No magic wand for Birmingham cash crisis - Starmer

Sir Keir Starmer said changes to funding packages could help councils plan more long-term

The prime minister has warned there is "no magic wand" to solve the financial crisis at Birmingham City Council.

Sir Keir Starmer said he would work "collaboratively" with the Labour-run local authority, a year after it effectively declared bankruptcy and set out on a path of cuts and tax rises.

But he added: "I can't say there's lots of extra money we've suddenly found, because there isn't."

Starmer also welcomed plans by the mayors of the West Midlands and Greater Manchester for a smaller replacement scheme for the cancelled HS2 rail line through Staffordshire and Cheshire.

In one of a series of regional interviews ahead of the Labour party conference, the prime minister said his party's reforms to local government would help councils like Birmingham plan their funding for the years ahead.

"We're looking at the settlement, the way councils get their funding, to put it over the longer term, which councils say to me makes a material difference," he said.

"Many people watching this will be concerned about the services that they rely on."

But he said the government would "roll up our sleeves, get on, work with the mayor and others in the council to make sure we can give the reassurance.. that we understand the concerns and we're beginning the work of fixing them".

He said the commissioners appointed by the previous government to oversee the city council should be left to "get on with the job they've been appointed to do".

Opposition Conservative councillors on Birmingham City Council have described the local authority's response to the crisis as "deeply worrying", after suggestions by the commissioners that more cuts would be needed.

Skin in the game

On the plans announced last week for a new rail line between the West Midlands and north-west of England "at a fraction of the cost" of HS2, Starmer said: "We're going to look at it.

"I think it's really good that the two mayors have got together in this way. I'm a great believer in local representatives coming up with plans for transport."

He said the government wanted to "come alongside" the mayors and look at what they are developing.

"I do think that people with skin in the game usually make the best decisions. And that's the guiding principle," he added.