Sticking to the party message, Brum-style
IN the recent past this column may have given the impression that the Birmingham Labour Group is dysfunctional and divided. Where petty rivalries, power struggles and personality clashes are more likely to erupt into full blown conflict as any ideological disagreements.
It appears we may have been mistaken – if the package of written answers to questions is anything to go by.
No less that 25 Labour councillors in leadership roles – from cabinet members down to local ward committee chairs – were asked by Conservatives for their views on the Commonwealth Games.
To a man (or woman) they all gave exactly the same three sentence reply about it being a ‘once in a generation opportunity’ to do various things like raise the profile of the city, create jobs and housing and tackle inactivity and obesity.
The 25 are clearly in complete, almost telepathic, harmony and definitely not being dictated to by a North Korea-style regime. Also of interest on the bumper document were two similar questions to Lisa Trickett, the cabinet member for clean streets.
She was asked by Conservative councillors Timothy Huxtable and Simon Jevon about how much the council spends each year scraping or washing chewing gum from the city’s streets.
Unfortunately there is no specific figure as it is all wrapped up in the general street cleaning budget.
Of course it is certainly no coincidence that former Conservative and city council Lord Mike Whitby has recently invested in a Black Country firm producing chewing gum removal equipment.