Road Crew Finds a Can on the A9 Near Perth; Locals Say It May Be the One Westminster Keeps Kicking Down the Road
As ministers deny 'kicking the can down the road' on defence spending, a road crew in Perthshire says it might have found it.
A road verge near Perth, where the political can may finally have stopped. Photo: Richard Webb, “Perthshire, A9 in Strathallan - geograph.org.uk - 5439518”, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0
A road crew working near Perth has found a battered can on the verge of the A9, and locals think it might be the famous one politicians keep kicking down the road.
“It’s very dented,” said one worker. “It looks like it’s been kicked for years. By lots of different people. Some of them in very expensive shoes.”
The discovery came as a senior cabinet minister denied the government was “kicking the can down the road” on defence spending. A Perth man said that just proved it: “If you have to say you’re not kicking the can, you’re kicking the can.”
Experts think the can has been kicked by governments of every colour, past pensions, social care, defence and the A9 dualling itself. “It’s been to some places,” said one. “It might be the most travelled can in Britain.”
The can has been taken to a council depot for safekeeping. It will be returned to Westminster if anyone can prove it’s theirs. Nobody has claimed it yet.
The real story: UK politics (BBC)
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That can’s been past my house a few times. I recognise the dent.
— Willie B., Luncarty, 31 October 2026 -
If nobody claims it, can it go to the museum? Next to the Stone?
— Carol T., Perth, 31 October 2026
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