Liam Byrne’s dramatic announcement that he is to run for mayor of Birmingham had been half expected by Sion Simon’s backers.
With his Hodge Hill seat set to disappear at the next General Election, and his attempts to find an alternative constituency having failed, Mr Byrne’s only chance of remaining anywhere near the top table of politics was likely to revolve around running Birmingham.
But friends of Mr Simon were quick to claim that “this
