'I didn't throw a tantrum!'
'I didn't throw a tantrum!'
Mayoral race: Andy Street and Richard Parker go head to head
Dear Patchers — welcome to your mid-week briefing.
Andy Street and Richard Parker went head to head in what some have called the biggest clash since King Kong faced down Godzilla. Hyperbole aside, the debate at Hockley Social Club last night was the first time the two mayoral candidates have faced each other one-on-one in this race — and The Dispatch was there to record the highlights for your Brum in brief below.
Elsewhere, we have the latest on why the UK’s biggest pub chain is on the brink (it’s headquartered in Solihull) and why security queue chaos at Birmingham Airport might be about to be consigned to history. Plus: a very literary festival for any bookworms out there.
There are also now over 600 of us paid-up members to The Dispatch. This is incredible faith in the project and well ahead of where we thought we might be when Kate kicked things off last year. Do consider telling a friend, family member or colleague about the work we do — or subscribing yourself if you’re receiving this for free.
Until next time. Dan.
Brum in Brief
🥊Head to head: Hosted by Hockley Social Club and chaired by News Agents podcast co-host Lewis Goodall, last night’s mayoral debate covered the usual ground. Parker pushed for publicly run buses and emphasised his business credentials; Street plugged skills for young people and reminded everyone that the mayor should be judged as an individual, not by their party’s record. This last one got him into trouble when he declared:
“I am not prepared to see the West Midlands in the hands of the same Labour party as have demonstrated their inability to manage the finances of Birmingham.”
Goodall threw back that by Street’s own logic, “this contest is about the man not the party” earning the biggest applause of the night.
Parker was less self-assured — in a confusing response to the question, ‘no one’s heard of you, is that the best Labour can do?’ he seemed to suggest it was the Conservative Party’s fault that he had a low profile. On HS2, he described Street’s row with Rishi Sunak over cancelling the northern leg as “coming back empty-handed” after throwing a “tantrum in front of the prime minister”. Street insisted that he was “not throwing a tantrum” but making a serious case for the Birmingham to Manchester line.
Parker also refused to compliment Street during the final question: What is the best thing you can say about your opponent? Expecting a gentlemanly reply, Goodall was surprised when Parker shot back that Street “had done his best but is going to lose”. Street was rather more generous, complimenting Parker for not being “a career politician”. Overall, Street was the better debater but no candidate came out the clear front runner, which was down largely to Goodall’s skilled rejoinders. With two and a half weeks until the election, the race remains close.
💳Solihull-based pub giant on brink: The UK’s largest pubs and bars group Stonegate, based in Solihull, say there are no guarantees it can continue as it struggles to refinance £2.2bn of debt. The group has 4,400 outlets nationwide, including Popworld, Slug and Lettuce and Be At One, and is owned by the same private equity parent company as Asda: TDR Capital. Despite difficulties, David McDowall, CEO at Stonegate, is bullish the firm can turn it around: “Our performance gives me real confidence in the future,” he said. Full details.
🛬Airport chaos: Brummie holidaymakers were reduced to tears as catastrophic security queues forced many to miss their weekend flights. 51 would-be jet-setters missed holiday connections as security lines backed up. One dad spoke to Reach media to say: “My daughter was in tears.” The news comes as Birmingham Airport announced plans to become the first UK airport to end restrictions on liquids when travelling, thanks to the latest in security technology which will be installed in a new £60m security hall. That will open in June.
😔Coventry hiring struggles: Coventry city council has heard that traffic wardens are becoming harder to hire due to abuse — with would-be hires preferring to work in fast food outlets. The city’s parking manager told councillors that wardens speak of lack of respect from members of the public with warden sickness levels higher than counterparts in other areas of the council. Full details including notes on warden assault, the police response and why wardens are now wearing body cameras.
📖Kings Heath book & music festival: Spring must truly be in the air as weekend-long festivals are truly in full flow. If you’re a bookish or live music fan, head down to B14 to catch an array of events at The Heath Bookshop’s inaugural literary festival. Talks and performances will come from Robin Ince, General Levy, The Bookshop Band, Mike Gayle and Catherine O’Flynn. “With music in the bookshop and literature events in music venues we can’t wait to welcome audiences to the Festival,” said Heath bookshop co-owners Catherine and Claire. Full programme here.
Thanks for reporting on the head-to-head; you may well be the only publication that took much notice. Given that, it would have been good to get more detail. I was there and there was much to see and hear, all bearing very directly on the West Midlands.
My question regarded house-building and realistic provision for people seeking a home on a "normal" salary, and Street's response was an avalanche of statistics, which even Goodall wryly criticised, while Parker at least seemed to highlight the truth, which is that all that data about 20,000 homes with 20% being "affordable" doesn't seem to be resulting in many especially younger citizens' being able to afford them.
Street defined "affordable" as being, either in terms of rent or mortgage payments, about one third of a person's income (I think he meant net income), which would be about £600-£800 per person by my calculation, probably about right, but he didn't really consider deposits and other variables.
Street curtailed the discussion about social housing as it is, he said, outside the purview of the WMCA. Parker thought much more could be done in concert with the elected councils, a good point since Street had, on other matters, complimented himself on his ability to work in harmony with councils, but apparently not so much on housing.
Street was much slicker, very impressive in his delivery, despite predictably tripping up a little when questioned about HS2, which he somewhat unconvincingly tried to turn into some sort of victory for his brand of Conservatism against the - well, the actual Conservatism running the country for the past 14 years; while Parker was much less practised in public speaking, though how important that is in this election I don't know. Parker did seem to be more connected to the reality of just how important a stable home is to most people.
The audience was very welcoming and was obviously listening hard to both. It would be good to find out more about them both so as to bring this competition more into the public sphere.
During a hustings meeting before Andy Street was elected in the first time. I was a volunteer steward (not because of political leanings but as a local person who volunteered). One of my duties was to take a ‘roving mic’ to those in the audience who wanted to ask a question. Mr Street was the only candidate of 4 or5 who said ‘thank you’! That sort of courtesy can go along way toward positively influencing a voter.