The Prime Minister found himself in a muddle this afternoon when he confused Colchester with Chelmsford.
David Cameron, while visiting Colchester to launch the government's Help to Work scheme, mistakenly referred to Chelmsford Borough Council on three occasions.
He soon acknowledged the obvious faux pas, but once again incorrectly name dropped Chelmsford Borough Council.
When challenged on government cuts by BBC Essex journalist Tom Barton today, he said: "The truth is that local councils, like central government, have had to make some difficult financial decisions and the reason for that is that in 2008 we had a major economic collapse, the whole country became poorer and so everyone has had to make difficult decisions.
"But actually when you look for instance at Chelmsford Borough Council's spending it's actually spending more this year than it did in 2008, over a million pounds more, so while the council has got poorer, actually Chelmsford has not been unfortunately targeted, it's actually able to spend more money now.
"I would encourage Chelmsford Borough Council... I'm sorry, Colchester Borough Council, to do what other local councils have done, that is share services, share staff and share facilities in order to provide better services for less money, that is what other councils are doing, Chelmsford included, and I am sure Colchester will have a look at that."
The authority was renamed "Chelmsford City Council" in spring 2012 when the Queen crowned the metropolis a city.
