Member Article

Teesside MP blasts Prime Minister for Tyne mix-up

A Teesside MP has blasted Prime Minister David Cameron for mistaking the Tees for the Tyne during a live radio interview about economic growth in the region.

Mr Cameron was speaking to BBC Tees on Friday when he referred to Tyneside three times.

Speaking specifically about investment on Teesside, the Tory leader referred to economic activity in Tyne and Wear, including investment from firms such as Hitachi in County Durham and Nissan in Washington.

After mentioning Tyne for a third time, BBC Tees presenter Lisa McCormick stepped in.

She said to the PM: “You keep mentioning the River Tyne, that’s not our region Prime Minister.

“I’m sorry, we are the River Tees, does that mean that you’re forgetting about us?”

A flustered Mr Cameron backtracked: “Oh, I thought I was doing… oh no, absolutely not.

“I mean, if I look specifically in terms of the Tees Valley, we’ve got £90m from our local growth fund to boost economic growth.”

Tom Blenkinsop, the Labour MP for Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland, told Bdaily: “For years of David Cameron we’ve had a Tory peer calling the region “desolate” and frequent misspellings of Teesside in official Number 10 letters.

“And now the Prime Minister himself can’t even take the basic cue of appearing on BBC Tees to get the hint that our river is the Tees and not the Tyne.

“This just highlights how David Cameron is out of touch and completely disinterested in places like Middlesbrough, Stockton, Redcar, Hartlepool and East Cleveland.”

Defending Mr Cameron was Conservative MP for Stockton South James Wharton.

“No excuses, but I suspect he was doing a round of local interviews one after the other and these things can happen,” Mr Wharton told the Evening Gazette.

“I will be reminding him when I next see him not only how great Teesside is but of all the things this government has done for the south of our region, from bringing Hitachi to the return if steel making and the announcement of over £90m in local investment only a few weeks ago.

“I am proud of our record of delivering for this area and I am sure the Prime Minister is too.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Martin Walker .