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MEP condemns West Midlands mayor calls
Jun 27 2006 By Jonathan Walker, Birmingham Mail
CALLS for a regional mayor in the West Midlands have been rejected by Conservatives.
The debate over the future of the region has divided the parties after Tories attacked Ruth Kelly, the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, for "repeating the mistakes of the past".
Ms Kelly warned this week that Birmingham must accept an elected mayor if it is to become "a Milan of the Midlands" and join the top rank of European cities.
But the idea was condemned by local MEP Philip Bradbourn (Con, West Midlands), the Tory spokesman on regional government in the European Parliament.
He said the proposals simply amounted to re-creating the unpopular West Midlands County Council, abolished in 1986.
He said: "I am in complete disagreement with Mrs Kelly's reasoning that in order to give local authorities power over transport, employment, innovation, creativity and culture and urban regeneration that a new tier of government is required."
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