The latest “Anywhere but Westminster” report on Sutton Coldfield.
” … If there is a common theme shared by the 14 independents, it is that their town is in need of revival, and that neither Labour nor Conservatives have served it well. There is also a pragmatic acceptance that, given current funding pressures, the local improvements they want will not be funded by Birmingham city council.
… Rushton describes how, starting in 2011, his group sat under a gazebo in the main shopping area every Saturday, gathering 10,000 signatures on the petition that led to last year’s referendum. This asked residents whether they wanted a new town council, with the power to raise a local tax known as “the parish precept”, or not. All sides in that campaign knew there was strong support for the idea of independence from Birmingham. Some “old Suttonians”, as they are known, regret the 1974 decision to make them part of Britain’s second city. But Rob Pocock, Sutton’s sole Labour city councillor, says the 70% yes vote last July (on a 40% turnout) “stunned everybody”. …
… Sutton Coldfield has become a dogfight. Conservative association chairman Ewan Mackey accused Rushton of trying to send Sutton “down the route of North Korea” when he suggested major political parties should limit their number of candidates to leave room for independents. While Labour, the Liberal Democrats, Greens and Ukip accepted the proposal, the Conservatives aim to win all 24 seats and clothe one of their own in the town’s historic mayoral chains and robes that Birmingham has given back.
… When I suggest that there are centralisers and devolvers in both main parties, meaning these arguments don’t divide neatly into left and right, [Andrew] Mitchell [MP] will have none of it. “It’s the true tradition of Tory localism,” he says. “We want power driven down to the lowest level and will try to make sure the new council has as much power as it can cope with.” Mackey, a Conservative city councillor who is also standing for the town council, voted yes in the referendum but suggests some people did so in the mistaken belief that the Sutton town council would replace Birmingham as the local authority.
… Justin Griggs, head of policy at the National Association of Local Councils, predicts a “mixed bag” of results. What is certain is that there will be some different faces representing residents. Like the independents, all but two of the Conservative town council candidates are new to local politics. Though the Tory party has held Sutton Coldfield’s seat in parliament since 1945, and holds 11 out of 12 city council seats, it recognises that last year’s yes vote was a vote for change.
… Whether Birmingham’s other nine districts decide to follow Sutton Coldfield down the devolution route is unclear. Europe’s largest local authority, with a budget of close to £4bn until recent cuts, has long been seen as unwieldy, but previous attempts at reorganisation have either been rejected or tried and then unwound. Andrew Mitchell thinks that in the end, “Birmingham will be broken up”.”
East Devon Watch 