The leader of Bradford Council has revealed how a light-hearted Twitter hashtag blaming him for everything from toilet blunders to ‘man flu’ could be emblazoned across T-shirts to raise cash for charity.
Councillor David Green said he is considering getting #BlameDave printed on T-shirts and selling them for good causes after a flurry of tweets blaming him for a catalogue of mishaps, from wild weather to missed trains.
The social media user said he wasn’t sure who started the slogan, but believed it had been sparked by people getting “fed-up” of Bradford West MP George Galloway blaming him for “everything wrong in the whole universe”.
Since then, the hashtag’s popularity has soared and Coun Green is now looking at how much it would cost to get the T-shirts printed.
“Seeing the things I’m blamed for always brings a smile to my lips. I think it’s light-hearted and I take it in good spirit,” he said.
“It shows that people are getting fed- up with people not understanding that different people and different parts of government have different responsibilities and you can’t blame the Council, or me, for everything.”
Coun Green, who tweeted the idea of getting T-shirts printed to 700 followers on his @Dave4Wibsey account, said he had already received responses from a few people who said they would be interested in buying one.
However, he said he had already identified a few problems that could arise from the plan. He tweeted: “If I do get the #BlameDave T-shirts made, can we make sure no-one who is pregnant wears them?”
The councillor, who heads the Labour-run authority, added: “If the #BlameDave thread is going to take off, I'm glad my partner’s not on Twitter as it will run and run!”
Asked how he would feel seeing someone walking around Bradford city centre in a #BlameDave T-shirt, Coun Green, replied: “I would most probably giggle a lot.
“There are things I am serious about, like the future of Bradford, but at the same time I’m able to laugh at myself and happy to have a bit of fun.
“It’s not taking away from the things we are trying to do, but if it can bring a smile to people’s faces then that’s great.
“The main aim of it would be to raise money for charity.
“It won’t make millions, but even if it makes £20-30 for small local groups, it will be worth it.
“I’m going to find out how much they would cost and then see if people would still be interested in them.”
Mr Galloway (Respect) said it was true that he did “blame Dave” for everything.
“Global warming because of the hot air he spouts, the norovirus, male pattern baldness, dandruff and lumpy mattresses,” he said.
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