The Conservative mayor of the West Midlands has hit back at a fellow Tory who described Birmingham as a “dump”.
Daniel Grainger, the chairman of Young Conservative Network (YCN), was told to leave and “take anyone with the same views with you” by Andy Street after sharing the remark on Twitter.
After deleting the post which read “Birmingham is a dump”, Mr Grainger apologised and claimed it “was not about the city” and that he had been the victim of a mugging attempt earlier on Saturday.
The city is hosting the Conservative Party’s annual conference this week.
In response, Mr Street tweeted: “Off you pop then”, before adding, “Try and take some time to grow up and understand just why this city is so special whilst you’re gone”.
Mr Street added: “I may be a Conservative, but I’m also a bloody proud Brummie. I won’t have anyone who’s never lived or breathed this place trying to put us down.”
In a later tweet, Mr Grainger apologised to Mr Street and wrote: “I was angry and tweeted without thinking, I apologise for any offence caused.”
The tweet attracted criticism from outside the party too, from Labour MP for Birmingham Yardley Jess Phillips, who quoted the original tweet and added: “I see the Tories doing their best to endear themselves”.
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The exchange comes against a backdrop of wider divisions emerging within the Tory party after the chancellor’s mini-budget prompted market turmoil.
