The Secretary of State for Transport has been forced to reveal in a letter to Priti Patel MP that over £225m of taxpayers’ money already spend on the A12 Widening Scheme will be lost following the Labour Government’s decision to axe the scheme. The figures are for the period up to the end of 31 March 2025, meaning that further funds will be spent as the Government winds down the scheme. This is about one-fifth of the total budget for the scheme, which was fully funded by the last Conservative Government, but delayed then cancelled by Labour. Priti Patel said:
“Labour have wasted hundreds of millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money and damaged our economy by scrapping the A12 Widening Scheme. The scheme was ready for works to commence in 2024 once a legal challenge was thrown out, but instead of getting this road constructed, Labour betrayed Essex. As a direct result of this decision taken by Labour, this busy road will experience more congestion, delays and accidents, and we’ll get less investment, fewer jobs and worse levels of economic growth.”
