In exactly one month’s time on Friday 4 May I will be up early to spend the day with my fellow ‘Yes to Birmingham Mayor’ campaigners waiting for the votes to be counted in the Birmingham mayoral referendum. This is a historic vote for England’s second city and indeed the other major English cities who are also holding referendums on whether to introduce elected mayors.
The penny seems to have finally dropped as the debate has now finally sparked into life in Birmingham on whether we should say yes to this new city governance model. This may have been helped by Liam Byrne recently announcing his intention to stand for the Labour nomination if there is a yes vote in May. What really raised eyebrows is that Sir Albert Bore will be his running mate and deputy mayor should Liam win the nomination and the election. Sir Albert led the city from 1999 to 2004 and will almost certainly take control again next month after the local elections which should see a significant swing back to Labour.
Of course, two other candidates for the party nomination have already declared. Sion Simon has been campaigning for an elected mayor for Birmingham since 2010 and has put in a lot of groundwork. Gisela Stuart has also been working hard in recent months to build support for her candidacy. In Birmingham in 2012 the party must win the city and use it as a platform to build our ideas and show that another way is possible, that there is an alternative to the policies of the Tories and Lib Dems that are inflicting real pain on hard working Brummies and indeed the whole country.
My interest is in making sure that in this month we all go flat out to get a yes vote and seize the opportunity for Birmingham. As a part of this, the ‘Yes to Birmingham Mayor’ campaign is engaging Brummies (and all others) to think about the key issues and how an elected mayor can benefit our city.
Today we are talking jobs and enterprise. Birmingham has suffered economically and it is no surprise to hear the potential candidates rightly focus on the need to create jobs and get the city economy going. Indeed, Liam Byrne last week in announcing his intention to become mayor said his three priorities are jobs, jobs and jobs. How will this happen? Urban economies are vital to the national economy. It is in everyone’s interests to improve Birmingham’s economic situation.
A Birmingham mayor with a real democratic mandate to govern can create a significant competitive advantage for the city. The profile will be crucial both nationally and internationally. A stronger mandate to govern, to lead, to negotiate for the city, to demand more and to achieve more for the city.
Birmingham is producing entrepreneurs; the city is seeing a significant number of small businesses spring up; a number of people are trying to take competitive advantage – and this is visible in the mutual support networks created spontaneously by the city. While it is amazing to see these flourish and create opportunities it would be even better for all of us to see the city support and nurture this into a key strategic plank in developing an entrepreneurial, vibrant and innovative urban economy that can create the jobs and growth that everyone is desperately seeking.
With a month to go the ‘Yes to Birmingham Mayor’ campaign is looking to build up a Brummies’ Manifesto to hand over after the referendum (and a successful yes vote!) to all of the candidates and lay down the challenge of really delivering. For our campaign is premised on collaboration, on listening and engaging, on empowering the city and the people to take control of their own destiny. The first step on that path is to say yes to a mayor and to then make sure that we as a city take full advantage of the opportunity.
Alex Burrows is part from yestobirminghammayor.com @MayorforBham