"It’s the Tamar – not the Amazon for heaven’s sake!"

I have just seen the interview that David Cameron did for ITV Westcountry yesterday, and the casual way in which he dismissed concerns about the possible creation of a Devonwall parliamentary seat.

In the interview, when asked about the consequences of the Parliamentary Voting Systems and Constituencies Bill which, if left unchanged, would lead to the creation of at least one Cornwall and Devon seat, he said:

“I think it is very important to have constituencies that are the same size. That is fair. And in order for that to happen you do need to cross county boundaries. We don’t, for example, say that the Scilly Isles have to have an independent …have to have their own MP. It is right that you cross boundaries in order to have the right size House of Commons and the same size constituencies. That is fair.”

But ITV Westcountry, bless them, have released footage of Cameron speaking before the start of the formal interview. At this point he actually said:

“We have got to have equal-sized seats. It’s the Tamar – not the Amazon for heaven’s sake. But I won’t put it like that!”

What a gaffe! The pressure is now on Cornwall’s Tory MPs to speak to their leader and make sure that he does take Cornwall’s concerns seriously.