Whitby confident of winning crucial vote

By Paul Dale on May 18, 09 04:50 PM in

Supporters of Mike Whitby are increasingly confident about the result of tonight's election for the leadership of Birmingham City Council's Conservative group.
The audacious challenge to Whitby by Randal Brew is said to have come badly unstuck following publication last Friday of a 1,000-word manifesto containing a thinly veiled attack both on policies pursued by Whitby and his alleged personality failings.
Were Brew to win tonight, he would be named city leader at the annual council meeting tomorrow.

But those close to Whitby believe their "rope a dope" tactics will work.
The strategy involved sitting back and taking everything Brew could throw at the council leader, based on an assumption that to respond would dignify the challenge.
Waverers who might have backed Brew may have been put off by the right-wing tone of the manifesto, which promised to axe 3,000 council jobs.
In the hours leading up to tonight's vote, at 5.30pm, Whitby was said to be putting the finishing touches to a reshuffle of scrutiny committee and regulatory committee chairmanships, as well as membership of fire and police authorities.
Close associates of Randal Brew can expect to find themselves out of a job very quickly.

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George Smiley said:

Thank heavens Cllr Brew has been rightly defeated by cllr Whitby.

I am a Council worker, on a damn sight less than Cllr Brews inflated wages and think its an absolute disgrace that in a time of recession he should see fit to run his maifesto on the back of putting 3000+ loyal Council workers out of work.

I sincerely hope that his constituents in Northfield, a lot of whom are those same workers, take note of this callous power hungry monster at the next local elections.

I dont know how people like him can sleep at night and his actions have done nothing to inspire confidence in a party which I must admit up to now have been doing a good job in difficult circumstances.

For the record I am a Trade Union member and yes we have had our fall outs with Cllr Whitby's team but both sides have acted honourably and unlike Cllr Brew with dignaty and pride for our City and our Council

George

May 18, 2009 8:50 PM