Washed away by the Budget headlines of pints, petrol and pump-priming a property-owning democracy to help jolt Britain’s zombie economy back to life, the real domestic story of last week was the Government’s response to the Heseltine Review. Hidden away in the detail there can be found what might just be the embryonic refashioning of a
Michael Fabricant (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Amusing exchange in the Commons yesterday, as bouffant-haired Lichfield Tory Michael Fabricant feigned amnesia to deliver combative local government minister Eric Pickles an opportunity to have a swipe at Sir Albert Bore:
Michael Fabricant (Lichfield) (Con): I spent Sunday afternoon at the launch of the Heseltine review under the auspices of the Greater Birmingham and Solihull local enterprise partnership, chaired by Andy Street, whom I know you know, Mr Speaker. It was a real pleasure to see the leader of Birmingham city council, whose name I have temporarily forgotten-no, it is Sir Albert Bore-a Labour councillor, support this. Does my right hon. Friend agree that this is a real step forward for the Midlands, and will he soon go up to the Midlands to help with this exciting project?
Mr Pickles: Obviously, I regret that my hon. Friend forgot the name of Sir Albert Bore-an important man in local government who I am pleased to say seems to have changed his tune. He was predicting disaster; he was predicting that all kinds of things would go terribly wrong-yet here we are, with him co-operating with the Government. That is a marvellous sign for the future.
Music to the ears of Bore’s city Labour leadership rival John Clancy, who is already branding the LEP a Tory creation.
My colleague Kevin Johnson argues elsewhere on this blog that the GBSLEP ‘Path to Local Growth’ report is too thin on evidence in its arguments, but that with the original Heseltine paper it proposes the most radical overhaul of local and national government structures in decades.
At the risk of repetition, I’d like also to pose ten questions that
Lord Heseltine (Photo credit: University of Salford)
As the last green-hatted remnants of Birmingham’s St Patrick’s Day parade staggered home through the city centre on Sunday, a group of more soberly dressed citizens laid out plans they hope will lead to the city’s very own pot of gold.
The culmination of just ten intense weeks of research and consultation, the joint plan drawn up by the Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership (GBSLEP) and Tory grandee Lord Heseltine calls on the government to give the city region
So congrats to Labour councillor Waseem Zaffar, on his landslide victory in the Chamberlain Files Person of the Year awards – or the Chamber POTYs as we like to call them.
The young councillor - who boasts almost as many Facebook followers as Lady Gaga – is even now celebrating his momentous victory by touring the streets of East Handsworth and Lozells in an open-topped bus.
He will be presented with his prize of an engraved enameled late 19th century chamber pot that probably might of been used by Joe Chamberlain himself – as soon as we win that bid on ebay.
Zaffar’s victory is all the sweeter as he held off challenges from his own party leader, Sir Albert Bore, as well as the doughty efforts of former Lord Mayor Anita Ward. Even the pre-Christmas rehabilitation of Andrew Mitchell couldn’t help the Sutton Tory MP rise any higher than fourth place in a poll that reportedly saw a greater turnout than the elected mayor referendum and the police commissioner election combined.
Cllr Zaffar took a break from his victory celebrations to tell The Chamberlain Files: “Thank you to everyone who took the time to vote for me. I’m flattered. But Lozells & East Handsworth is full of people of the year. They’re the ones who deserve awards. I accept it on their behalf, although it all seems a bit potty to me.”
For those of you watching in black and white, here are those POTY results in full:
