Andrew Mitchell speaks out against Labour Birmingham
Labour candidate is ‘too close to his friends in Birmingham,’ warns Andrew Mitchell
Labour’s General Election candidate in Sutton Coldfield voted to put up residents’ Council Tax by 21%, cut bin collections to once a fortnight and shut 25 libraries across the city – putting at least three of Sutton’s four libraries under threat.
The Labour candidate, who is also a cabinet member on bankrupt Birmingham City Council, also voted to introduce parking charges in Sutton Park - and is backing Labour plans to shut Sutton Coldfield Police Station.
Now Andrew Mitchell, who is standing for the Conservatives after serving the Royal Town for 23 years as its MP, is warning that Labour’s man is ‘too close to his friends in Birmingham’.
Andrew said: “An important part of an MP’s job is to stand up for your constituency both nationally and locally, and the Labour candidate has shown from his voting record that he will always roll over for his friends in Birmingham.
“Birmingham City Council’s bankruptcy is a crisis entirely of Labour’s making – even the GMB Union has said so – and the result is £300 million in service cuts, £750 million in asset sales and up to 600 job losses.
“Here in Sutton Coldfield residents are bracing for a 21% increase in Council Tax, bin collections cut to once a fortnight, dimmed streetlights and closures of libraries and community centres – and the Labour candidate who wants to be their MP voted for it all to go through.
“Labour Birmingham are also set to bring in car parking charges in Sutton Park, raising money which will not go to our neglected beauty spot, but will disappear into the financial black hole left by Labour’s incompetence. Again, the Labour candidate voted for these measures.
“If that’s not bad enough, the Labour Police and Crime Commissioner is persisting with his plan to shut our Police Station next year – and the Labour candidate is backing him!
“All of this is a matter of record – residents must see that he is too close to his friends in Birmingham.”
Birmingham City Council declared itself bankrupt last year and has a £300m gap in its budget – with problems compounded by a £760m equal pay bill and an £100m overspend on a botched IT project.
In March, Labour’s Sutton Coldfield candidate and his fellow councillors voted through a budget described by the city's Conservative group leader as 'a double whammy of higher taxes and fewer services'.
Promoted by Jack Annett on behalf of Andrew Mitchell, both of 36B High Street, Royal Sutton Coldfield, B72 1UP