Shadow City minister Richard Burgon’s out-of-office email reveals that he can’t count
Spare a thought for shadow City minister Richard Burgon.
The East Leeds MP has had a tricky time immersing himself in City life, struggling to set up meetings with key figures in the Square Mile.
Last year, the unlucky shadow minister faced a face-palm moment when asked by Channel 4's Cathy Newman whether he knew the size of the deficit.
Burgon said: "Well-er, uh, I’m not an economic… er… I’m not, er, somebody who's going to put a figure in a crystal ball… er…", before Newman did the honourable thing and moved the conversation on.
Read more: Is the shadow City minister playing hard to get?
As it turns out, mathematics isn't Burgon's strong point.
City PM contacted the Yorkshire MP last week, and were met with an automated message designed to be read by his constituents. The out-of-office missive suggests that we look at "details of the eight constituency advice sessions I've organised across our area per month."
The "eight" advice sessions in Leeds include two on the first Friday of every month, two on the first Saturday of the month, and finally, two on the third Friday of every month.
That would make six, Richard.
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Let's hope he has more luck with this week's somewhat bigger number, when the latest data on the size of the government's deficit is revealed.