United Kingdom
Related: About this forumLord Howell apologises, says he meant 'north west', not 'north east', is desolate
You're expecting a Daily Mash or Newsthump article, aren't you? No, this is real
In an interview with the Daily Telegraph published on Wednesday, Howell, who lives in southern England, again apologised for his "stupid error" but then risked compounding it. "What was in my mind was much more the drilling going on off the Lancashire coast," he said. "But it came out of my mouth as the north-east, which you can blame me for rightly. And that has created a great furore. The north-east wasn't in my mind at all."
The peer said he was very "pro the area", adding: "The irony is that I go to the north-east a lot."
On Twitter, the former Labour deputy prime minister John Prescott wrote: "When in a Hole, stop fracking." Tony Blair's former spokesman Alastair Campbell joked: "Looking forward to Lord Howell's nationwide tour."
The shadow attorney general, Emily Thornberry, tweeted: "He actually means somewhere a long way from Surrey."
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/aug/01/fracking-peer-howell-north-west-east
non sociopath skin
(4,972 posts)... and caused the Tories to be downgraded from the "Nasty Party" to the "Really Fucking Stupid Party".
I believe that their two voters in South-East Northumberland, Geordie and Doris Bonkers, have stated that henceforth they will be voting for the Whigs.
The Skin
LeftishBrit
(41,190 posts)oh wait; he did go to school in the Good Old Days, didn't he?
It also shows what the Tories think of Up North. I've said for a long time that they show an anti-northern-ism quite as strong and dangerous as many other forms of bigotry (and I'm a southerner).
non sociopath skin
(4,972 posts).... I think that's absolutely true.
They just don't get how myopic they are. It's a huge contributory factor to the SNP's success and could ultimately lead to the complete break-up of the Union. Already, people are talking in the local press of how much more we in the North-East would have in common with an independent Scotland than we would with a "devolved" England, dominated by the South-East.
The Skin
T_i_B
(14,734 posts)Southerners in general really don't have this contempt for the North. However, they vote into office politicians who clearly do have a hatred of anyone from north of Watford Gap services.
What's even dafter is the attitude of many Northern Tories themselves, many of whom seem to be more then a little bit ashamed of where they come from. Eric Pickles is a classic example. a former leader of Bradford council who took his carpetbag down south at the first opportunity and shits himself if he sees another Northerner in his adopted neck of the woods (I speak from personal experience here!)
It's sad to say this, but for it's blatantly obvious to most people that the Tories don't have the best interests of most people born in the North at heart at all. Tories whine and moan about how nobody in places like Sheffield ever vote for them but they aren't willing to do anything positive for those places so they only have themselves to blame.
oldironside
(1,248 posts)IIRC Allan Clark was talking about sending immigrants back to "Bongo Bongo Land", and that inspired this.
There really is nothing new under the sun.
non sociopath skin
(4,972 posts)The Skin
LeftishBrit
(41,190 posts)theHandpuppet
(19,964 posts)I remember it (yes, I really am that old) because it was such a funny but true depiction of how New Yorkers view the rest of the U.S.
http://archives.newyorker.com/?i=1976-03-29#folio=CV1
muriel_volestrangler
(101,152 posts)That's the Energy Industries Council:
Our goal is to put our members first and serve them well, providing one of the most comprehensive sources of energy projects and business intelligence in the energy sector today.The EIC is renowned for excellence in the provision of services that unlock opportunities for our members, helping the supply chain to win business across the globe.
http://www.the-eic.com/AboutUs.aspx
Lord Howell joined Parliament in 1966 when he was elected MP for Guildford, and went on to serve as Secretary of State for both Energy (1979-1981) and Transport (1981-1983) in Margaret Thatchers Government. More recently he held the position of Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (2010-Sept 2012) in David Camerons Cabinet, with special responsibilities for international energy issues.
...
Said Lord Howell, President of the EIC:
I am honoured to be the new President of the EIC. I believe that the UK supply chain, guided by the EIC, has a uniquely strong role to play in both the major changes in the global energy mix, and in the transformation of our energy industries here at home at all stages of the supply chain across oil & gas, power and renewables. I stand ready to assist the EIC in any way I can to meet these exciting new challenges.
Currently, Lord Howell is completing a nine-year term as President of the British Institute of Energy Economists and is Chairman of the Windsor Energy Group, a specialist discussion group which brings together senior figures from the public and private sector. Lord Howell is also Chairman of the Council of Commonwealth Societies.
http://www.the-eic.com/News/NewsStories/tabid/88/ctl/NewsItem/mid/1174/Id/1026/Default.aspx?returnurl=http%3a%2f%2fwww.the-eic.com%2fdefault.aspx&SkinSrc=%2fPortals%2f_default%2fSkins%2fEIC%2fsubPage-2Col-newsItem
While he was personal adviser to the Foreign Secretary on Energy and Resource Security, he was caught saying Cameron didn't understand how superior gas was to wind, but his son-in-law was putting him right:
The Prime Minister is not familiar with these issues, doesnt understand them Osborne is of course getting this message and is putting pressure on, Mr Osbornes father-in-law Lord Howell told a a Greenpeace activist posing as an anti-wind farm lobbyist, who was covertly recording him.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/george-osborne-accused-of-secret-war-on-pms-green-policies-as-fatherinlaw-is-caught-on-video-8317035.html