Roads in Staffordshire so smooth you can kiss the Tarmac

Staffordshire County Council deputy leader Ian Parry made the remarks at the authority's full council meeting as opposition councillors quizzed bosses on spending on the county's highways. Tory Mr Parry said in the last four years the authority had to 'clear up the mess' left by the previous Labour administration.

He said: "Staffordshire's roads are so smooth you can kneel down and kiss the tarmac and say 'thank you Tories' for clearing up our mess'. They are so smooth you can play pool on them."

The boast prompted howls of laughter from all sides of the chamber in the County Buildings – and hostile responses also flooded in on Twitter and Facebook after the Express & Star asked readers for their views on Councillor Parry's comments.

The comments, reported online by the Express & Star, sparked a Twitter backlash

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Labour councillors were incensed by the comment. Stafford Central councillor Maureen Compton said the state of Queensway in Stafford was 'awful'. She said: "I'm told it needs about £600,000 worth of work so hopefully you can find the money for that."

Councillor Mark Winnington, cabinet member for economy and infrastructure, said the council had spent £160 million on the highways.

He said: "When the opposition was in power the roads were in a horrendous state.

"We invested £160m to put right the wrongs. We spent £160m to get the roads in a state where we can cut the funding down because we have got them in a better state."

He told the council that a new audit he commissioned had shown the roads were 10 per cent better under the Tories than Labour. But he added: "We will fill the potholes but we wont always get billiard table roads because of the British weather, and people have to expect that."

Council leader Philip Atkins said investment in the roads had created economic growth. He said improvements had helped see the expansion of JCB and highlighted the i54 site where Jaguar Land Rover will open a new factory, and the Redhill Business Park in Stafford where another 2,500 jobs could be created. "It is not about more or less money," he said. "It is about best value and making sure it is spent wisely."

It comes after the council unveiled a crackdown on roadworks to stop drivers getting caught up in hours of delays on major routes.

Firms will be required to apply for a permit for works under the new proposals, which county council bosses say could save millions of pounds.

The council says it will have greater control over when works take place to ensure disruption is kept to a minimum.

Under the current system, a firm has to inform highways officers about planned works to allow projects to be co-ordinated, but council chiefs say it can be difficult to persuade companies to co-operate.