Dig Deep! Reform frontbench promotes JCBs after £200,000 donation from firm | Party funding

The party received £200,000 from the British digger maker as Reformation UK dignitaries repeatedly promoted construction company JCB’s new pothole-leveling machine, the Guardian has revealed.

Many Reform politicians including Nigel Farage, Lee Anderson, Robert Jenrick, Zia Yusuf and Richard Tice have sung the praises of the JCB PotHole Pro machine.

At a rally in Birmingham last year, Farage took to the stage with one of the repair trucks and suggested it would be used in Reform councils where the party takes control in local elections.

Describing JCB as “one of the most incredible companies in the world” in March 2025, in question: “This machine can repair potholes for half the cost currently charged by other commercial operators, and aren’t potholes the perfect symbol of broken Britain?

“So I thought I’d go for a JCB with a machine that actually works, and that the county council should have five and 10-year contracts with shoddy providers if they’re not committed. But we’ll fix that when we check these county councils, won’t we?”

Following Farage’s glowing praise for the work, JCB donated £200,000 to Reform in November last year. The donation comes after the family-run company gave money to the Conservatives for years, with its chairman Anthony Bamford serving as a Conservative Party leader until 2024.

At least two Reform councils have now adopted the machines through their contractors. They said this was done through proper supply channels and did not cost them any more.

Councils run by other parties, including the Conservatives and Labor, also benefit from PotHole Pro. Labour’s Roads Minister Lilian Greenwood described it as “one of many great examples of using new technology to fix potholes faster and how companies are using new technology to fix potholes faster”.

However, positive remarks about the machine appear to be most concentrated among Reform politicians.

Anderson a month ago posted a video A PotHole Pro at Nottinghamshire county council said: “Take a look at this, you must be impressed.”

Jenrick Visited JCB factory In February, Nottinghamshire council claimed the machine could fix potholes six times faster, while Tice I recorded a video He told an Ata Reform conference last fall that he was “thrilled to see this amazing machine in action.”

Yusuf, the party’s internal affairs spokesman, also accused In May last year, they counciled the pickaxes to use “iron age technology” rather than “cutting edge technology like the JCB Pothole Pro”.

Reform even promotes JCB equipment in some local election leaflets. Byline Times We describe two leaflets in Barnet and Kirklees where the machine is called a response to public frustration with poor road surfaces.

Given the publicity given to JCB, the Liberal Democrats lodged a complaint with the Electoral Commission, calling for an investigation into “whether public contracts were bought and sold for political patronage”.

The party questioned whether Reform “provided a product promotion service or a positive policy environment” for JCB and asked whether this was appropriate given the business was a donor.

A JCB spokesperson said: “JCBPothole Pro has a proven track record of performing permanent pothole repairs four times faster and at half the cost of conventional methods. That’s why JCBPothole Pro machines are being used across Great Britain in Labour-led councils, Conservative-led councils, Reform-led councils, SNP-led councils and Liberal Democrat-led councils. In council areas where JCB Pothole Pro is not currently in use, some trials are underway.”

The two Reform-led councils using the pothole-leveling machine are Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire. In Lincolnshire, where a previous trial in 2021 found the machine ineffective, the council confirmed this week that the PotHole Pro is “here to stay” after “the impressive kit completed an intensive trial on county roads”.

Regarding the Liberal Democrats’ complaint, councilor Sean Matthews, leader of Lincolnshire county council, said: “Given that this hearing was conducted and the analysis was overseen by a very longstanding and respected group of (independent) civil servants who were given absolute freedom to say yes or no to this machine, I do not see how these comments apply to what is going on here.”

“This trial has been planned differently to the previous trial, which lasted just nine weeks in 2021. This new trial has shown a real benefit to road repair, which can be proven beyond doubt after eight months on our roads. We now have a huge amount of data to show exactly where the gains are.”

“To be clear, there was absolutely no political influence during this trial and we continue to look at other products to improve our roads… In our ongoing efforts to repair Lincolnshire’s roads, as part of our efforts to improve our 5,500-mile road network, it is important that the highways team has the freedom to trial new technology appropriately and reconsider ideas that have not previously been considered.”

Reform sources said councils were working with contractors rather than JCB directly for the trial kit and were making decisions based on effectiveness.

They also strongly refuted the claim that Reform “unlike the Conservatives or Labor Parties, has sold or will in the future use public contracts in exchange for political patronage”.

Nottinghamshire council did not respond to requests for comment.