By Victoria Brenan

Published at 10:02, Saturday, 24 July 2010

Penrith MP Rory Stewart described Cumbrians as “holding up their trousers with bits of twine” in a national newspaper.

Rory Stewart, Conservative candidate, Penrith and the Borders

His comments, printed in the Scottish Sun, have been branded as arrogant and crass and the 37-year-old has since admitted he was ‘extremely foolish’.

He said his remarks were merely meant to illustrate how some areas of the county were living in real poverty.

In the interview, published on Tuesday, Mr Stewart said: “Some areas around here are pretty primitive, people holding up their trousers with bits of twine and that sort of thing.

“I was in one village where a local kid was run over by a tractor. They took him to Carlisle but they couldn’t be bothered to wait at the hospital.

“So they put him in a darkened room for two weeks then said he was fine. But I’m not so sure he was.”

Mr Stewart has since said he regretted his remarks but said they had been taken out of context.

“I’m obviously very sad about this,” he told the News & Star.

“What I was trying to get across to the journalist is that he, and many people in London, are trying to portray Cumbria as an area that is very wealthy and comfortable. That’s very dangerous when [we are] facing cuts.

“What I was trying to get across was not derogatory about people but that we have real needs here, we have communities that are very poor. [But] it was an extremely foolish thing for me to say.”

His remarks appalled one Penrith woman – who did not wish to be named – who described them as “arrogant and crass”.

“He basically likens people in the county to Worzel Gummidge, like some sort of country bumpkins. How dare he?,” she said.

“It’s an insult to Cumbria. “He thinks the Cumbrians are backward.

“His comments about the family not getting treatment for the boy hit by a tractor imply they are ignorant and uncaring.”

“I’m really upset about it.”

But locals who met Rory when he trekked across the county before the election defended him, saying he would not have meant to insult anyone.

Roadhead farmer Steve Pattinson dismissed his comments as tongue in cheek.

He met Mr Stewart a few times, he said, and described him as a ‘decent fellow.’

“I take the comments on the chin,” he said. “I think he’s good for Cumbria.”

Caroline Morris, chairwoman of Ravenstonedale parish council, also joined him on part of his walk around Cumbria.

She was astounded to hear his comments but did not take any offence.

“I’m not insulted but I think the man is a bit foolish to say things like that,” she said.

She took his remarks to be an unfortunate error, she added, and not malicious.

“He’s a good speaker and will make an excellent MP - but he has to watch what he’s saying!”

Mr Stewart denied he viewed Cumbrians as ‘country bumpkins.’

“I would be heartbroken if [these comments] were seen as an attempt to generalise,” he said.

“Many of the people I meet are highly educated, many retired from high- powered jobs. Then there are people living in very remote areas and in conditions which, if in a city, would be considered a disgrace.”

He said his comments about the family not waiting for their child to be treated at hospital were not meant to portray them as unfeeling or ignorant.

“What I was trying to say is that there are communities that are very self reliant, very tough. They are not wealthy or mollycoddled, people are living tough lives and looking after themselves in ways that other communities in Britain wouldn’t.

“It wasn’t meant to be an insult to anybody but I can understand how it came across as that. I regret saying these things because they don’t get across, in any way, what I was trying to."

Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk