[Abernathy]

The current Mayor of the West Midlands region is of course Tory former (ahem) close friend of weirdo MP Michael Fabricant, Andy Street, currently blundering his way through his second term. Finally getting a Labour regional mayor is, as you can imagine, a big deal for Labour in the West Midlands region, particularly with the mayoral election taking place just before the most critical general election for years. Previously, former MP Sion Simon and current MP Liam Byrne fell somewhat disastrously short. From an initial shortlist of three, including the current West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner, Simon Foster - a vocal supporter of the Corbyn leadership debacle. Foster was eliminated, leaving a shortlist of two : Nicky Brennan, a Birmingham City Councillor and Victims Commisioner in Foster’s office. Brennan was likewise a committed advocate of Corbynism, though her supporters assure me that she has “moved on” from such political naievety. Brennan makes much of being the “single mom(Brummie for “mum”) of three children, in a manner not dissimilar to Labour’s Deputy Leader. The other shortlisted candidate is Richard Parker, backed by Labour to Win and the “sensible” Labour centre.

I’ve just finished sitting in on a hustings meeting on Zoom. To be honest, there wasn’t much between the two. Brennan relied heavily on cliche and platitude, though both of them committed the sin of using the execrable phrase “hit the ground running”. In my view, Parker was far more focused on the outcomes he would work towards as mayor, in a concrete way. I think he’ll be the better candidate.

Maybe I focus too much on words and communication, but Brennan’s campaign slogan is the bewildering “Vote for the winning choice, not the easy choice.”. Do let me know if you think you know what that means.

Watch this space for updates, if you’re interested.

[davidjay]

Surely to Christ Andy Bloody Street can't claim another four years of inactivity.