A Labour run Birmingham City Council

If Labour were to run Birmingham City Council, they would use its £1 billion per year purchasing power to boost Birmingham’s economy, grow business and help create more jobs.

Labour has said they need to win four extra seats on May 3rd 2012 to take control of Birmingham City Council, from the Conservative.

Labour has also guaranteed a living wage of £7.20 per hour to all workers if it gets control of council on May 3rd, says the party.

Erdington MP Jack Dromey says 

“We will show the country that Birmingham is a strong and vibrant city working together to tackle the worst housing crisis in a generation, soaring youth unemployment, and, crucially, a city committed to no Birmingham citizen earning less than a living wage of £7.20 an hour.”

“A Labour council will lead the fight against working poverty that blights our society and our economy. To offer those who work hard and yet struggle to provide for their families dignity in work.”

The local minmum wage is currently £6.08 per hour, so these figures are sure to give minumum wage workers  something to smile about, if labour win next week.

Labour claims that 2,743 of the lowest paid staff, most of them are women in part-time cleaning and cooking jobs in schools who earn between £6.39 – £7.15 per hour, will hopefully see their pay improve under the election pledge. ‘Living wage guarantee’. This would add £1.2 million to the council’s wage bill.

Labour also believe that it will motivate staff and improve productivity.

By Hannah Ambrose

What will a mayor do for Sutton Coldfield?

In the north east of the city with a population of over 100,000 Sutton Coldfield is the largest and northerly Parliamentary constituency in Birmingham.

I put some questions to Sutton Coldfield’s MP Andrew Mitchell about his opinion on having an elected Mayor for Birmingham.

Andrew has been Sutton Coldfield’s MP since 2001 and following the 2010 General Election he was also appointed Secretary of State for International Development.

One of Andrews’s main priorities is his constincuency Sutton Coldfield. He often tackles many issues that affect his local area and the people in his community.

I got in touch with Andrew and put to him two questions. He replied by emailing me his response.

“What are your thoughts on Birmingham getting the “Yes” vote?”

“I have confidence that for Sutton Coldfield, an elected mayor in Birmingham can help provide strong and visible local leadership, increasing accountability for local decisions. A mayor would also provide the opportunity for Birmingham to transform itself for the better and this could well be beneficial for Sutton Coldfield”.

“The Government is committed to transferring power from Whitehall back to communities. Directly elected mayors mark another shift in this landmark transfer which lets local people decide what is best for their area. Subject to the endorsement of local voters, elected mayors can help provide the strong, democratically accountable leadership to maximise the potential for economic growth and investment in cities, bringing real benefits for residents and businesses”.

“An elected mayor builds on the Conservative commitment to localism which will see more decisions which affect Sutton Coldfield being made in Sutton by Sutton’s elected Councillors thus rolling back the years when a Labour government and before that a Labour-controlled Birmingham ignored Sutton Coldfield and refused to invest in our town”.

“I maintain that it is a local decision as to whether Birmingham should have an elected Mayor”.

“The question is will this improve local governance in Sutton Coldfield and boost the quality of Birmingham for long term benefit. My conclusion, on balance, is yes”.

The second question I put to Andrew was;

”To your knowledge what special powers will he/she have?”

“The Prime Minister recently announced a new Mayors Cabinet that will ensure elected mayors have a voice at the heart of Government. The Cabinet will provide city Mayors with a direct route to the Prime Minister and other Senior Ministers and provide a forum for cities to exchange ideas, highlight new innovations and lobby for the interests of their city”.

“It will be important that the elected mayors have the powers they need to lead and enhance the prestige of their city and to ensure that our biggest cities are genuine drivers of economic growth and improvements in social outcomes – both for the benefit of the city and the surrounding area. At this stage, we do not intend to decide on individual powers that might be handed to a mayor – the successful candidate would negotiate with Ministers to specify and secure the specific powers that each community needs to prosper”.

By Amrit Pnaiser