Fury as UK councils spend £41.9m introducing 20mph limits – ‘political virtue signalling’

Britain’s 20mph speed limit rollout has been branded “political virtue signalling” after councils spent £41.9 million introducing schemes, despite at least 174 roads already reverting to higher limits. The figures, obtained by Confused.com through Freedom of Information requests, have prompted criticism from motoring campaigners and taxpayer watchdogs, who argue councils should prioritise essential services instead of spending millions on unpopular restrictions.

Howard Cox, founder of FairFuelUK, said the findings raised serious questions about whether the rollout represented an effective transport policy or an expensive political gesture. He told Express.co.uk: “£42 million spent. Roads switched back. Taxpayers ignored. This report raises serious questions about whether Britain’s 20mph rollout has become an expensive exercise in political virtue signalling rather than an effective transportation policy.”

The spending covered the three financial years from 2023/24 to 2025/26, with £16.7 million spent in the latest year alone.

Hertfordshire topped the list of councils spending the most on new 20mph schemes, at £4.64 million, followed by Oxfordshire at £3.03 million and Cornwall at £2.66 million.

Neath Port Talbot spent £2.13 million, while Aberdeenshire spent £2.11 million. Cardiff, Swansea and Flintshire were also among the ten biggest spenders.

However, the rollout has already been partially reversed, with at least 174 roads across the UK returned to higher speed limits over the same three-year period.

The vast majority of those reversals, 92%, took place in Wales, where the default 20mph limit introduced on most roads in built-up areas in 2023 faced significant public opposition.

Flintshire reversed limits on 47 roads, despite spending more than £1.79 million introducing 20mph restrictions. The Isle of Anglesey restored higher limits on 27 roads, while Newport reversed 21.

Outside Wales, Perth and Kinross restored higher limits on eight roads and Southampton did so on four.

William Yarwood, campaigns director of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said the spending on unpopular restrictions was adding to the financial pressures facing taxpayers.

He said: “The significant amounts spent on unpopular 20-mile-an-hour speed limits add insult to injury.

“Councils are wasting millions of pounds, only to rip them out again at further expense to taxpayers.

“Councils should abandon plans to implement these ludicrous speed limits and focus on delivering core services.”

Mr Cox meanwhile argued that motorists were not opposed to road safety measures but wanted councils to apply restrictions where they made sense.

He said: “Drivers support lower speed limits outside schools and in residential areas, but they have little patience for blanket restrictions on roads where such limits make no obvious sense.”

He added that, with potholes worsening and council finances under pressure, taxpayers had every right to question whether the money could have been better spent.

“The growing number of reversals suggests a simple truth: when common sense is ignored, taxpayers end up paying twice, once to implement these schemes and again to undo them,” he said.

The figures also reveal a rise in speeding enforcement, with police forces issuing 7.5 million Notices of Intended Prosecution over the three financial years, a 14% increase over the period.

West Midlands Police issued almost five times as many speeding notices in 2025/26 as in 2023/24, rising from 34,887 to 162,591.

Meanwhile, fixed speed cameras were recorded as out of service on at least 493 occasions over the three years, including at least 189 in 2025/26. The figures were supplied by 15 police forces, and individual cameras could be counted more than once.

Despite the backlash, supporters of lower speed limits argue they are intended to reduce danger for road users. Department for Transport figures cited in the report show speed was a factor in 52% of fatal road collisions in 2025.

The Confused.com findings were based on responses from 169 councils out of 207 contacted, while 23 did not respond. A separate survey of 2,000 UK drivers found that 53% believed 20mph limits made sense near schools and homes, but not on main and through roads. A further 26% thought the limits had been rolled out too widely and should be scaled back.