Birmingham MP Richard Burden has launched an extraordinary attack on city council leader Mike Whitby, accusing him of hijacking the resumption of car production at Longbridge in a personal glory-trip.
Mr Burden described an an article by Coun Whitby in the Birmingham Post, in which he appeared to take personal credit for getting the track rolling again, as a “triumph of ego over memory”.
He said the many people involved in a rescue attempt after MG Rover went out of business in 2005 “would not recognise Mike’s claim to have been the personal inspiration behind pretty well everything that was achieved in the hours, days and weeks which followed the collapse of the company”.
In his article, Coun Whitby (Con Harborne) described how he took charge in the immediate aftermath of the crisis – which saw 6,000 jobs disappear – and personally encouraged Chinese firm NAC to invest in Longbridge and start producing MG sports cars again.
Production began on the first of a limited edition of models last week.
But Mr Burden (Lab Northfield) said many organisations and individuals were involved in a joint effort to secure the future of the car plant. He added: “No politician should claim personal credit for the actions of so many people.”
Mr Burden also accused Coun Whitby of organising “premature media launches” of NAC’s plans in order to produce photo opportunities for himself. He added: “Encouraging NAC to over-hype things in the early stages did not make their task any easier.”
