A Tory MP has said he was “taking the p*** out of Dennis Skinner” after attempting a northern accent when asking a Commons question.
Michael Fabricant (Lichfield) referred to “t’Staffordshire-controlled Tory council” when highlighting a library in his area, shortly after Labour’s Mr Skinner (Bolsover) raised concerns over a Conservative local authority’s approach to library services in Derbyshire.
Mr Skinner has been dubbed the “Beast of Bolsover” for his uncompromising style and earlier this week defended labelling an SNP MP a “piece of s***” in the Commons.
Speaking in the Commons, Mr Fabricant put on an accent at certain points as he said: “Well, when the library in Lichfield was too costly to maintain, the Tory-controlled Staffordshire County Council sold it and moved the library to a museum right in the centre of Lichfield.
“It’ll now be bigger and better than before.
“So would he congratulate t’Staffordshire-controlled Tory council?”
Mr Fabricant was accused on Twitter of “taking the p*** out of northern accents”, to which he replied: “I was taking the p*** out of Dennis Skinner who immediately preceded me who was going on about ‘T’Torues’. I always say ‘Conservatives’.”
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