HS2 will be game-changer that could see a new town emerge
Radical solutions like this are always difficult, but leadership is about doing what is right for the region long term.
So why don't our prospective mayors, combined authority and planning departments get together and start preparing for this now? BIRMINGHAM'S opposition Conservative group have laid a nice trap for the ruling Labour cabinet in tabling a vote of no confidence ahead of next week's full council meeting.
While there is no doubt that Labour's 80 councillors will see off the challenge, the move will still strike a blow to the leadership as it struggles with the ongoing budget crisis.
We all know the arguments – the Labour group will blame the Tory Government's austerity cuts for putting the city in an impossible position, while the Tories will highlight local mismanagement, waste and inefficiencies. For what it's worth both arguments have merit.
If Labour leader John Clancy responds in a debate he will be seen to be on the back foot in the face of an onslaught, and if Labour brushes aside the challenge by forcing a vote without debate he will be seen to be ducking the issue.
Meanwhile, everyone knows the Labour group remains deeply divided over Clancy's leadership.
Some who backed rivals or lost jobs in last year's leadership battle are still smarting and looking for signs of weak- ness and failure ahead of a potential coup next year. Of course they close ranks and put on a united front in public against the ‘hated' Tories and reject the vote of no confidence. But there will be anxious glances at any empty benches, absences or any ham-fisted individual who accidently presses the wrong voting button. “Was councillor soand-so really struggling with heavy flu, stuck on the train or having to deal with a baby-sitting crisis?” the Labour whips may ask themselves, wondering if they are secretly abstaining. Either way, these are difficult times for the Birmingham's Labour leadership.