Birmingham Conservative leader reacts to Tory MP’s ‘godawful’ Birmingham comment

Cllr Robert Alden responds to Conservative MP Heather Wheeler’s controversial comment - and asks her for a meeting at the Conservative Party Conference in Birmingham in October
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Birmingham Conservative Party Leader Robert Alden has written a letter to Tory MP fo South Derbyshire Heather Wheeler following her comments about Birmingham being ‘Godawful’.

He has especially requested that Ms Wheeler meets him at the Conservative Party Conference - being  held in Birmingham in October - so that he can show her around the city and prove how wrong her ‘prejudice’ viewpoint was.

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Cllr Alden has outlined many key reasons why Birmingham cannot be described as ‘Godawful’, including the city’s cultural merits, architecture, green spaces, community spirit and people.

Heather Wheeler, Cabinet Office Parliamentary Secretary, has apologised for referring to Birmingham in this way - along with Blackpool - but her apology came too late to stop a wave of outrage from Birmingham fans about the city.

She was reported to have made the remark during a launch of the government’s new digital strategy in London on Thursday (June 9).

According to Chris Middleton, a technology journalist who was at the launch, the junior minister in the Cabinet Office said: “I was just at a conference in Blackpool or Birmingham or somewhere godawful.”

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He then said that a Cabinet Office official rang him after he first reported Wheeler’s comments saying it was a joke to break the ice.

Heather Wheeler MP has apologised for the remarksHeather Wheeler MP has apologised for the remarks
Heather Wheeler MP has apologised for the remarks

What has Cllr Alden said about Heather Wheeler’s ‘Godawful’ remark?

Cllr Alden (Erdington) said: “I was very disappointed to hear your recent comments describing Birmingham as  ‘Godawfull’ and whilst I note you have since apologised for this, I believe they were  rooted in an all too common prejudicial view of our city.

“As such I would welcome  the opportunity to meet up with you at the Conservative Party Conference this  October to show you why Birmingham is a place with a rich history, a vibrant  present and an exciting future. Far from being somewhere to deride in the way your  comments have done, it is a city of which the whole country should be proud.”

Cllr Alden then outlined key facts about Birmingham to show how wrong Ms Wheeler was. These are:

  1. The city is the birthplace of the industrial revolution - Birmingham has been the engine room of  the UK economy and it was the hard graft and entrepreneurial spirit of our city’s  people that gave our country, and the world, many of the benefits of progress we  enjoy today. 
  2. It has also always been a city with a huge heart, providing a safe haven  and a place to thrive for those facing religious persecution and helping to lead the  anti-slavery movement, along with a culture of philanthropy that gave us such gems  as the University of Birmingham, Bourneville Village and Cannon Hill Park.
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3. Our industrial heritage has not translated into a bleak landscape of ‘dark satanic  mills’ but rather stunning Victorian and Edwardian architecture and more canals  than Venice.

4. With other 8000 acres of green space, we are one of the greenest  cities in the UK, from Lickey Hills to Sutton Park, the green and pleasant beauty of  nature exists alongside the testaments to human innovation.

5. If you wish to dine out when you come to Birmingham you will have a choice of  more Michelin restaurants than anywhere else in the country outside London, a  curry in the birthplace of the Balti, or hundreds of thriving independents.

6. You could  follow this by experiencing the magic of the City of Birmingham Symphony  Orchestra at the world class Symphony Hall, take a look around the internationally  acclaimed Ikon gallery, or view the largest public Pre-Raphaelite collection in the  world at Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery.

Birmingham Museum & Art GalleryBirmingham Museum & Art Gallery
Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery
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7. Or travel out of the city centre and  you will find the Barber Institute, Midland Arts Centre, ones the Evenings of  Creativity in Erdington and hundreds of other community-based arts projects  drawing on our rich and diverse culture.

8, Birmingham is also a city on the up, with the fastest growing rate of Foreign Direct  Investment outside London we have also been the regional start-up capital for 7  years in a row with 18,394 new enterprises starting life in the city throughout 2020  despite the pandemic and have been ranked at the 10th best city in Europe for small  business, the only UK city in the top ten.

9. Birmingham also has a thriving health and  life sciences cluster thanks to its ability to leverage an end-to-end supply chain on  its doorstep. Construction of the new Birmingham Health Innovation Campus, which  is due to complete next year will allow the already rapid growth in this sector to go  from strength to strength.

10. In just 45 days’ time we will be showcasing this potential to the world with the  Commonwealth Games, that will see an estimated £1.2bn economic uplift. By  placing Birmingham on the map, the Commonwealth Games will create an  international platform for trade and tourism, allowing us to build on the Birmingham  10% of the UK’s international exports we currently provide.

Cadbury in BournvilleCadbury in Bournville
Cadbury in Bournville
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11. Of course, hosting the Commonwealth Games has been made possible by the huge  display of confidence that Her Majesty’s Government has placed in this city. As a  member of that Government, you will be aware that £600m of government funding is  going directly towards hosting the Games, building upon significant investment  through two devolution deals and city growth funds.

12. When you come to Birmingham  will be able to see for yourself the benefits this government investment is already reaping, and why it is so important that this continues.

13. Birmingham is not without its problems, high levels of deprivation in parts of the city,  alongside health inequalities, unemployment and skills shortages show why levelling  up is critical. Much more also needs to be done by the Council Administration to  address chronic problems such as street cleanliness, recycling, services to children  with disabilities and the condition of housing stock as well as ensuring that  investment reaches local high street and suburbs as well as the city centre.

14. But  none of this changes the fundamental fact that Birmingham has been, is, and will  always be a city of great beauty, enterprise and potential.

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15. Our buildings, our green spaces, our arts and food scenes are all tangible manifestations of what makes Birmingham great, but they are all driven by the one  constant throughout our history, our people. It is Brummies who made Birmingham  and our country what it is and we are rightly fiercely proud of our City.

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