Birmingham City Council's new leader has pledged to battle for a better devolution deal, promising "we will catch up with Manchester".

Coun John Clancy, in his first interview since taking over the Council House leader's office from Sir Albert Bore, said he was committed to the West Midlands Combined Authority and closer working with Birmingham's neighbours.

But he said the devolution deal - £1 billion of direct investment, handed to the region last month - is not good enough and needed to be massively built on in future rounds of talks with the Government.

The Labour leader stressed while the Government could do more, the region needed to prove it deserved a better deal.

Two days after being elected leader by the Birmingham Labour group of councillors last week, he travelled to London to meet with Local Government Secretary Greg Clark, where as well as giving reassuraces over the commitment to the Kerslake improvement plan, they discussed devolution.

Coun Clancy said: "I told him I thought it was at the lower end of our expectations in terms of the amount of money. The deal needs to be the first in a number of rounds.

"We must clearly show as a city region, as the West Midlands, ourselves to be fully ready and fully justified to have a much better round."

He set out the ambition: "We have to match Manchester, I think we will."

But he pointed out that, as far as the health service goes, the West Midlands was ahead.

"We have the kind of health infrastructure they are trying to build in Manchester. We're further down the line."

Coun Clancy, who origianlly hails from Stockport, added: "We will catch up with Manchester I can assure you. But we're going to have to show that we deserve that."

In the short term, Coun Clancy will also demonstrate his commitment to cross-party co-operation by involving Conservative and Lib Dem councillors in developing a cleaner city policy – to end the scourge of fly-tipping and dirty streets throughout the city.

As a plan to cover all 40 council wards it would also deal with the criticism that the council has been too focused on the city centre.

"The issues that many people have with cleaning the city is something I am going to start to address immediately," he said.

"I hope to be able to work together across all parties on a serious clean-up of the city. We need to be able to show as civic leaders that there are things we can work together on that are in everyone's best interests."

The clean-up will also involve working with communities, businesses and anyone else with an interest in looking after Birmingham.

"Throughout the campaign, my point was that Birmingham City Council needed to stop doing things to the city and instead do them with the city, we need people to step up," he added. He also said he would deliver on his campaign pledges to seek new forms of finance through a municipal bank, council worker's pension funds and regional bonds to pay for house building and infrastructure.

And, in an appeal to business, he added: "The 'Midlands Engine' can roar like a Jaguar. Let's build a new economy and, indeed, a new deal for businesses."

There was, however, a warning that the budget cuts to the council would be "dire". He is due to launch the council's budget consultation next week.

In his opening speech as leader to the council chamber' he said: "Let's feed children, let's build homes, let's build skills, let's build a new economy and let's build a step-up city where everyone who can, can be part of building the solution. Let's build hope."