YORK councillors have hit back at accusations from the city's Tory MP that they are failing in the push for improvements on York's outer ring road.

Cabinet members at the Labour-run City of York Council have rejected criticism of their record from MP Julian Sturdy, and said people in York only care "that the job gets done".

MP Julian Sturdy, who represents the York Outer constituency in Parliament, brought the ring road problems up in the House of Commons on Tuesday, calling for the Prime Minister to meet and talk to business owners about the future of the road.

He said the congestion problems on the A1237 were a "serious barrier" to further economic growth in the city, but later appeared to blame the ongoing problems on the Labour-run city council.

Speaking after the Commons debate, Mr Sturdy said the problems on the congested northern ring road would not be solved while the road was in the control of the local authority; adding that a "lack of long-term ambition" and "inaction" from the council meant local businesses had to take matters into their own hands to get vital investment into the crucial transport link.

But now the Labour cabinet member for transport on the council, David Levene, has hit back at the criticism and called for joint action to find enough funding to dual the whole road.

He said: "We are disappointed that Mr Sturdy has been unable to deliver on his promise to secure funding for the ring road. Instead of playing games he should work with us to build on the £37m for major junction upgrades that we have secured through the West Yorkshire Combined Authority."

He added: "The public don't care who gets the credit, just that the job gets done."