In the past week, several claims have been circulating in the media and political circles. Full Fact, the UK’s leading fact-checking charity, has compiled a round-up of these claims, offering a closer look at their accuracy. Here are some key fact checks regarding Russian military casualties, UK economic growth under the Conservatives, and Labour’s potholes pledge.
1. Did 45,000 Russian troops die in November?
On BBC Radio 4’s Today programme last week, Foreign Secretary David Lammy claimed that Russia had lost “45,000 troops, dead, in November alone” in its ongoing war with Ukraine. However, Full Fact has identified some key issues with this assertion.
The figure of 45,000 refers to total Russian casualties, which includes both those who have been killed and those who have been wounded. These figures were based on estimates shared by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and attributed to the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. The total number of Russian casualties in November 2024 was reported as 45,680, but there is no clear breakdown between fatalities and injuries.
Furthermore, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy claimed that by the end of 2024, approximately 198,000 Russian soldiers had been killed, with 550,000 wounded. Given the ambiguity and limitations of casualty figures in any ongoing conflict, Full Fact has noted that such estimates are highly uncertain, and Russia has disputed the figures altogether.
The MoD has also clarified that it lacks specific data regarding how many of the casualties were killed as opposed to wounded. This makes Lammy’s claim of 45,000 deaths in November highly misleading, as the true number of fatalities cannot be independently verified.
2. Did the UK have the ‘fastest growing economy in the G7’ under the conservatives?
In recent days, several Conservative politicians, including Kemi Badenoch, have claimed that the last government left Labour with “the fastest growing economy in the G7.” However, Full Fact has pointed out discrepancies in this claim.
The assertion seems to be based on the GDP growth figures for the first two quarters of 2024. Initially, these figures suggested that the UK had the highest GDP growth in the G7. However, following revisions, the figures now show that the UK had the joint-fastest growing economy alongside the United States, with both countries experiencing a modest 0.7% growth in Q1 2024 and 0.4% in Q2 2024.
In comparison, the United States experienced slightly higher growth in Q1 (0.4% compared to the UK’s 0.7%) and more robust growth in Q2 (0.7% compared to the UK’s 0.4%). These revisions highlight that the claim of the UK having the “fastest-growing economy” is misleading, as it fails to account for the slight discrepancies between the UK’s performance and that of the US.
Furthermore, in Q3 2024, under the newly formed Labour government, the UK economy recorded 0.0% growth, which was the joint-lowest among G7 nations. This undermines the narrative of the UK’s economic performance under the previous government.
3. Is the government’s potholes pledge on track?
Labour’s manifesto pledge to “fix an additional one million potholes across England each year” has raised questions about its feasibility. Full Fact has reviewed the available data and found that while the pledge appears specific in its scope and target, tracking its progress is complicated due to a lack of consistent and reliable national data on pothole repairs.
There is no clear, nationally agreed-upon definition of what constitutes a pothole, making it difficult to monitor how many are being fixed. When Full Fact asked the Department for Transport (DfT) how progress would be tracked, the DfT referred to road condition statistics that do not directly count potholes.
An estimate from the Asphalt Industry Alliance suggests that local councils in England filled around 1.8 million potholes in the year leading up to March 2024. To meet Labour’s pledge, local authorities would need to fix at least 2.8 million potholes annually. However, with no clear metric in place, it’s uncertain whether this target will be achieved.
In response to this concern, the UK government announced £1.6 billion in additional funding for local authorities to repair roads and fill potholes in the 2025/26 fiscal year. This represents a £500 million increase from the previous year. While the DfT claims the funding will enable local authorities to fix up to seven million potholes, it remains to be seen exactly how many will be completed, as local councils have discretion over which roads to repair.
The government has said that the funding includes built-in incentives for local authorities to spend wisely and track progress, with 25% of the funds held back initially. More details are expected to be revealed in due course, but the lack of clear data means it is difficult to determine whether the pledge is truly on track.
More Read
Conclusion
The past week has seen a number of claims that require closer scrutiny. Whether it’s the inflated casualty figures from Russia’s war in Ukraine, claims about the UK’s economic performance under the Conservatives, or the challenges in tracking Labour’s pothole pledge, these claims highlight the importance of careful fact-checking.
As Full Fact continues to hold public figures and institutions accountable, it remains essential that the public be aware of the complexities and limitations of the data underlying political claims. The need for transparency and clarity in communication has never been more pressing, especially in matters that impact national policies and public perception.
