Government accused of 'motorways for marginals' plan

Media coverage of the road building announcements in the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement was nothing if not cynical, with some papers suggesting blatant electioneering on the part of the Government.

The ‘news’ contained in the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement that £15bn is to spent on upgrading the nation’s road network was widely reported and commented on in the media even though, as the BBC pointed out on 1 December, “the money was initially announced in 2013”.

“This is a large amount of money and a large number of schemes,” the BBC’s transport correspondent, Richard Westcott, observed. “The big question now, from many...

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