They say new figures show that York is facing a 25.11 per cent cut in real terms to its pothole budget. That's a reduction of £1,404,229, they claim - or enough to fill 28,085 potholes.

York's opposition Labour Group leader Cllr Claire Douglas is putting the blame squarely on Mr Sunak for what she calls the 'pothole crisis'.

She says he promised to fix the nation's pothole epidemic when he was still Chancellor, joking that motorists should 'enjoy National Pothole Day' because they would soon be all gone.

But now the national road maintenance budget has, in real terms, been slashed by enough to fill four MILLION potholes around the country, she claims.

“Two years ago, Rishi Sunak told everyone to enjoy national pothole day 'before they’re all gone'," Cllr Douglas said.

"He then rowed back on his promises, leaving local councils facing a pothole crisis.”

The Lib Dems in York have echoed Cllr Douglas’ criticism, claiming that the small ‘extra investment’ of £200 million announced in the Budget a few weeks ago was nothing more than ‘smoke and mirrors’.

The budget announcement represented only around half of the annual cut to funding made by Whitehall over each of the last four years of Conservative government, said Lib Dem councillor Stephen Fenton.

“Government’s decision to not fill the growing highways maintenance funding gap is concerning and will continue to put pressure on already stretched council budgets,” Cllr Fenton said.

“Underfunding of national road repair budgets, coupled with soaring inflation, shortage in materials and rising backlogs is making it increasingly harder for councils to keep roads in good condition, affecting all users, including pedestrians and cyclists.

“We need to have real, long-term funding that allows councils to undertake more planned maintenance and not just emergency repairs.” 

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The comments have come after Mr Sunak's opponents nationally accused him of deploying a 'complete re-hash' of a year-old pothole crackdown as he campaigned for the May local elections.

On a visit to Darlington recently the Prime Minister was photographed inspecting a damaged road, and claimed: "Today we're announcing more money for potholes."

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak examining a pothole with Darlington Council leader Jonathan Dulston (far left) and others during a recent visit to Darlington. Picture: Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire (Image: PA)

But Downing Street has confirmed there is no new money other than the extra £200 million announced in the Budget on March 15.

Critics say that, given the rate of inflation, that amounts to a significant real-terms cut in the national roads maintenance budget.

Labour nationally says that in England, the roads maintenance budget has fallen from £1,785,000,000 in 2020/21 to just £1,585,000,000 this year (with that extra £200 million from the Budget included) - a 14.9 per cent decrease.

York Green leader Cllr Andy D’Agorne, who was York’s Cabinet lead on transport, said that since 2020/21 the amount of government cash received for roads maintenance had fallen from just over £4million to just over £3.3 million this year.

There had also been £5million of one-off government funding for major drainage works on Tadcaster Road, he said.

But he stressed that the cost of repair material had been hit by ‘significant inflation’.