Birmingham City Council leader John Cotton tonight lost a vote of confidence brought against him by a collective of opposition councillors in a pre-election blow for the ruling Labour group.
The authority’s Conservatives took the opportunity to land the symbolic blow at the last full council meeting before local elections on May 7.
The Tories were backed up by the Lib Dems, Greens and Independent groups to outnumber the ruling group by two votes.
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It was a gesture that demonstrated how diminished the Labour group has become as a result of defections and resignations, after once commanding a huge majority.
Only 36 Labour members were in the council chamber for the meeting, out of 52, and were defeated by a collective opposition of 38 members out of 47.
The Conservatives put in the no confidence vote in a last-minute amendment after a debate targeting the Labour group.
They had the final say after a subdued six-hour meeting which saw councillors debate a range of issues from climate change to transgender issues, equal pay to food waste.
The Tory motion stated that Labour had ‘broken Birmingham‘ through years of financial mismanagement, service collapse and broken promises. It said the council had no confidence in the leader.
Birmingham councillors John Cotton (Labour), Robert Alden (Conservative) and Roger Harmer (Liberal Democrats) – the opposition pairing joined forces to help deliver a no confidence vote against Cotton(Image: Nick Wilkinson/Birmingham Live)
Leader of the Birmingham Local Conservatives, Coun Robert Alden (Erdington) said after the meeting: “Today’s vote needs to be a turning point for Birmingham.
“Labour’s leader has lost the confidence of the council because Labour has lost the confidence of the people. They inherited a thriving city from the last Conservative-led Administration, which had been voted the cleanest city in Britain, and are leaving it broken.
“This was not just a vote of no confidence in one man; it was a vote of no confidence in 14 years of Labour failure.”
Coun Matt Bennett, Cons, Edgbaston, revealed the last-minute amendment just as the final debate of the lengthy meeting got underway. He spied the opportunity to deliver the symbolic blow, with several Labour members absent.
“We brought this motion because enough is enough. Birmingham deserves better than chaos and cover-ups. With local elections weeks away, the people will now have their say and deliver the real change this city desperately needs,” he said afterwards.
Birmingham Council leader John Cotton in the council chamber(Image: Alexander Brock)
Labour ruled the council with a big majority when it was re-elected in 2022 but that majority has dwindled over the last 18 months due to multiple defections, resignations and two deaths.
The vote itself was otherwise constitutionally meaningless and Coun Cotton remains leader of the council. It was dismissed as a ‘cheap trick’.
After the meeting a Labour spokesperson said: “This is a cheap trick with no implications for the leadership of the council, played by the Conservatives, supported by their allies in the Liberal Democrats and the Greens.
“We are carrying on with the job of investing £130m into frontline services across the city under the leadership of John Cotton.”