“Whoever you vote for,” an old geezer told me recently, “It’s a bloody politician who gets in.”
I’ve been asked a few times recently if/how I’ll vote on the mayor-issue. My heart sinks. This mini-referendum is boring, important, difficult. Can I be bothered?
What are we voting for? What powers would a Mayor have? Would it make a difference?
Even asking the questions numbs my mind, let alone listening to answers that come my way.
To me, this is the issue:
Picture by 'Africa'
Guest post by Kate Cooper.
What politicians, other policy decision-makers party members, even commentators say about what’s going on seems increasingly irrelevant to individual lives. Every so often, though, things happen or something’s said that shines a light on this mismatch.
There’s nowt so sobering as evidence. The Centre for Cities Outlook 2012, published on Monday, was a sobering read. They compare stats of the 64 largest cities in the UK. The sole bit of good-ish news as far as Birmingham is concerned is about our climate change measures. Low carbon emissions? We’re in the top third.
We’re close to the bottom when it comes to matters of employment and skills:
