Bid to ready party for campaigns ahead, say bosses
A BIRMINGHAM Labour spokesperson said: “In May we recorded a fantastic victory for Labour in Birmingham, winning 65 seats in the Council elections.
“We have now set about delivering on the commitments in our manifesto A New Deal for Birmingham. We will be working closely with the LGA and the West Midlands Regional Labour Party to further improve our campaigning capacity, which will help to deliver Labour victories in the years ahead.”
A regional spokesman added: “The West Midlands Labour Party is launching an internal Campaign
Improvement Board in Birmingham.
“This work will support the ways in which Birmingham Labour group can improve campaigning and engaging with local residents. We are undertaking this work alongside the Local Government Association (LGA)
“We hope this programme will have excellent outcomes for our elected officials, campaigners and most importantly the people of Birmingham. There is currently no time frame for this work.”
A leadership challenge in the immediate aftermath of the local elections in May saw Cllr Ian Ward narrowly retain his role as leader, by a single vote to Cllr Waseem Zaffar. Also in the running was Cllr Liz Clements.
Cllr Clements was later appointed into Cllr Ward’s Cabinet, leading on transport. Cllr Zaffar resigned his cabinet position. There continues to be disquiet among some of those who did not support Cllr Ward about the group’s strategy.
This week Labour members select their preferred candidate to take on sitting Conservative MP Gary Sambrook in the Birmingham Northfield seat at the next General Election.