Labour’s failure on road improvements  

Driving in my constituency, I keep seeing men working on a glaring – and frustrating – example of the government's willingness to waste large sums of public money. Britain's public deficit has passed the levels in Greece and drawn fire from the European Commission. There are also lots of worthy road improvements sorely needed. Yet a bridge has just been constructed across the A2 linking up a bridleway a few miles Southeast of Canterbury, which is almost unused. The structure, built by the Highways Agency, has cost the taxpayer £1.3 million. Very few people want this bridge. In fact, local residents have protested to me that it is a visual intrusion. At both ends, the approaches have been permanently (and expensively) scarred by tarmac paths. And the robust steel frame dominates the skyline, in an area of outstanding natural beauty. Why was it built? I wrote to the minister...