Anger over "northerners may replace Romanians" remark

8:56pm Friday 10th December 2010 in News Photograph of the Author By Dani Webb, Chief Reporter (South Durham)

A HIGH-PROFILE local government politician has been criticised after claiming people in the north should do the work of immigrants.

David Shakespeare, leader of Buckinghamshire County Council and the Local Governement Association's (LGA) Conservative group, said people from poorer parts of the country should work collecting fruit if there are no jobs available.

"The north may replace the Romanians in the cherry orchards," he said. "That may be a good thing."

His comments came during a debate at the LGA's Executive about the prospect of councils being allowed to keep the business rates they collect rather than being redistributed to poorer areas.

LGA chairman Baroness Margaret Eaton immediately rebuked Coun Shakespeare for his "horrible" comment.

Tom Blenkinsop, MP for Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland, tonight reacted angrily to the news, claiming it was disrespectful to regard northern people in this way.

He said: "These types of comment prove (David) Cameron hasn't reformed his party one bit.

"To see northerners in this second class, undermining and disrespectful way is typical for a very southern orientated political party like the Conservatives.

"The Tory party certainly can't claim to be the party of one nation."

Rob Light, leader of the Conservative group on Kirklees Metropolitan Council and also an LGA Executive member, said after the meeting: "I think it clearly was a comment that could be misinterpreted.

"I'm assured it's the view of an individual and not of Conservatives in local government.

"It's certainly not the view of Conservatives in local government in the north."

Mehboob Khan, leader of Kirklees Metropolitan Borough Council, said via Twitter Coun Shakespeare's comments were "outrageous" and showed "the level of contempt the Tories have for people living north of the Midlands".

Coun Shakespeare's comments just months after experts warned the budget cuts would create a bigger North-South divide.

In October, a report by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) found the North-East would lose 4.1 per cent of its jobs over the next four years, compared with 3.1 per cent in London and the South-East.

Comments (9)

10:56pm Fri 10 Dec 10

gramps427 says...

Its a remark typical of a country split by an economic and political bias based on the old fuedal system where the biggest and baddest crooks ruled the world after getting to the top by murder and corruption. It explains why the regions were the first to be sold out because of the "Global Expansion" of capatalist controlled consumerism.
It also clearly shows the lack of comprehension on the average Southener and the lack of compassion of of the elitist types who carry the ear of the politicians from all parties.
It is from their kind that Anachisim begins to take root among the poorest.
Its a remark typical of a country split by an economic and political bias based on the old fuedal system where the biggest and baddest crooks ruled the world after getting to the top by murder and corruption. It explains why the regions were the first to be sold out because of the "Global Expansion" of capatalist controlled consumerism. It also clearly shows the lack of comprehension on the average Southener and the lack of compassion of of the elitist types who carry the ear of the politicians from all parties. It is from their kind that Anachisim begins to take root among the poorest. gramps427

11:55pm Fri 10 Dec 10

smokin says...

i've lived in the south they are the most horrible people they will walk over a heart attack victim thinking he is drunk
they don't speak to anyone unless as above with derogatory remarks
I now live in the north and I know which I prefer and it is not the bloody south
the people in the north do work given a chance they are very friendly people
they speak to you they help you get your car out of the snow they bring you a hot drink if you are stuck in snow traffic
try that in the south
they look at you as though you are dirt
and let you freeze to death stuck in your car
so here we go again with the north/south divide
i've lived in the south they are the most horrible people they will walk over a heart attack victim thinking he is drunk they don't speak to anyone unless as above with derogatory remarks I now live in the north and I know which I prefer and it is not the bloody south the people in the north do work given a chance they are very friendly people they speak to you they help you get your car out of the snow they bring you a hot drink if you are stuck in snow traffic try that in the south they look at you as though you are dirt and let you freeze to death stuck in your car so here we go again with the north/south divide smokin

9:17am Sat 11 Dec 10

kendizx9r says...

hey gramps that was a very good responce but must admit i had to look up some words in the dictionary to find out what they meant,
you could be a politician lol.
hey gramps that was a very good responce but must admit i had to look up some words in the dictionary to find out what they meant, you could be a politician lol. kendizx9r

9:40pm Sat 11 Dec 10

trugggg says...

Earlier this year I took a job in Glasgow on a large construction site. My employer was a London based company. After I was there for three weeks the project manager( who had arrived the previous day from London) declared that he hated "Nourverners", they were worse than Jocks, f*****g scroungers, lazy: and told me that I was no longer needed as they had a replacement for me from a project that had just finished in Oxford. I had shown my commitment to that company by leaving my previous employer and paying my own digs etc. Hence the reason why I am scratching around , looking for a job that will sustain me, wife and daughter as well as pay my my mortgage. And absolutely no way will I ever work in the south again.
Earlier this year I took a job in Glasgow on a large construction site. My employer was a London based company. After I was there for three weeks the project manager( who had arrived the previous day from London) declared that he hated "Nourverners", they were worse than Jocks, f*****g scroungers, lazy: and told me that I was no longer needed as they had a replacement for me from a project that had just finished in Oxford. I had shown my commitment to that company by leaving my previous employer and paying my own digs etc. Hence the reason why I am scratching around , looking for a job that will sustain me, wife and daughter as well as pay my my mortgage. And absolutely no way will I ever work in the south again. trugggg

9:58pm Sat 11 Dec 10

spragger says...

Cllr says people should get a job.

Thats what he said
Cllr says people should get a job. Thats what he said spragger

8:34pm Sun 12 Dec 10

Uncle Monty says...

The Tory mask slips once again. No idea how ordinary people live their lives.

The Grapes of Wrath all over again

Well, my current job finishes in a couple of weeks time, maybe I'll head south.

Wonder if this Tory councillor or any of his family will be lining up for work alongside me?
The Tory mask slips once again. No idea how ordinary people live their lives. The Grapes of Wrath all over again Well, my current job finishes in a couple of weeks time, maybe I'll head south. Wonder if this Tory councillor or any of his family will be lining up for work alongside me? Uncle Monty

7:42am Mon 13 Dec 10

Lola-Kola says...

I'm a southerner i was born here,
yet from most of these comment you'd believe that i share the same view as this idiot,
It's not where your born but how your raised! i've been brought up to not think of my self as above anyone, to never judge a majority by a stereotype and to accept people as i meet them, i'm 18 years old yet it appears im more open minded than most, i know plenty of southerners that think of northerners as nothing less than equal us any other human, we live on the same island, so why do we judge each other? or allow ourself to judge others by someone else's judgement
I'm a southerner i was born here, yet from most of these comment you'd believe that i share the same view as this idiot, It's not where your born but how your raised! i've been brought up to not think of my self as above anyone, to never judge a majority by a stereotype and to accept people as i meet them, i'm 18 years old yet it appears im more open minded than most, i know plenty of southerners that think of northerners as nothing less than equal us any other human, we live on the same island, so why do we judge each other? or allow ourself to judge others by someone else's judgement Lola-Kola

4:42pm Thu 16 Dec 10

Griffinboy says...

Its not the odd Tory who thinks like this moron most of them do underneath. people who vote Tory think the are a cut above most other people. Its always been the same but our people just do not learn the lessons-go out and vote them out, there is no excuse for 60 per cent turnouts when people like this are trying to rule your lives.
Its not the odd Tory who thinks like this moron most of them do underneath. people who vote Tory think the are a cut above most other people. Its always been the same but our people just do not learn the lessons-go out and vote them out, there is no excuse for 60 per cent turnouts when people like this are trying to rule your lives. Griffinboy

12:33pm Fri 17 Dec 10

taxpayers says...

nothing wrong with comment,he forgot to say to all the scrots get off your arse's and pay your way in life like the rest of us !!!
nothing wrong with comment,he forgot to say to all the scrots get off your arse's and pay your way in life like the rest of us !!! taxpayers

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