Congestion charge was on the mind of voters
THE most marginal seat in the city, Birmingham Northfield, was seized by the Tories last Thursday.
And new MP Gary Sambrook believes his experience as a councillor in Birmingham was crucial to his victory.
Northfield had been a Labour seat since 1992, but was seen as the constituency where the Tories had the best chance of making a gain. The party had targeted it before but without success.
Labour’s Richard Burden won in 2017 after he campaigned to remain in the EU in the 2016 referendum.
But last week, the Tories bagged a 1,640 majority – a major seven per cent swing from Labour to Conservative.
“For nearly six years I have been a Birmingham City Councillor, having been elected after an unexpected by-election in the middle of winter,” said Mr Sambrook.
“Knocking doors in the freezing cold, delivering leaflets in torrential rain, and finding addresses for targeted mailshots in the dark. These past six years have taught me a lot of things about campaigning, being a representative, and how to build upon incumbency.
“In Birmingham, the city’s Labour administration is adamant about introducing its hated congestion charge in the city centre, which will mainly affect some of the poorest in the city.
“This issue has been on the lips of voters for some time, and so the experience I have gained in the council chamber has allowed me to be able to step into public Q&As and have conversations on the doorstep with voters in a way I couldn’t have if I hadn’t been a councillor.
“Being an MP is also a very different role now than it was 30 years ago. MPs need to be seen more in their community, they need to take a greater interest in local issues, and they most definitely need to have a full contact book of local groups, associations, and stakeholders.
All of these things are what councillors have, and do, every day.”