In July 2010, Stewart apologised to his constituents after blogging about the relative poverty of rural areas and need for more public services. He was quoted in the "Scottish Sun" as saying that "some areas around here are pretty primitive, people holding up their trousers with bits of twine". He later said that he was making the point that Cumbria's beauty hides its "pockets of poverty". A light-hearted "Guardian" article, "In praise of ... binder twine", whilst acknowledging the "serious effort" Stewart had made by "walking hundreds of miles" to get to know his constituency, concluded that he had simply underestimated the importance of the "ubiquitous and indispensable" twine to the rural community.