Conservative MP for South Derbyshire and junior Cabinet Office minister Heather Wheeler has issued an apology after receiving backlash for referring to the historic seaside town in Lancashire and the second-largest city in Britain as ‘godawful.’
The reported comments came from the minister’s speech at an event to launch a new government digital strategy, where Wheeler allegedly said: ‘I was just at a conference in Blackpool or Birmingham or somewhere godawful.’ Technology journalist Chris Middleton, who attended the launch, first reported her remarks.
‘It’s what they really think’
Wheeler’s comments coincidentally came on the same day that Prime Minister Boris Johnson was visiting Blackpool as part of efforts to restore his ‘tarnished’ reputation following the historic no-confidence vote that saw 148 Conservative MPs pledge a lack of confidence in his leadership.
Johnson’s efforts to win over voters in Blackpool, which has the most deprived local authority area in the whole of England, could therefore be completely destroyed by Wheeler’s remarks. Furthermore, the 2022 Conservative Party Conference is set to take place in Birmingham this autumn – after a spring event taking place earlier this year in Blackpool.
In a conference, Wheeler apologised, stating that it was an ‘inappropriate remark that does not reflect my actual view‘ and that she ‘apologise[s] for any offence caused.’
‘Clueless and offensive’
Deputy Leader of the Labour Party Angela Rayner suggested that Wheeler’s comments were reflective of Conservative attitudes towards these locations, tweeting that ‘it’s what [Tories] really think.’ Rayner added that ‘it’s frankly embarrassing that [Wheeler]’s still in her position as a Minister.’
Lisa Nandy, Labour MP for Wigan and Shadow Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing, and Communities, echoed Rayner’s words, writing; ‘They tell us they’re levelling up the country but this is what they truly think.’
She added: ‘They can’t even tell the difference between ‘Blackpool or Birmingham or somewhere godawful’.’