Home Secretary James Cleverly hit the headlines this week when he was accused of calling a Labour MP's constituency a "sh**hole".
But it is not the first Tory MPs have come up against such allegations. A whole pack of Conservatives - including a former Prime Minister - have been accused of dissing the North.
The Conservatives are often characterised for their pomp, tradition and wealth, with a string of Tory ministers educated at Eton and other elite schools. Many a time their "mask has slipped" and they have seemingly shown their true colours.
Here's a look at some of the times Tory MPs have been caught or accused of slating, misrepresenting or smearing places...
1. Stockton is a 'sh**thole'
Home Secretary James Cleverly was accused of calling a Labour MP's constituency a "s**thole" after he raised the issue of poverty in his area during Prime Minister's Questions this week. MP for Stockton North Alex Cunningham asked Rishi Sunak: "Why are 34% of children in my constituency living in poverty?"
A voice from within the House of Commons can then be heard saying "sh**thole". Multiple Labour MPs said they believed it was Mr Cleverly who made the comment. Mr Cleverly initially denied the claim in full, with his spokesman saying : "He did not, and would not. He’s disappointed they would accuse him of doing so."
His stance then shifted, with an aide saying Mr Cleverly had actually said "sh** MP" - insulting Mr Cunningham, not his constituency. The Home Secretary's spokesman told the Mirror on Thursday: “James made a comment. He called Alex Cunningham a sh** MP. He apologises for unparliamentary language. As was made clear yesterday, he would never criticise Stockton. He’s campaigned in Stockton and is clear that it is a great place.”
Tory Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen had just minutes earlier hit out at the "childish and unprofessional" language and said Mr Cleverly had dragged the Stockton's "name through the mud".
2. Birmingham and Blackpool are 'godawful'
Last year Tory MP Heather Wheeler described Birmingham and Blackpool as "godawful" places at a Government event in London. The MP for South Derbyshire was accused of saying: "I was just at a conference in, I dunno, Blackpool or Birmingham, somewhere godawful."
When the comment first emerged, the Cabinet Office reportedly said the MP was making a joke to "break the ice". Ms Wheeler made the comment a few months before the Conservatives were due to hold their annual Tory Party conference in Birmingham, in the West Midlands.
She was forced to apologise, writing online: "Whilst speaking at a conference on Thursday, I made an inappropriate remark that does not reflect my actual view. I apologise for any offence caused."
But Labour MPs reacted with fury. At the time, Deputy Labour leader Angela Rayner said: "The mask has slipped. This minister has blurted out what Boris Johnson's Conservatives really think about our communities behind closed doors. The disrespect is off the scale. Heather Wheeler has put her utter contempt for voters on show."
3. People don't want to go to Bradford
Last month, top Tory Lee Anderson joked that people don’t want to get to Bradford any faster in the days leading up to northern HS2 links being scrapped.
The Conservative Party deputy chairman Lee Anderson made the comment during a heated fringe event at the Tory Party conference, where he also joked that dictators were a "good idea" and ranted about "this poverty nonsense". The Ashfield MP was asked about the impact that cancelling the high-speed rail line could have on local services, including better connections between Bradford and Leeds. He shot back: "Anyone here from Bradford? Would you want to get there quicker?”
The room of Tory members and activists erupted into laughter and applause. But one man, who said he was from Sheffield, shouted back: “Cheap shot.” Mr Anderson added that HS2 was a “gamble” and “a bad gambler will always be throwing money at something”.
4. Stoke-on-Trent blighted by 'scumbags, scroats and savages'
In February, Tory MP Jonathan Gullis shared a bizarre rant lashing out at "savages", "scroats" and "scumbags" in his constituency over soaring levels of anti-social behaviour.
The Stoke-on-Trent North MP posted the video days after Labour accused the Conservatives of being "missing in the fight against crime".
Appealing for more police and CCTV, he said Smallthorne, an area in the north of Stoke-on-Trent, is blighted by "scumbags who fly-tip their filth in our community". And he added that other areas are also terrorised by "savages", saying: "In Cobridge where scroats deal and shoot up their drugs wrecking havoc on our community, and in Tunstall where savages and their antisocial behaviour causes mayhem for local businesses and local people."
Former Conservative MP Anna Soubry, who left the party in 2019, said in response: "It’s not just his language & lack of compassion that’s so shocking but Jonathan Gullis also fails to understand he’s describing his party’s legacy after 13 years in Government & his after 3 years as Stoke’s MP. Another eg of Conservatives drift to the unhinged right."
5. Smears about Liverpool
Boris Johnson has been long-criticised for authorising an article ranting about Liverpool when he was editor of the Spectator in 2004.
An infamous piece - written by Simon Heffer - but edited and approved by Mr Johnson, smeared Liverpool and its people following the brutal beheading of Scouse engineer Ken Bigley in Iraq. It also lied about the Hillsborough victims and claimed drunken fans were partly responsible for the tragedy. Mr Johnson, who was at the time a Shadow Minister for the Conservatives, was forced to apologise.
In 2012, following a report which showed the scale of the police cover-up of the Hillsborough disaster, he said: "I was very, very sorry in 2004 that the Spectator did carry an editorial that partially repeated those allegations, I apologised then and I apologise now. I do hope the families of the 96 victims will take some comfort from this report and that they can reach some sort of closure."
In the months leading up to Mr Johnson becoming Prime Minister, the Liverpool Echo published a story with the headline: "Liverpool won't forget what Prime Minister hopeful Boris Johnson did." It said: "The man who wants to rule the country helped to smear this city in the worst possible way... [His] apology has understandably done little to comfort people from this city."