Is there anyone who has driven from Suffolk to London surprised by the news that the A12 is the least-loved trunk road in England?

This is a road of such unreconstructed misery that no driver in their right mind would used it to get anywhere unless they absolutely had to! 

I have family living in North East London. I've long since come to realise if I want to drive to see them it's far better to go from Marks Tey to Stansted and then down the M11 rather than using that under-invested 50-mile accident blackspot from Colchester to London that we are supposed to call a "trunk road."

Frankly the way Highways England - and successive governments - have treated the A12 is a total disgrace.

It's the main link between the capital and two of the biggest ports in Britain - Felixstowe and Harwich.

Yet most of the road has had virtually nothing done to it since the 1970s.

The section from Chelmsford to Marks Tey is a joke. Highways England say they're going to replace it.

But that will be in 10 years' time. That was what they said in 2019. But that was based on all the plans being approved and work starting in 2023/4. That's last year.

It's still looking like it will be completed in 10 years' time. That's in 2034. What's the betting when that year comes around they'll be telling my successors then that it's starting in 10 years time?

National Highways have said nothing about improving the A12 between Ardleigh and Capel St Mary - despite the junctions around East Bergholt being the most inadequate and dangerous I've ever seen on a major road.

And don't get me started on the state of the Copdock junction and the length of time it's taking to get a meaningful solution put together for that! But then what does it matter, it's only Suffolk?

But the A12 is only one symptom of the indifference with which governments of all parties have seen infrastructure investment in this region over the years.

On the rail lines, the need to improve junctions at Ely and Haughley to increase the number of freight and cross-country passenger trains has been talked about for at least 20 years.

Governments of both parties have prevaricated, commissioned studies, consistently said: "What a good idea" and have done precisely diddly-squat to actually address the issue.

I'm now told the new government seems much more sympathetic to the idea. After 40 years of covering rail issues in this region, I'll wait until I see something happening on the ground before cracking open the champers!

The Suffolk Chamber wants big improvements to the A14 in Suffolk from Felixstowe to Kentford. Its a worthy aim - but despite numerous placard-holding efforts by Suffolk MPs it appears to have been met by totally deaf ears in government.

The thing is, this region is at the heart of what the current government wants to do to modernise the British economy and society.

It is vital for the energy revolution - for distributing North Sea-generated electricity across the country (not just for London) and also with a new nuclear plant at Sizewell.

What we're seeing is the government telling us we need to accept new pylons and converter stations for the good of the country - but when we ask for other investment that will actually benefit local people we're told: "You don't need that, other areas are more deprived!"

That means we're being asked to accept much of the pain with little, if any, of the gain.

To be fair that isn't something new with this government - it's been happening for decades and many of the decisions now being worked through were actually made by the previous government.

But it's little wonder that people around here don't have much faith in whoever is in power.

The opinions expressed in this column are the personal views of Paul Geater and do not necessarily reflect views held by this newspaper, its sister publications or its owner and publisher Newsquest Media Group Ltd.