Birmingham Local Conservatives have condemned the Labour Government’s vindictive decision to cancel Birmingham’s Highways PFI contract in the run-up to the local elections, while keeping the decision hidden from residents. The outgoing Birmingham Labour administration has been accused of deliberately misleading residents ahead of the election by helping to conceal the Government’s decision, reportedly made during the purdah period, to axe the Highways PFI credits that have provided Birmingham with more than £50 million a year in funding since 2010. This level of support was significantly higher than that received by most other councils.
Councillor Robert Alden (Con, Erdington), Leader of the Birmingham Local Conservatives, said
This announcement has been deliberately hidden until after the local elections. Labour knew this was coming but chose to keep residents in the dark rather than admit their Labour Government was taking more than £450 million over the next 9 years off Birmingham City Council, over £50m a year. Labour lied to voters by pretending the investment in our roads was secure when they knew the PFI contract was being taken away by them. Birmingham kicked Labour out last week and this is the punishment that voters are now getting in return.
With the Prime Minister announcing yet another desperate ‘relaunch’ to try to salvage the Labour brand, the government’s first act has been to punish Birmingham residents for what was their inevitable rejection of Labour at the ballot box.
For years, Birmingham Labour received £50 million a year from Government specifically for road maintenance and improvement, investment secured by the Local Conservatives in 2010. This was supplemented by the requirement to match that funding with local revenue indexed to inflation, leaving around £100m every year to fix the highways. By contrast, had Birmingham been on the standard funding formula that other local authorities received, they would have had only around £19m a year.
Instead of investing this money properly in fixing potholes and maintaining our highways, they failed to deliver the improvements residents desperately need, stopping all proactive repairs and foolishy costing residentsmor ein the future. In 2024/25, less than 1 mile of road was resurfaced. The result is clear for all to see, with some of the worst roads in the country and residents suffering daily from damaged vehicles, disrupted journeys, and unsafe conditions.
Now, with the cancellation of the PFI contract, Birmingham faces the very real risk that our roads will deteriorate even further. The blame for this lies squarely at the door of Labour’s chronic mismanagement and failure to invest the funding they were given.
Councillor Alex Yip (Con, Sutton Wylde Green), Deputy Leader of Birmingham Local Conservatives, said
Residents across Birmingham deserve better, our roads need urgent fixing, not more excuses. While Labour’s failure has put this vital investment in jeopardy, it is the Birmingham Local Conservatives who will not stand by and let residents suffer. We will work constructively with all parties on the council to develop a plan to try and protect essential highway services, fights to secure the investment our city needs, and that mitigates the damage caused by Labour's vindictive £450m cut to Birmingham's Highway funding
Councillor Alden added:
The crumbling state of our roads is a fitting metaphor for the way Labour has run our city over the last 14 years - left to decay and fall apart with scant regard for the residents who live here, whilst managing the messaging to protect their brand, then misleading and punishing residents on their way out the door. Thankfully, Labour ran out of road on 7 May but the mess they left behind is now left to all of us to clean up.
Birmingham Local Conservatives remain committed to putting the interests of residents first by trying to deliver the practical action needed to repair and maintain Birmingham’s roads as set out in the Manifesto for the recent local elections.