MP apologises after dismissing 'dog-end' voters in the north

Mark Garnier, who represents Wyre Forest was secretly recorded making the remarks at the Institute of Economic Affairs during a debate on taxes.

The 51-year-old said businessmen were being put off by governments hiking their taxes to appeal to poorer voters.

Mr Garnier said entrepreneurs were 'worried about what is going to happen to their own personal rates of tax'.

He added: 'We need to be giving a much clearer message to them that they don't have to worry about politicians mucking around with tax rates in order to try and attract a few, sort, of dog-end voters in the outlying regions of the country.'

He then added: 'Not that they are not important – but what is important, what is important, is that businesses can feel surety in what is happening within tax rates.'

The MP later issued an apology saying: "If I used slack language in order to make a point, I am sorry if I caused any offence to anybody.

"Certainly no offence is intended. I believe every voter is important everywhere."

But he was criticised for being the next in a line of politicians to have recently insulted the electorate.

Tory Andrew Mitchell lost a libel case after a judge concluded he was likely to have called a police officer a pleb while former cabinet minister David Mellor was recorded being rude to a London cab driver.

And Labour's shadow attorney general Emily Thornberry resigned after tweeting a picture of a house in Rochester adorned with England flags - something critics took to be snobbery.

Matt Lamb, the Labour candidate standing against Mr Garnier at the General Election, said: "To Tory Andrew Mitchell we are 'plebs', to Tory David Mellor we are 'stupid and sweaty' and now to Tory Mark Garnier we are 'dog end voters'."