The bankruptcy of Labour-led Birmingham City Council cannot be attributed to government funding cuts, a leaked internal party report has found.
Sir Keir Starmer today attempted to blame ministers for the collapse of Labour’s flagship council, saying it had been “stripped of funding”.
But a report commissioned by Labour’s ruling National Executive Committee warned party leaders that blaming budget cuts for the council’s problems “does not stand up to scrutiny”.
The report found a “dysfunctional climate” at the council, run by the Labor Party since 2012. It said the authority suffered from “persistent and long-standing problems getting the basics right”.
Rishi Sunak today said Labour’s mismanagement of Birmingham demonstrated what the party would do in power.
John Cotton, who was hand-picked as leader of Birmingham City Council by Labor leader Sir Keir Starmer, conducted an interview via video link on Tuesday when it was announced that a section 114 notice had been lodged, effectively declaring the bankrupt council.
Sir Keir Starmer today attempted to blame ministers for the collapse of Labour’s flagship council, saying it had been “stripped of funding”.
He said Labor in Birmingham was “failing working people, losing control of taxpayers’ money and ruining their finances”.
The Prime Minister told MPs: “You have bankrupted Birmingham, we cannot allow you to bankrupt Britain.”
The row came as it emerged that the council’s Labor leader went ahead with a family holiday in New York, where he is celebrating his 50th birthday, as the crisis unfolded.
John Cotton, who was hand-picked for the role by Sir Keir, conducted an interview via video link on Tuesday when it was announced that a section 114 notice had been served, effectively declaring the council bankrupt.
Speaking to BBC Radio West Midlands via video conference with a blank background, Cotton said the council would “continue to provide essential services” for the city’s 1.1 million ratepayers.
A local conservative source said Cotton was known to be in New York celebrating his 50th birthday.
When asked if that was the case, a council spokesperson said: “Councillor Cotton is absent due to a long-standing family commitment, but has been working around the clock since the Section 114 Notice was published.” . Gary Sambrook, Conservative MP for Birmingham Northfield, said: “If anyone wants to see how Labor would behave in government, look no further than Birmingham.”
‘Starmer’s man was elected without a vote and when things get tough he is nowhere to be found.
“Labour has bankrupted Birmingham and will do the same to the country.”
The financial collapse of Labour’s flagship council, which is Western Europe’s largest local authority, is a huge embarrassment for Sir Keir.
When asked about the issue today, the Labor leader attempted to blame the government.
The bankruptcy of Labour-led Birmingham City Council cannot be attributed to government funding cuts, according to a leaked internal party report.
He told BBC Breakfast: “If you take a step back from Birmingham you’ll see there are versions of this all over the country.”
“And that’s because, for 13 years, local authorities have been stripped of the funding they need.”
But Labour’s internal report, which was sent to the party leadership in May, found this was not true.
“Budget cuts and the size of the city are used as reasons to explain the situation, but this does not stand up to scrutiny,” the report says.
“Other large local authorities with similar levels of deprivation and inequality have also suffered big cuts, in some cases bigger, without the same problems with basic services.”
The study found the council had suffered “years of personality-driven factionalism”, with senior figures leaking damaging stories to each other. He also denounced accusations of racism and misogyny.
“It is clear that the existing culture and processes have contributed to a dysfunctional climate,” the report says.
Birmingham City Council has been plagued by bitter industrial disputes over refuse collection and care homes which have led to “difficult” relations with unionized staff.
The report’s authors said the quality of service provision was beyond their competence, but added: “We cannot ignore the repeated complaints we heard about home repairs, waste collection and fly tipping, service grief and special education.