A Mayor: Taking Birmingham into the 21st Century
30 March, 2012 Leave a Comment
Many people that I know that are instinctively against the idea of a Mayor for Birmingham – usually because it is a Tory idea, an American idea or a bad idea. I admire many of those people, and politically dislike a few of them.
They all have one thing in common: an aversion to change. Change can be a good thing, and change can be a bad thing. It can be a worrying thing and it can be difficult to handle. But change, for want of a better word, is a good thing.
Take the Birmingham Mayoral campaign. In May, at the same time as the local elections the people of Birmingham will have their chance to choose a leader for their city. A city that I have lived in for all of my life. A Mayor in Birmingham could really change the way that the City is run.
Will a Mayor be a good thing for Birmingham?
Yes, undoubtedly. Even if you ignore the experience of other large cities with directly elected mayors, it will be a positive for two simple reasons.
Firstly, it will provide real leadership.
If you ask people who their local councillor is they would probably struggle to tell you. I would doubt that more than 10% of people could tell you that Mike Whitby is Leader and Paul Tilsley Deputy Leader of the Council. A Mayor could remedy that by providing a single, unifying figure for the City.
In the 2011 local elections just below 1/2 of Brummies voted for elections to a council that has a budget of £3.5bn. A sorry state of affairs, and one that can be remedied by a Mayor – a mayor who will be accountable to each and every voter. They will serve every resident in Birmingham. They will be able to direct council services across Birmingham to improve schools, rubbish collection, and all the other council services that we use. They will also be able to exercise real leadership in the council machine – As things stand Councillors outside of of the Executive have very little power to influence Council policy or hold the City Council’s leadership to account.
Secondly, a Mayor will bring investment into the City.
The last Labour Administration bought in a vast amount of national and international investment . Birmingham was a transformed city. It can be so again. Attracting the investment, jobs and growth that Birmingham needs will be a task fit for the new Mayor.
London, the best example of where a directly elected mayor can work, is once again a global city. Ken Livingstone’s time as Mayor of London showed what could be done with active local leadership – the Olympics and Transport for London being the two most significant achievements.
We deserve the same treatment as London.
Birmingham is a great city, but it could be better. A Mayor would make us a globally ambitious city. In times of fiscal austerity a Mayor could better direct how taxpayers money is spent in the City and get value for money whilst ensuring that the people’s wishes are fulfilled.
A Mayor for Birmingham could transform the City. Do not let this opportunity disappear.
NB: As one of the 3,000 Labour members in Birmingham I will have an opportunity to vote for our candidate for Mayor. If there is a “yes” vote then I will be supporting Liam Byrne.
