Labour 'arrogant' to talk of vision beyond election

RULING CITY GROUP UNDER FIRE FROM TORIES FOR LONG-TERM PLANS

- ALEXANDER BROCK Local Democracy Reporter

BIRMINGHAM City Council's Labour chiefs came under fire from opposition councillors over a vision for the city's future.

The council's corporate plan sets out the priorities for Birmingham over the next three years and how it intends to overcome the issues which have plagued the local authority.

The authority says it wants to make the city fairer, greener and healthier, with the plan exploring how it can tackle challenges such as housing need, health inequalities, unemployment and child poverty.

At a meeting city leader Cllr John Cotton described it as a “milestone’, adding it was a “clear demonstration of our ambitions for Birmingham” and their “determination to right previous wrongs.”

But Conservatives slammed the plan with Cllr Deirdre Alden (Edgbaston) describing it as “arrogant” and suggesting the strategy could be seen as a “Labour election pitch”.