Cathy Newman on ‘sharp’ northern MP: ‘don’t be fooled by her accent’

Although there have been efforts in recent years to make the British media less London-centric, problems persist. While the BBC opened their Salford office in a bid to widen the net, it’s Channel 4 who now seem to be struggling to get to grips with the North.

Cathy Newman — the Channel 4 news presenter — has penned a blog for the Telegraph in which she suggests that Angela Rayner — the Shadow Education Secretary — is one to watch. Alas, although the article itself is full of praise for the Labour politician who hails from Stockport, the Twitter sell is another matter entirely. In a message to her followers, Newman told them not to be fooled by Rayner’s northern accent. Why? Well, she’s actually ‘sharp as a pin and funny too’.

Given that the comments could be interpreted as a sign of media snobbery, Mr S suspects it’s for the best the tweet has now mysteriously disappeared.