Help! There’s a killer on the loose, and economic growth is the victim. With GDP rising by a measly 0.7 per cent during the first quarter of 2025, and real GDP showing a sluggish 1.3 per cent growth, things are looking anything but optimistic.
Journalists and businesspeople alike have gathered some of the key suspects. ‘Rising national insurance,’ says Gary Neville. ‘Workers’ entitlement,’ claims Matthew Lynn. These have indeed contributed to poor economic growth, but they were not its downfall. Rather, Britain’s inadequate transport infrastructure is really what finished it off.
The evidence lies in plain view, in the form of potholed roads and tired trains. Yet instead of bringing the economy’s murderer to justice, politicians continue to bury their heads in the sand.
A Logistical Nightmare
Poor transport infrastructure was a stake in the heart of growth. Why? Because it exacerbates inequality and unemployment. Think about it: having inadequate transport means people cannot get to the places they need to be. This has a devastating impact on those relying on public transport to ferry them to work. When trains are cancelled due to repairs, or entire bus routes become closed because of budget restraints, it is the commuters who suffer most. It means people are late to work or cannot get to work, with productivity affected. But what other choice do they have? They could get a cab twice a day or eventually buy a car, but both modes of transport are notoriously expensive and simply unaffordable for many. That’s why inadequate transport infrastructure is proven to hit the poorest hardest.
It is also the bane of the existence of those looking for work or wanting to go to university. Imagine that you live in a small town and have been out of work for a while. Suddenly, you find a job listing that you believe you are perfect for, only to realise there aren’t any forms of public transport nearby. If there were, you wouldn’t hesitate to apply. Instead, you’re left wondering how you could get there without breaking the bank.
Think about how many people have put off studying or replying to a job advert, simply because opportunities are too far away. Think how many more people would be employed or have a degree if they had the means to get to work or university. It is undeniable that cities, particularly those in the South East of England, are far more interconnected than other parts of the UK because public transport around the capital receives significantly higher funding. For example, if the North had received the same investment as London for the past decade, it would be £140bn better off. So when Rachel Reeves rattles on about a new £2.5bn railway line from Oxford to Cambridge, don’t expect much fanfare. Many people in rural or more deprived areas would be grateful to have access to a train at all.
Forlorn Firms
Poor transport infrastructure doesn’t just affect employees. It also thwarts a firm’s ability to move goods across the UK. The state of our roads is nothing short of an embarrassment. The RAC estimates that, on average, there are six potholes per mile of road in England and Wales. This, incidentally, coincides with the fact that the number of potholes being filled per year has fallen, whilst the number of breakdowns caused by poor road surfaces this winter was up 19 per cent compared to the same period last year. Unsurprisingly, this indicates a significant correlation between inadequate roads and the increased likelihood of damage to vehicles.
With many British businesses at breaking point, having to battle rising National Insurance Contributions, they simply cannot afford to fix their vans and lorries as well. And it’s not just the expense of repairing damaged vehicles that’s so problematic for businesses. They must also take into account the loss of revenue caused by the disruption of having those vehicles sitting dormant in a garage, unable to cart goods up and down the supply chain.
Exporting Hell
What about those businesses that export goods across the world? Well, they face poor airport capacity. It is no secret that Britain’s airports are not always operationally efficient, nor have they been able to keep up with increasing demand from both businesses and consumers. Without better infrastructure to deal with higher traffic on airport runways, firms cannot adequately present their goods on the international stage, let alone sell their exports to foreign markets.
This is why rumours of developing a third runway at Heathrow Airport have caused such a stir for the better part of a decade. The Chancellor claims she wants Britain to be ‘the world’s best connected place to do business,’ but until our airports have undergone major modernisation, we will continue to lag behind our international competitors — much to the chagrin of British firms.
National Joke
For too long, poor transport infrastructure has been the noose around the neck of Britain’s economic growth. But in the rare instances when politicians attempt to do something about it, they only seem to make matters worse.
Take the M6, for example. News recently broke out that eight bridges, which form part of this motorway in Cumbria, will need to be repaired as they are ‘near the end of their lifespan.’ You’d think the response from the public would be positive, considering that the North is receiving some much-needed investment. In fact, it could prove to be financially devastating for local businesses. The disruption caused by road closures, which are due to last for four years, will force vehicles that transport goods to take diversions, costing them both time and money. Longer journeys mean higher fuel costs, while businesses like drive-throughs and petrol stations, which rely on driver traffic, will lose vital customers. All in all, experts estimate that unemployment will rise and firms will experience a total loss of profits amounting to £8m as a result of these essential improvements.
I cannot write an article about insufficient transport infrastructure without mentioning HS2, which has become something of a national joke. The high-speed train, originally aimed to connect the North and the West Midlands directly with the capital, would have helped people across the country access its higher earning potential. But after budget constraints forced developers to continuously scale back on their plans, this once-ambitious scheme is now nothing more than a glorified line from London Euston to Birmingham Interchange. HS2 can only be described as a failure. Still, taxpayers will be forced to dish out £81bn by the time it is complete.
Inadequate access to transportation doesn’t just impact economic growth; it affects every aspect of our lives. Non-existent pavements make it impossible for mothers to walk their children to school. A lack of accessibility robs disabled people of the ability to use public transport. Potholed roads and inefficient motorways prevent sons and daughters from visiting their elderly parents. Inadequate train and bus services hinder people’s attempts to meet up with friends, contributing to the loneliness epidemic.
Everybody deserves to have access to decent transportation. It should be a very achievable goal for a developed nation like the UK. Yet ask any business owner or ordinary Brit, whether they’re from Clapham or Cardiff, and they will tell you this has become somewhat of a fever dream.
DISCLAIMER: The articles on our website are not endorsed by, or the opinions of Shout Out UK (SOUK), but exclusively the views of the author.
