Former Labour cabinet minister Lord Adonis has attacked Birmingham’s “weak” leadership claiming the city faces a mounting crisis of jobs and deprivation due to lack of direction.
The former Transport Secretary, who is also an academic and life peer, made the comments during a lecture to the Lunar Society in Birmingham.
He said the city was trailing behind others such as Liverpool and said it “made a big mistake” by not following London in having an elected mayor.
He said high speed rail could also play a key role in transforming the city’s fortunes.
Lord Adonis said: “Birmingham’s unemployment rate is above 11 per cent, more than twice the national average.
“In the five years to 2008 it gained 10,000 public sector jobs, but lost 3,000 in the private sector. Now losses in the public sector are starting too.
“Worst of all, Birmingham almost tops the league of Britain’s low-skill cities. More than two in 10 residents have low skills, compared with just over one in 10 nationally.
“Birmingham is behind even Liverpool, which has lost nearly half its population in the past 50 years.“Birmingham made a big mistake in not following London a decade ago by creating an elected Mayor.
“As the largest single-tier local authority in Europe with a £4 billion annual budget covering a population of a million, Birmingham might have had the best of both worlds: an authority that could significantly influence transport projects and regional economic development, while holding direct responsibility for key public services.
“Instead, the city council has had the worst of both worlds. It is hard to be an effective leader, promoting radical change, if people do not know who you are.
Jerry Blackett, chief executive of Birmingham Chamber of Commerce, said: “Clearly, Birmingham is changing from manufacturing to service and there is no reason why it can’t make a success of it.
“We are undertaking a detailed study of the impact on the elected Mayor for Birmingham and part of that process will involve consulting our members.”
