Slough.
Home of the Mars bar, setting of The Office, and proud owner of a heroic but very dead stuffed dog named Jim whose stuffed corpse graces a platform at the town’s train station.
As if that wasn’t enough in the claims to fame department, Slough was today the subject of a rather heated debate in the Commons.
Whilst debating the new tiers of coronavirus controls, Boris Johnson insisted the government will look at how the restrictions can reflect “as closely as possible the reality of what is happening on the ground”, after being challenged over his “hate” for Slough.
Labour’s Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi – who is Slough’s actual MP – said “more fairness, clarity and transparency” was needed for the tier system, adding: “We were promised a regional approach.
“However, what the powers that be have done is they have placed little old Slough in Tier 3 despite the fact we have been segregated from the wider region, and there are areas in neighbouring London and Essex with higher Covid transmission rates.
“So why does the prime minister hate Slough?”
Johnson proclaimed “I love Slough” before acknowledging people do feel a sense of “injustice” over being put in higher tiers “than they deserve”.
Twitter users were quick to react to his comments:
Slough’s MP has previously highlighted the plight of his town under the tiered system, calling for more “fairness”:
The prime minister was speaking during a Commons debate on the government’s tiered system.
He said: “This is not another lockdown. Nor is this the renewal of existing measures in England.
“The tiers that I’m proposing would mean that from tomorrow everyone in England, including those in tier 3, will be free to leave their homes for any reason.
“And when they do they will find the shops open for Christmas, the hairdressers open, the nail bars open, gyms, leisure centres, swimming pools open.”