A POLITICAL row on Twitter has deepened after Shipley MP Philip Davies branded a ward councillor’s “moronic Brexiteers” comments “disgraceful”.

In a tweet which has since been deleted, Councillor Vanda Greenwood (Windhill and Wrose, Labour) commented on a Telegraph & Argus article which set out what will change for UK residents from January next year.

The Cllr wrote: “thanks…. You moronic Brexiteers” followed by an angry face emoji.

But the local politician came under fire from the MP, who believes she has “misjudged” the people living in her ward.

Mr Davies replied: “Nice way to talk about the people who live in the ward you claim to represent Vanda. What was the leave vote in Windhill and Wrose? Keep telling your voters they are morons and then surprised when there is a backlash?”

Figures from the 2016 referendum show 63.38 per cent of voters in the ward voted Leave and 36.62 per cent opted to Remain.

The MP later told the T&A: “The people of Windhill and Wrose now know what their Labour Councillors really think of them. Windhill and Wrose had the biggest leave vote of any of the wards in my constituency in the EU referendum and now we know what contempt the Labour Councillors who are supposed to represent them have for them.

“This is precisely why so many working class voters abandoned the Labour Party in the general election and it is clear that Labour have learnt nothing from that. I hope the residents of Windhill and Wrose will return the sentiment when Labour come knocking on their doors for the local elections next year. Vanda clearly thinks her voters are too stupid to notice or care. I think she has misjudged them.”

The councillor responded to the comments in a strong statement.

“Philip Davies knows exactly who I was referring to in that tweet – people like him and Boris Johnson who trumpeted Brexit as a positive thing knowing that it would end up costing people more,” Cllr Greenwood said.

“And now their inability to deliver Brexit will mean people paying more for basic goods, including food that will be less safe. That impacts directly on people in Windhill and Wrose and will for years to come.

“I will take no lessons on what voters in Windhill and Wrose think from an absent MP sniping from the leafy suburbs of Cheshire.”

When asked by the T&A about his location, Mr Davies said it is linked to his role in Parliament.

He continued: “Clearly Vanda wants to deflect from the substance of the fact that she has been caught out telling people what she really thinks of her constituents which is understandable. Otherwise why did she delete the tweet when it was pointed out? I am actually in Parliament representing my constituents as I was elected to do, and given that Vanda doesn’t live in the ward she claims to represent I think she has a brass neck criticising others who don’t.”

The councillor's correspondence address on the Bradford Council website corresponds to Baildon. In the past, the councillor has revealed strong family links to the Windhill area, where she was born and raised.

The Cllr said: "Phillip Davies is digging himself a hole with these comments, which are utter nonsense. Whether he’s in London or Cheshire, he certainly isn’t in Shipley.”