Labour MP defends move to change Birmingham council leader

Shabana Mahmood said Labour could not ignore the 'really damaging findings' in the report

A Labour MP has backed her party's efforts to seek a new leader for Birmingham City Council.

The move comes after an internal report raised concerns about the climate at the Labour-run local authority.

The party's National Executive Committee (NEC) is carrying out interviews over the weekend.

Shabana Mahmood, who represents Ladywood, recognised the report had been difficult reading, but said it should be "a moment of reflection".

The report into the ruling Labour group, commissioned nationally by the NEC, said a divisive leadership contest and "bitter industrial disputes" had hit morale.

It also said a "concerning" number of members "highlighted the levels of misogyny".

The council leader, Ian Ward, who was re-elected with a four-year mandate in 2022, said he retained the confidence of the city's Labour group and would stand again.

Speaking to BBC Politics Midlands, Ms Mahmood said she would not support any one candidate and insisted it was "not about any one person".

The NEC will also choose a new deputy leader, chief whip, group chair and group secretary, with the aim of having them in post by Tuesday, when an AGM is due to be held.

Ms Mahmood acknowledged the report, which was leaked to the BBC, was "very troubling for the Labour Party" but dismissed claims the party leadership in London was controlling affairs in Birmingham.

She said: "it would be entirely negligent" of the party to do nothing in the wake of the report.

"I think it should be seen as a moment of change, of learning," she said, and "an opportunity to make sure that we all pull together, sort out the problems in the group and the way things are run at the council".