Mayoral candidates clash over cuts in BBC debate
Andy Street clashed with his Labour opponent Richard Parker
- Published
Five candidates hoping to be the next mayor of the West Midlands clashed over council cuts in a feisty BBC debate.
Local elections, including the West Midlands mayoral election, will be held on 2 May and slashed local authority budgets are on the minds of voters across the country.
Birmingham City Council is implementing a wave of cuts to services ahead of a 21% rise in council tax over two years.
Siobhan Harper-Nunes (Green), Richard Parker (Labour), Andy Street (Conservative), Sunny Virk (Liberal Democrats), Elaine Williams (Reform) were quizzed about the issue by audience members.
Mr Street, the incumbent Conservative mayor who took office in 2017, was forced to defend his record throughout the debate, which will air on BBC One in the West Midlands region on Thursday at 20:00 BST.
The candidates are hoping to lead the region for the next four years
Candidates including Labour's Richard Parker said the mayor's party was responsible for cutting council budgets to the bone.
But Mr Street said the situation in Birmingham was unique, calling the financial crisis the result of a failure of local authority leadership.
He said nobody had ever been charged a penny of mayoral council tax at a time when Birmingham residents faced raising bills.
"You wanted to in 2018. You're being disingenuous," Mr Parker said.
"But it never happened," Mr Street responded.
A Mayor for the West Midlands, a special Elections 2024 programme, will air on BBC One in the West Midlands at 20:00 BST on Thursday and will be simulcast on BBC CWR and BBC Radio WM. It will be on the iPlayer shortly afterwards.
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- Published19 April
- Published19 April
- Published2 May
