Two main problems - Conservative governments and bodged repairs by Lincolnshire County Council

There are two essential problems causing the appalling state of our roads in Lincolnshire.

The first is that we have had Conservative governments since 2010 who refuse to provide sufficient funding for local councils to carry out even their most basic of duties and obligations. The grants to local authorities have been cut, and cut, and cut - with the inevitable result that the roads are collapsing - literally. Yet we continue to return Conservative MPs across the county - and as long as we do that the government knows it doesn't need to bother to fund us properly. The money goes, what little they're prepared to spend, where they can buy votes with it. Our votes are known - it's always Conservative, so they don't care.

The second problem is that under the 'leadership' of Conservative Richard Davies this County Council has for years failed to use the money it has wisely. Repairs are very rarely carried out properly - they're almost always bodged, meaning that each repair has to be done several times instead of just once. Look around you - you'll know exactly what I mean. How long do their pothole repairs last? A few weeks at best? Each repair should involve the pothole being cut out, the road repaired with hot tarmac, and the edges sealed to prevent water getting in again. What actually happens is that a bloke in a van tips some asphalt into the hole, drives over it a couple of times, and drives off. Then he comes back and does the same thing every few weeks - or even days.

Sheer, wanton waste and inefficiency. We have limited resources, thanks to Conservative policies - but wasting them in the way that Richard Davies and Lincolnshire Highways do is just plain crazy.