Chair of the Young Conservative Network (YCN), Daniel Grainger has faced backlash from across the political spectrum after describing Birmingham as a ‘dump’ in a now-deleted tweet. Grainger was visiting the city as Birmingham played host to the Conservative Party Conference at the start of the month.

According to The Guardian, before the tweet was deleted it read: ‘Birmingham is a dump.’ The Metro also reported that Grainger had previously tweeted his dislike for the city, including saying ‘Birmingham is the worst city in the UK.’ in both 2021 and in April of this year.

West Midlands Mayor, Andy Street, himself a member of the Conservative Party, responded to Grainger’s tweet saying ‘Off you pop then, and take anyone with the same views with you.’

Street went on to say ‘I may be a Conservative, but I’m also a bloody proud Brummie. I won’t have anyone who’s never lived or breathed this place trying to put us down.’ 

In response to Grainger’s tweet, one UoB student told Redbrick that ‘it is baffling that an individual would be so naive to make a public statement that will only make him appear even more out of touch with reality. It’s concerning that these kinds of individuals are the ones aspiring to have power in this country in the future.’ 

Another said: ‘It is such an ignorant thing to say. Birmingham is an amazing city with so much culture, amazing food, beautiful buildings and good people. It’s not perfect like all cities, but to call it a dump is insulting and wrong and he needs to reflect on his stupid comment.’

Since the incident, Grainger has made his Twitter account private, but the Guardian reports that he apologised and stated that his tweet was ‘not about the city or its people,’ and that someone had threatened to mug him.

The YCN states their aim is ‘to bring young Conservatives together from across the United Kingdom, who felt left behind by other organisations’ since ‘a lot of young Conservative members feel left behind by the party in many ways.’  

The YCN is separate from Young Conservatives which is the official youth section of the party, and YCN does not disclose any official affiliation with the party. However, a Conservative Party membership is required to join.

A spokesperson for the Conservative Party told Birmingham Live that Grainger has been suspended from the party awaiting investigation.

The Conservative Party, the Young Conservative Network, and Grainger himself did not respond to Redbrick’s request for comment.

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