Lord Howell, Confused and Ignorant?

I noticed this article about Tory peer Lord Howell and how he confused the North East with the North West. It is easily done and he did apologise for any offence caused. So far so good, but I don't think the population of the North West or East will be upset about any error which is simply a slip of the tongue. I am sure that Lord Howell knows the difference between west and east and I am guessing that he has visited both parts of the country. It's no big deal that he made a simple mistake and even an apology may be over the top.

Unfortunately he also said "The general story is right - that we want the derricks for fracking to be far away from residences in unloved places that are not environmentally sensitive...It's odd that they've decided to do this in sensitive places down in Sussex." Tell me which places are unloved in the north and which are not environmentally sensitive. There aren't that many cobbles in the road and smog ended years ago.

If Lord Howell really thinks that "the drilling going on off the Lancashire coast" is in "desolate" areas then maybe he has never visited the north. He notes that "It's odd that they've decided to do this in sensitive places down in Sussex." Well I would like to compare the coastal view from where I live in Morecambe which happens to be in the north west, with any coastal view in Sussex. I am including two photos taken from Morecambe for those who don't know Morecambe Bay. Maybe there should be a photo competition - which coast has the best view? My guess is that from the Sussex coast you see water and a shipping lane.

Ian Roberts from the anti-fracking group Resident Action On Fylde Fracking described Lord Howell as "ignorant". He is ignorant of the beauty of the north west (and probably the north east too) and has no idea about the love that the residents of Lancashire have for their county.

There is a more recent article that tells us Lord Howell is going to visit the "desolate" North East. Wait a minute - that was a simple slip of the tongue and he wasn't thinking about the North East at all. Lord Howell was actually talking about "the drilling going on off the Lancashire coast". He is now going on a fact finding mission to a place that happens to be a slip of the tongue. Maybe his next slip of the tongue will be Hawaii or the Seychelles. You can't make this up.

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