Minister backs city mayor bid

Sep 19 2005 By Neil Elkes, Evening Mail

THE debate over an elected mayor for Birmingham has been re-opened by a Government minister.

Local Government Minister David Miliband claimed a charismatic political leader could take Birmingham into the 'Champions League' of European cities.

He was speaking to the Evening Mail following a series of meetings with regional council leaders, business chiefs and sixth form students.

He said: "Does the example of London and Ken Livingstone show there is a positive benefit to having an elected mayor? Yes.

"Is Birmingham a big enough city with a large enough economy to merit a mayor? Yes.

"Is this a debate that should happen? Yes. The people of Birmingham have to ask what will deliver strong leadership for the city."

The Government's previous attempts at driving through elected mayors in Britain's cities have had mixed success.

Ken Livingstone has been regarded as a success in London but an attempt to repeat the experiment in Hartlepool backfired when the people voted in a man in a monkey suit.

When the idea was last floated in Birmingham a number of candidates were mooted with popular historian Carl Chinn, although not aligned to any political party, seen as a front runner.

Other suggestions included long-serving city politicians such as Jeff Rooker and Brummie celebrities such as Jasper Carrott.

Mr Miliband's visit included a question time session with sixth form students at the new Matthew Boulton College, in Jennens Road, where he was joined by education minister Lord Andrew Adonis.

The pair listened to a range of forthright views on young people's ambitions and the failures of the education system.