Do the Tories really love Brum?

Coming to Birmingham was supposed to show in part that the modern Tories do love our big cities, even those in the north (or Midlands in this case). And after being deafened by complaints about grubby hotel accommodation or sub-standard eateries in Blackpool last year, you might have reasoned that visiting a major, modern and regenerated city would be a welcome change.
Not for everyone though, it seems.
Queuing to enter the "secure zone" last night - the conference centre and party hotel are cordoned off and anyone entering needs a pass and has to pass through security scanners - a Tory MP behind me had clearly just arrived.
"I'd forgotten how vile Birmingham is," the shadow minister told his companion, unaware of the flapping ears of journalists nearby. And then he repeated it again!
The Tories may be making genuine inroads outside the south, but maybe some of their MPs still need to learn to love our cities.