater than £300billion by 2030. Analysis by forecasting agency Cebr for FairFuelUK, an organisation based by motoring campaigner Howard Cox, estimated in 2017 that the overall value of highway congestion was set to achieve £307billion by 2030.

Mr Cox stated he believes a forecast made right this moment could possibly be even greater, including: “Roads are the most vital part of the UK’s transport system, and despite decades of anti-driver initiatives and cancelled road builds, long-term trends show that road usage has significantly increased over time.”

The Government says 336.2billion car miles have been pushed on Great Britain’s roads in 2024, a rise of 1.6% in comparison with 2023. Traffic in 2024 was 0.7% decrease when in comparison with 2019 pre-pandemic ranges. Data means that car miles noticed year-on-year progress in annually between 2014 and 2019, earlier than sharply declining as COVID-19 hit the nation. Mr Cox added that there was “years of underfunded road development”, which suggests “congestion has become extremely costly to the UK economy – delays cause drivers to lose time and waste fuel, while also increasing the cost of doing business”.

The campaigner known as for extra funding in new congestion-free roads, bypasses, and repairs to Britain’s “dilapidated, third-world roads”, saying it’s “a clear fiscal choice”.

He added: “Significant road investment offers better value for money – returning an average benefit of £4.50 per pound spent, compared to £2.83 for rail.

“Rail funding is almost 9 instances that of highway per mile.

“Well-targeted road projects reduce congestion; for example, if the same investment allocated to HS2 had been invested in roads, based on historic averages, it could have widened over 1,900 miles of motorway—covering every motorway in England.”

The campaigner stated the UK wants a Chancellor who “recognises roads and road users are central to increasing economic growth, instead of pandering to the ideological belief that buses, trains, and trams are the panacea”.

He added: “We must have new road infrastructure projects and the restoration of shelved plans… otherwise our economy will stagnate indefinitely.”

The UK’s ‘most congested’ places

The RAC says that London experiences the majority of the UK’s worst traffic delays.

On the city’s most congested route – the westbound A40 between the North Circular and the A406 – motorists face an additional 17-minute delay during the 5pm peak hour, experts say.

This results in a total of 68 hours spent in traffic over the course of a year.

In January 2025, ongoing roadworks at the Wisely Bypass on the M25 and M3 further exacerbated delays, placing this corridor third in the UK for traffic congestion.

In Bristol, the second most congested city in the UK, the busiest route is the eastbound A420, stretching from the Lawrence Hill Roundabout to Hollow Road.

At 4pm on weekdays, the RAC says, drivers lose around five minutes per day, adding up to 21 hours every year.

Meanwhile, in Leeds, the busiest roads were the A650 southbound, the A657/Leeds Road westbound, and the A65/New Road southbound.

The shadow transport secretary, Richard Holden, told the Express earlier this month that Labour is coming up with “all types of excuses” after the A303 bypass was cancelled in July final yr.

The value for its preparatory work was predicted to have risen to £179.2million by December 2024.

Ms Reeves additionally axed the deliberate A27 Arundel Bypass.