Britain’s Prime Minister David Cameron has come under fire from UKIP’s North Eastern Member of the European Parliament Jonathan Arnott after repeatedly mixing up two very distinct areas of Britain in a radio interview.
Speaking to BBC Tees, the Prime Minister apparently kept mentioning the River Tyne, or Tyneside, referring repeatedly to economic progress there. The BBC’s presenter, Lisa McCormick, had to intervene, stating: “You keep mentioning the River Tyne. That’s not even in our region Prime Minister. I’m sorry, we are the River Tees”.
UKIP’s North East MEP Jonathan Arnott hit out at Cameron this afternoon, saying: “This is not just embarrassing for the Prime Minister but also what’s left of the Conservative Party in the North East of England.
“Whilst unemployment figures are going down elsewhere around the country, ours are still going up. Perhaps if he knew which area he was talking about, people might have more confidence that he actually cares about local people.”
The faux pas will do little good to the Tory Party’s election hopes in the North, where the organisation is increasingly weak and seen as disconnected and London-centric.
Labour MP Tom Blenkinsop said that the mistake showed Cameron is “out of touch” with Teesside and “completely disinterested”.
The Huffington Post used the opportunity to have a seemingly unrelated dig at UKIP leader Nigel Farage, dragging up an interview from several months ago wherein Farage’s communications director attempted to end an interview with LBC radio after Farage got tongue tied. The incidents are almost completely unrelated.
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