Birmingham City Council’s leader hit back at criticism by saying Brummies ‘will not accept politics built on negativity’
Coun John Cotton, leader of Labour-run Birmingham City Council/Conservative Coun Deirdre Alden(Image: BCC webcast portal)
Birmingham Council’s Labour administration came under fire from opposition councillors over a vision for the city’s future as election tensions continue to build.
The council’s corporate plan sets out the priorities for Birmingham over the next three years and how it intends to overcome the issues which have plagued the local authority.
The Labour -run council says it wants to make the city fairer, greener and healthier, with the plan exploring how it can tackle challenges such as housing need, health inequalities, unemployment and child poverty.
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At a meeting on Tuesday, June 17, council leader John Cotton described it as a “milestone”, adding it was a “clear demonstration of our ambitions for Birmingham” and their “determination to right previous wrongs.”
But the local Conservative group slammed the plan with Coun Deirdre Alden describing it as “arrogant” and suggesting the strategy could be seen as a “Labour election pitch”.
In a proposed amendment, she said the council should instead work on a long-term strategy based on the mandate to be delivered through the all-out city council elections in May 2026.
“The normal practice at elections is for each political party to produce a manifesto setting out their priorities and policies,” she told the council chamber on Tuesday.
“The electorate vote and the winning party’s manifesto gets to be implemented by the council.
Liberal Democrat councillor Roger Harmer/Green Party councillor Julien Pritchard(Image: BCC webcast portal)
“That is the officer’s job, to implement the manifesto of the winning party – not the council manifesto, not the previous administration’s manifesto. It’s called, wait for it, democracy.”
Coun Alden continued: “Where in this document is the acknowledgement that after May 2026, council priorities and policies might well change because of a change of administration.
“Time and resources should not have been spent now on developing a strategy for the years after 2026.
“It’s arrogant and it starts to look as if council resources have been spent on a Labour election pitch.”
Amid council tax hikes and services being cut, she argued a better future for Birmingham lay ahead “when this failing Labour administration is gone”.
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Referring to remarks about the plan being a “milestone,” Liberal Democrat group leader Roger Harmer suggested the council’s Labour administration was a “millstone around the necks of our city”.
He said the city would be ‘free of the millstone next May’.
Green Party councillor Julien Pritchard argued the council’s plans “don’t seem to survive contact with reality”.
‘Brummies will not accept politics built on negativity’
Coun Cotton fired back by saying the Conservatives’ proposed amendment “removes any forward-looking ambition for this city”.
“I certainly, as leader of this council, make no apology for being ambitious for Birmingham,” he told the council chamber.
“I’m certainly not going to apologise for saying this council needs to work with our partners, businesses and citizens to develop a shared view of how we move forward together.
“It’s got to be about the city of Birmingham – it’s not just about what we do here at Birmingham City Council.”
He said he was “disappointed but not surprised” by the tone of some of the Conservative speeches supporting the amendment.
Birmingham Council leader John Cotton during the budget meeting in 2024(Image: Nick Wilkinson/Birmingham Live)
“I don’t think it augurs very ill for partnership in this city if they ever were to find themselves in a position of power,” Coun Cotton argued.
“Although on that note, it was interesting to see how little speculation there was about where they may be going forward.”
“I think the truth of what we’ve heard from the opposition is there’s no positive vision,” he continued. “It’s all about negative politics – it’s not about ambition, it’s not about looking forward.
“I’ve never stood in this chamber and speculated about what happens in future elections, I think that’s a fool’s game.
“But I do know Brummies will not accept a politics and a vision that’s built on negativity.”
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Coun Cotton said the council’s “entire improvement journey” would be at risk if a clear corporate plan was not put in place.
Acknowledging the financial turmoil which has engulfed the council, he said earlier this month the Labour administration had made significant progress in “fixing the foundations”.
“I’ve always been really frank about the challenges facing this council and the things that went wrong,” he said this week. “That’s why we’ve taken the decisions that we’ve taken, often very tough and difficult decisions.
“It’s now about how we build.
“It’s got to be clarity about our mission, about getting the basics right, about changing the culture and governance of this organisation, and ensuring that this city grows.”
Several issues have contributed to the council’s financial crisis according to external auditors, including the equal pay debacle, inadequate budget setting, poor service management, demand led pressures and the disastrous implementation of a new IT system.
Labour politicians have also highlighted previous funding cuts which have impacted local government.
The corporate plan was approved but the Conservatives’ amendment was not passed through.