Simon steps down
By politics.co.uk staff
Birmingham MP and junior culture minister Sion Simon will stand down at the next election to campaign as the city’s first elected mayor.
The MP will have to convince the people of Birmingham they wish for the position to be created, however.
A 2001 poll asking people from the city if they want an elected ‘super mayor’ did not find majority support but a 2006 report by the Centre for Cities thinktank suggested a tax-raising mayor could deliver significant improvements to the city.
“The answers to Birmingham’s problems simply don’t lie in London,” Mr Simon told the BBC.
“I’m certainly committed to putting myself forward and becoming the Labour candidate.”
Mr Simon, who has been an MP for nine years in the safe Labour seat of Birmingham Erdington, described Gordon Brown as a “towering figure”.
Under local government laws local councils can hold referendums of their citizens to see if they want an elected mayor.
Last year, Mr Simon found himself embroiled in the expenses scandal when it was reported he rented a second home from his sister, breaking Commons rules. He was forced to apologise to the House.
The Labour majority in Birmingham Erdington stands at 9,575.
