The noble Lord has lost it – Andrew Adonis branded 'sneering' and 'elitist' for Wolverhampton jibe
Lord Adonis has launched an astonishing attack on Wolverhampton, attempting to link the collapse of Carillion to the city’s Brexit vote and Enoch Powell.
In a bizarre tweet headed ‘Brexit Britain Fact of the Day’, the pro-Remain Labour peer wrote: “The Midlands city of Wolverhampton, political base of Enoch Powell in the 60s and a huge Leave majority, is HQ to just one large company. Carillion!”
Brexiteer Tory MPs have hit back, with Mike Wood branding his comment ‘nonsensical’ and Eddie Hughes accusing him of showing no respect for people in the Black Country.
Lord Adonis, a former Cabinet Minister under Gordon Brown, quit his role as the Government's infrastructure adviser before Christmas, describing Brexit as 'a populist and nationalist spasm'. He has also called for a second EU referendum.
Dudley South MP Mr Wood said: "It is quite sad that Lord Adonis has become obsessive about Brexit to the exclusion of all rational thought.
"Here we have an unelected bureaucrat telling nearly two thirds of voters in the Black Country that they have come to the wrong decision.
"His confused and nonsensical comments to a large degree explain why so many people voted to take back control from people who think they know better."
UKIP MEP Bill Etheridge said: "Andrew Adonis’ tweet is just typical of the sneering elitist politicians who look down on ordinary men and women as something they have to tolerate rather than represent."
Mr Hughes, the MP for Walsall North, said: "This is a London academic showing a complete lack of respect for the Black Country and its people.
"He is using Carillion to display his views on Brexit in a way that ignores the fact that people here continue to start businesses and pay their taxes."
One of Lord Adonis' followers tweeted: "On the basis of this conflation of barely connected facts one could be forgiven for questioning whether the noble lord has lost it."
In Wolverhampton 62.6 per cent of people voted for Brexit in the EU referendum.
One of the city’s biggest employers, Carillion, went bust two weeks ago with debts approaching £1.3bn.
