Tory MP chastised for saying Blackpool was ‘god awful’
THE Conservative Mayor for the West Midlands has said a minister was “very stupid” to call Birmingham and Blackpool “god awful” places.
Andy Street yesterday criticised his Tory colleague Heather Wheeler, the MP for South Derbyshire, after she made the remark at a conference in London.
Mr Street told the BBC: “It was a very stupid thing to have said, frankly, and I am sure she regrets it very, very deeply.
“More students are coming here, more Londoners are coming to live here and businesses investing, so the evidence is overwhelmingly to the contrary.”
He said the 1.4 million people who had tickets for next month’s Commonwealth Games events were “going to see what a great place it is” and he would also invite Mrs Wheeler.
The minister made the comment last week as she launched the Government’s digital strategy, telling the audience: “I was just at a conference in Blackpool or Birmingham or somewhere god awful.”
Labour seized upon the statement as reflecting a “contemptuous” attitude towards the working classes held throughout the Conservative Party.
Angela Rayner, the deputy Labour leader, tweeted: “The mask has slipped.
“This minister has blurted out what Boris Johnson’s Conservatives really think about our communities behind closed doors.
“The disrespect is off the scale. Heather Wheeler has put her utter contempt for voters on show.”
Lisa Nandy, the shadow levelling up secretary, called the comment “clueless and offensive”. Mrs Wheeler, a parliamentary
‘The disrespect is off the scale. Heather Wheeler has put her utter contempt for voters on show’
secretary in the Cabinet Office, later apologised and admitted she had made an “inappropriate remark that does not reflect my actual view”.
Apologising on Friday, she tweeted: “Whilst speaking at a conference on Thursday, I made an inappropriate remark that does not reflect my actual view. I apologise for any offence caused.”
When approached for comment, the Cabinet Office referred to Mrs Wheeler’s apology.