Following the Labour government and Council Leader John Cotton refusing this week to launch promised local inquiries into Birmingham City Council’s financial meltdown, Local Conservatives have launched a petition demanding the Inquiry into Birmingham Labour's Bankruptcy of Birmingham City Council that residents were promised.
The government’s decision to abandon a promised inquiry - pledged by the previous Conservative administration - coupled with Cotton’s backtrack on his own commitment, exposes a blatant attempt to protect a failing Labour council and evade responsibility for years of mismanagement.
When John Cotton assumed leadership in May 2023, he promised a transparent Inquiry into the council’s finances, including Equal Pay. Yet, after initially claiming he couldn’t proceed due to reliance on a government-led probe, he now refuses to act independently despite the government’s retreat.
Councillor Ewan Mackey (Con, Sutton Roughley) Deputy Leader of the Conservative Group said:
“This U-turn reeks of cowardice and a desperate bid to bury the truth—especially as the city grapples with a bin strike echoing the chaos of 2017. With all out elections for the city council next year, they are looking for any place to hide.”
The 2017 strike, mishandled by Labour, birthed a potential £760 million equal pay liability through a botched deal that allegedly enriched male-dominated bin roles while ignoring female workers - a scandal Local Conservatives warned about at the time. Auditors, lawyers, and unions sounded the alarm, but Labour ploughed ahead, leaving taxpayers to foot the bill. Now, with Labour scrambling to find a deal to end the current dispute, both the government and Cotton seem to fear an inquiry could expose how their past failures fuel today’s crisis and risk new equal pay claims if other staff, especially in female-dominated sectors, are shortchanged.
Councillor Ewan Mackey added:
“Labour’s government is shielding their local cronies while John Cotton hides behind excuses, terrified of what an inquiry might reveal. The 2017 strike’s equal pay disaster is their dirty secret, and they’re petrified it’ll unravel again with any deal to end the current strikes. Residents deserve answers, not a Labour stitch-up. We demand an independent inquiry now - let sunlight be the disinfectant.”
Cllr Robert Alden, Leader of the Conservative Group said "Brummies have been promised an Inquiry and Labour have now broken that promise, please sign our petition to demand the Council finally act".
Image - front page of 11th April's Birmingham Mail which has run an artilce on the scrapping of the promised Inquiry.
