Rishi Sunak put his foot in it while appearing on BBC Breakfast this morning when he confused Greater Manchester’s Bury with Lancashire’s Burnley while he was actually in Bury Market.
The two towns are 20 miles apart.
When pressed about the government’s levelling-up programme, the chancellor – speaking from the Manchester market – tried to use his surroundings to strengthen his argument.
Sunak said: “It is not just about being in the North by the way, we’re here in Burnley but if you are growing up in a village in the South West or even on the South Coast, people want to feel opportunity is there for them, wherever thy happen to be.
“I put it down to two things.
“One is having pride in the place you call home and a lot of what we announced yesterday, the levelling-up fund – bids like Burnley Market, the world-famous Burnley Market – benefitting from £20 million of investment.
“That’s going to create jobs. It is about improving the everyday infrastructure of our communities.”
The mix-up is particularly embarrassing considering Sunak’s budget has just put so much investment into Bury Market.
The £20 million set aside for the Mancunian area has been described as a “generational boost” to refurbish market kiosks, improve access and address repair issues.
The chancellor’s comments did come after BBC Breakfast presenter Ben Thompson told Sunak he was from Burnley, which may have explained his confusion – but his critics remained unimpressed, especially as the Tories have a reputation for being disconnected from the north of England.
One person tweeted: “Lol at Rishi Sunak showing how much the tories care about the North, by talking about Burnley’s World famous market. While sat in Bury Market.”