Tories put elected mayor for Birmingham back on the agenda

THE prospect of an elected mayor for Birmingham was put firmly back on the agenda as the Conservative Party Conference got underway in the city.

The Coalition Government announced plans for the UK’s 12 core cities to have Boris Johnson-style directly elected mayors soon after it came to power, but many observers believed the initiative had since been shelved to allow local authorities to concentrate on public sector spending cuts.

But speaking at the opening session of the conference yesterday, Communities secretary Eric Pickles called on elected mayors to lead cities into a new era of ‘home rule’.
 
Mr Pickles said mayor-led cities would put their own “funding and expertise” into private-sector-led welfare to work programmes, pooling their budgets with government funds.
 
“Mayors will be able to help design services specifically targeted at the hardest-to-help families,” he said. “They will be able to add their own budgets – social services, care, housing, health improvement – to the national programmes. This will give mayors the power to change lives and help save money at the same time.”

Invoking Birmingham’s pride in its civic history, Mr Pickles cited the achievements of Joseph Chamberlain: “In the few short years of his civil leadership, Chamberlain gave Birmingham clean water, gas and electricity, he cleared the slums and oversaw the construction of Corporation Street.

“Imagine what could be achieved by a 21st century generation of Joe Chamberlains, championing civic pride and social renewal.”

Mr Pickles did not indicate whether a referendum would have to be held in each city to ensure public support for the introduction of directly elected mayors, but commentators believe the first mayoral elections could be held in 2012.

Birmingham City Council leader Mike Whitby – a staunch opponent of elected mayors – put on a brave face at a ‘Meet Birmingham’ reception to welcome conference delegates shortly after Mr Pickle’s speech.

Standing alongside the Communities and Local Government secretary, Mr Whitby highlighted the record of the Tory-Lib Dem coalition that has run Birmingham for the past six years.

Mr Whitby said the Big City Plan, unveiled last week , showed the city’s “innovation and bold, creative thinking”.

He said: “With ADZs, and a whole range of other innovative funding mechanisms, we are saying to the Government – Birmingham is ready to test your ideas, give us the freedom to do so.

“We have already built the framework for growth and done all the preparatory work – let Birmingham be the UK’s pilot for tomorrow’s innovative funding mechanisms.”