Mixed views over Gordon’s gaffe

Thursday 29th April 2010, 10:00AM BST.

Wrekin candidates had mixed views about Gordon Brown’s bigot gaffe, with Tory Mark Pritchard saying the Prime Minister was in denial about a legitimate public concern, but Labour’s Paul Kalinauckas saying he was only human.

And Lib Dem Alyson Cameron-Daw felt the incident had been “over-hyped”.

Mark Pritchard said: “Gordon Brown should stop living in denial about the levels of immigration which are at a record high.

“It’s wrong for Gordon Brown to dismiss genuine concerns about the impact of immigration on public services, schools and housing.”

Mr Kalinauckas said: “Gordon Brown is a human being. People have very high expectations but no-one can be expected to live their life in the public spotlight 24/7. In the heat of the moment people will make mistakes but I think it is important that we do have a frank and honest debate on immigration and migration. I don’t think it will affect votes in this area – it is a storm in a teacup.”

Alyson Cameron-Daw said: “I think it has been over-hyped. We need to be careful about how much emphasis is placed on it because it could have happened to anyone.

“I think it will affect votes for Labour here.”

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