Reform UK promotes JCB pothole machines after receiving company donation

The relationship between Reform UK and the British digger manufacturer JCB has been marked by high-profile endorsements from the party’s leadership. According to reporting by The Guardian, several leading figures within the party have repeatedly praised the JCB PotHole Pro, a machine designed to repair road surfaces. This public support aligns with a significant financial contribution made by the company to the party in November last year.

This funding follows a period where JCB provided financial support to the Conservatives. For years, the family-owned company maintained these ties, which were reflected in the position of the company’s chairman, Anthony Bamford, who served as a Tory peer until 2024. The move toward funding Reform UK represents a change in the company’s political financial contributions as the party grows in the political landscape.

A coordinated campaign of endorsement

The promotion of the PotHole Pro has been featured in the public appearances and digital content shared by Reform’s frontbench. The imagery of this endorsement was most striking at a rally in Birmingham last year, where Nigel Farage entered the stage riding one of the repair vehicles. During the event, Farage suggested the machinery would be implemented in councils under Reform control following local elections.

Farage’s support for the company remained vocal into 2025. In March 2025, he described JCB as one of the most incredible companies in the world.

“This machine can mend potholes at half the cost that currently is being charged by other commercial operators, and aren’t potholes just the perfect symbol of broken Britain? So I thought I’d come in on a JCB, with a machine that actually works, and that county council should use, if they weren’t tied in, to five and 10-year contracts with inferior providers. But we’ll fix that, won’t we, when we control those county councils?” Nigel Farage, Reform UK

Other party figures have echoed this sentiment across various platforms. In May last year, Zia Yusuf, the party’s home affairs spokesperson, criticized the use of pickaxes in road repair as iron age technology, contrasting it with cutting edge tech like the JCB Pothole Pro. Last autumn, Richard Tice recorded a video on the machine during a Reform conference, stating he was excited to see this fantastic machine working.

The promotional activity continued into the most recent quarter. In February, Robert Jenrick visited a JCB factory alongside Nottinghamshire council, where he claimed the machine could repair potholes six times faster than existing methods. More recently, Lee Anderson shared a video of the PotHole Pro operating at Nottinghamshire county council, telling his audience, Have a look at this, you’ve got to be impressed.

Procurement and cross-party adoption

The transition from political promotion to local implementation has already begun. At least two councils run by Reform UK have adopted the PotHole Pro machines through their contractors. When questioned about the acquisition, these councils stated that the machines were obtained through proper procurement channels and that the move did not result in increased costs.

However, the use of the technology is not exclusive to Reform-run local authorities. The PotHole Pro is currently utilized by councils managed by both the Conservative and Labour parties. The technology has received validation from across the political spectrum, including from the current government.

Lilian Greenwood, the roads minister for the Labour party, has characterized the machine as one of the many great examples of using new technology to repair potholes faster and demonstrates how companies are harnessing new technology to repair potholes faster.

While the machine’s efficacy is recognized by multiple parties, the concentration of favorable mentions remains highest among Reform politicians. The party has highlighted the machinery as an example of efficiency and a means to replace inferior providers in local government. By framing the PotHole Pro as a solution to broken Britain, the party has linked a specific commercial product to its goals for local government improvement.

The coincidence of a substantial donation and the repeated public championing of a donor’s product has drawn attention to the relationship between the company and the party. Whether this relationship influences future procurement priorities in Reform-led councils remains a point of scrutiny, particularly as the party seeks to replace long-term contracts with what it describes as more effective technology.