Features

john cross
just another waste of taxpayers money,like quango's and jobs for theboys.

Mike H
This is a wonderful opportunity for the good folk of Birmingham Coventry and the Black Country (remember when we used to have a council for the West Midlands?) to elect a dictator to tell them what to do and think! Yet another job invented by politicians for politicians - the "Old Boys/Girls" network. Let's tell them to stop wasting our money on schemes that have failed elsewhere.

Gill,B'ham
Yes, let's have a high profile mayor who is a player on the national stage and can present our excellent city in a positive way and change the widely held stereotypes of the region. England is not divided between London and Manchester; we need to show them that we count too.

Andy Twiss
I think us brummies should simply invade Wolverhampton and Coventry... Then we'd have no problem with the cities-within-a-city thing... perhaps we could claim they had accents of mass distraction...

Nick ?
If Stoke can have an elected mayor then so should Birmingham. Personally I think Lord Mayors are rather archaic and should be consigned to the dustbin of history: In my experience their appointment is on the basis of "Bucks' turn" rather than competence/public support. Although not universally popular, London has certainly yielded intangible benefits from having an elected mayor, for better or worse, London's profile is now higher than it ever was as a world city; if Birmingham has the same ambitions, it has to take this step.

Jessica Smith
I think it's an awful idea, there's nothing great about birmingham so why should it be named as such.

gary fisher
As an outsider (originally from Ayr) it seems silly to live in tividale (less than 6 miles from birmingham city centre) but classed as sandwell. The amount of money that we would save by having a united black country/ birmingham council far outweighs any tedious local wranglings! People we are paying for 2 councils when one would be enough!!!!

Simon B
10 Grand to come up with a name! Only in Birmingham!

Mark Evans
Great idea they should do it!

Steve, Staffordshire
It has been decided , the name for your great City Region. After paying image consultants £10,000 of your money these image experts came up with the excellent name of "Greater Birmingham" Now have the unelected quango incharge of the birth of your new world city region taken this advice? the answer is NO. Your council leaders have decided on the name "Birmingham, coventry and the Black country City Region" completly ignoring this expert advice that they commissioned!. Is this a sign of the waste to come? Will this name shine out into the world ? the answer is a Resounding NO. From now on you can say that you are from B C and the B C , what a shambles. Thank goodness that we in Staffordshire are not effected.

Mike
Having come to Brum from London, Birmingham is a fine city that doesn't have a lot of the amenities it deserves as the second city. An elected mayor and unifying the councils might give the leadership required to get the funding and will together to let Birmingham achieve it's potential

Jon Stevens
Good idea in principal. I can't see Solihull happy to unite with Birmingham though!!

A Thomson...Birmingham
Never seen the point of having a mayor, what do they do? Ken livingstone is a meglomaniac, couldn't make his name in a political party so went for the next best thing...what does he do? He's famous for congestion charges and that's it!!! We don't need a mayor, our council have functioned without such a person, so why do we want someone that's not needed? Solihull have a mayor in a big swanky car wearing chains around his neck costing a fortune, what does he do, open a few fetes every now and then. Get shut of all the deadwood penpushers that this government produces and maybe our council taxes might come down.

Stephen Leigh
Looking at London and the unity that Ken Livingstone has brought to the area it is clear to see that it would be good to have some of the benefits of that in this region. Look at the Midland Metro schemes that have been plagued by a lack of unity and are now delayed because of this. We need solutions to be region wide and therefore a Mayor for the entire region would help to unite the cause. Let us hope that it wont just be Birnmingham MP's or Council workers making the decisions for everyone!

Gary, dudley
In the Netherlands, there is an area called the Randstad where all the different cities have grown so large they are merging into one. There is a danger with these super cities that to could happen here. Just a variety of blobs all over the map. Each area has it's' distinction and that should be protected. As an "immigrant" from the South I have watched my home town of Kingston vanish under the Greater London Banner. I like Ken, think he is a good politician but nothing he has done has led me to believe that elected mayors or superstates are to the overal benefit of the inhabitants.

bob
i think its a brilliant idea

T.H
I noticed a comment referring to residents of places like Sutton Coldfield as snobs. Now why would anyone living in those areas want to be part of a 'Greater Birmingham' which shows such hostility? I have family roots from the inner suburbs of Birmingham and am proud of that just as much as I am to live in Sutton Coldfield. But as a part of Birmingham, the town has declined further and further. If a Mayor with an ideology similar to that of some of the Labour councillors gained control, I personally believe places like Sutton and Solihull would have money taken from them left right and centre for the development of other areas.

Simon B
Yes. But don't include Wolverhampton or Coventry. They are cities themselves and making them part of the city region of another city would make little or no sense what so ever!

adrian Douglas-Ward
Yes lets have a greater Birmingham. Does that mean that I will be allowed to vote for the lord mayor. if so can we have an elected chief constable as well.Then I would have some sort of confidence in the police.He or she would be accountable to the votors of the city and not central goverment.They would be more aware of what our policing needs are, not just central governments ideas as to what they think we want from a police force.

vinod
i have lived in brum for 32years and have moved to 2 years ago to london ken livinston wot a waste of money keep brum the same way it is and not get it grid locked like london i live 2 miles from work but it takes me 50 mins to get to work buy car

Diane Argyle
I moved to the Midlands 2 years ago to Get away from London. Don't Don't do it - London managed quite well without a Mayor - all it has done is increase prices on EVERYTHING and we see nothing for it. I still work in London so I get the Londoners views and they are not happy with the situation. Birmingham, I think is run fantastically don't spoil it just to be like London. Anyway who knows if it's the position or just the man - let's be honest the GLC threw him out many moons ago - what I want to know is who voted him back in - I certainly don't know of a single person who would vote for Mr Livingstone!!

Charlie, Stourbridge
I'm from Stourbridge, which is currently classed as part of the Black Country, with a Dudley postcode. To be honest I'm extremely embarrased and ashamed to be remotely associated with the Black Country. Birmingham on the other hand is the country's second city. Birmingham is fast becoming a thriving modern metropolis. I would love to be part of a Greater Birmingham, so we can finally be proud of our region and show the rest of the country what we are made of!

ANIL
i belive that there should be an expanding of birmingham city and the city centre itself. it is becoming increasingly unkown around the world and with only 1 major city in the uk which has many tourist attractions (london) i belive birmingham (being the second city) should be thriving to get more tourists into its city by coming up with new ideas that would be suitable and extravagent. i do live in birmingham and after visiting london's underground i was supprised not to see a similar if not a better transport system in birmingham. birmingham has to pull its weight and start acting like a second city and the people of birmingham and everyone else can then wipe manchester out of any chance of becoming the second city!

pinky
yes i do think that there should be a greater birmingham. i am from walsall and i would prefer to say to people that i am from birmingham because its the second city and proud to be. however since birmingham is so close by i tend not to say that i am from walsall so i truly believe it would be better to make the westmidlands birmingham!

Anne
Let's put the second city back into Birmingham, let's have a greater Birmingham as Greater Birmingham. The blanket term West Midlands does us all a disservice. I want to be proud of my city, not see it swallowed up in beaurocratic wording...

Cat Llewellyn
To Steve Phillips.... Us Brummies hate being branded as yam yams!

Moira
Yes we should be a city region and yes we should have an elected mayor

natasha
I think that birmingham should become greater birmingham because we are the second largest city of the uk and we dont get enough credit

Tony
Birmingham needs more recognition and identity,which it will never get by being in the dark shadow of the west midlands and midlands in general.I thought the abolition of west midlands county council!!!was a move in the right direction,but I get lots of postending in birmingham west midlands,which I think is ludicrous.

a. hill
for far too long now,birmingham has been in the shadows of west midlands this or midlands that!I think my home city should definitely have its own identity in oreder to prosper and become a truly great CITY.

graham willetts
the west midlands is already looked on as birmingham so lets make it real powerful

STEVE PHILLIPS
I LIVE IN DUDLEY, LEAVE THE BLACK COUNTY ALONE. WE DO NOT AND WILL NOT BE CLASSED AS COMING FROM BIRMINGHAM.

Greg
I am for this - an uber-leader is needed to cut through the bickering and personal power struggles that go on in local councils, to better distribute resources and to, simply, get things done. Remember, the most effective form of government is a benign dictatorship (just hope we get a competent leader).

Chris
Yes. We did have a vote before but angled away from a 'yes' by a 3-way choice!!

Ash
I'm from wolverhampton, i don't want to be part of 'greater birmingham'. I'm part of teh Black Country, we don't need Birmingham to have anythign to do with us.

Matt
To Ian Colby from Sutton, you've made a good point. The "City Region" is a crazy idea. I'm from the Black Country and I dislike the idea of an elected Birmingham Mayor controlling Wolverhampton, Walsall, Sandwell and Dudley. The Black Country has its own heritage and culture and should be left alone. I feel the same about Coventry and I'm sure many Coventry people feel the same way too. Sutton Coldfield was unneccesarily taken over by Birmingham, and, although I don't know the town well, its centre appears to have declined. Solihull, though has excellent shopping facilites, while Sutton could be so much better. Birmingham City Council appear to think more of the centre of Birmingham than anywhere else, such as Sutton Coldfield, or this is the way it seems to me. "Greater Manchester" has often been criticised, in fact, as it contains some very diverse areas. People in Bolton often consider themselves as still being from Lancashire, while those around Stockport think of their area as Cheshire. Salford often doesn't gain recognition as its own city because of the creation of Greater Manchester.

G. Derrix
Did the West Midlands county council work? No it disbanded in 1986, Birmingham to work in conjunction with the other metropolitian councils as a partnership.

NORMAN JONES
A TERRIBLE IDEA.WASTE OF MONEY.LEAVE THINGS AS THEY ARE.

Richard Pegram
I feel that we need a better public transport system and the way to achieve this is by getting a mayor who is elected. Having travelled in London, their transport system is fantastic in comparison to the system in Birmingham. Also their prices are better too! An elected mayor is needed to sort out our problems!

Steve Busby, Staffordshire
Birmingham lost out in 1974 when Manchester became Greater Manchester and Birmingham was buried in something called the West Midlands. The only consolation being that Sutton Coldfield was obsorbed into Birmingham YES SUTTON HAS BEEN PART OF BIRMINGHAM SINCE 1974. The reason that Greater Manchester see's itself as the second city is that all its contained councils pull and works together but here in the West midland (whats that?) the snobs of Sutton, Solihull and elsewhere hate and would hate being ruled from a Greater Birmingham. We see City regions on the continent well out performing our understated British cities because most of ours have been buried for decades under non-discript names such as West midlands, Merseyside etc. A Greater Birmingham would benefit ALL of us and lets hope the "Little town" snobs don't Triumph again

Jon Newman
How many times must we say no to an elected mayor. Spend our money wisely, don't give us any more bureaucracy.

Carol Phillips
NO, leave it as it is.

Cec
I was formerly opposed to the elected mayor idea but am now reserving judgement until I see Michael Lyons report - after all he has an intimate knowledge of Birmingham, having served it in various roles in previous years. One problem is the 'Lord Mayor', a position which is analogous to a combined Queen/Speaker of the House in terms of the UK as a whole. The largely ceremonial role of the Lord Mayor should not be taken on the an elected mayor, who should spend all his/her time on substantive matters. We need to have someone answerable to the electorate and a key figure who would promote the largest local authority in the country. I don't think it would lead to more expensive bureauacracy and could lead to accountability, at long last, for all the resources how currently in the hands of unelected quangos which have been allocated to our region. So speaks a naturalised Brit who gave up American citizenship for the privilege of voting in this country! AMENDED VERSION - TYPOS CURRECTED.

Tom
It is a good idea, as peripheral regions such as Dudley and Sandwell are too often marginalised in favour of the spot-light being on Birmingham. It is important though that each area retains its identity and funding is spread more evenly across the new 'city-region' to balance out the investment into public services etc.

des barlow
yes to a mayor for a greater birmingham, now we have the chance to shake off the dowdy image we have had for years .lets get a super casino and enlarge our entertaiment centre. ie broad st, and surrounding area. make brum the english place to be seen

Radi
Yest to an elected Mayor for Birmingham. Yes to Greater Birmingham - although how will it be managed? One man and all those people?

Leonard Emery
yes we need an elected mayor in this city,that is to say an honest person to get this city going again and sort all the traffic on our roads also public transport

Andrew Horner
It worked for Manchester, why could'nt it work for Birmingham. This will attract even more tourism to the area and bring in a lot more money.

susan pearce
i think it's about time. we are supposed to be the second city, but seem to get less notice than manchester.

Nigel
It's not an elected mayor we're missing, but politicians of any sort with some clout and personality. An elected mayor could just be another lying slime ball.

Gary Sambrook
Why do we need a regional mayor running things when we are quite happy with the system we have and which is also working very effectively and benefiting the electorate. Another classic example of Labour's "if its not broke, fix it" regime!!!!

Raaj Shamji
We need to become a powerful city. If a super mayor helps for us to have good status and move the focus from London - Great! The Government cant see outside of London.

Mrs. Vivienne Petty
What do we want with another Mayor, the Lord Mayor is perfectly alright. It just means more money being spent frivously instead of going where it should - schools, hospitals.

Albert Jackson
Political Parties only support changes in the electoral system when they think a change will be to their own advantage. Currently none of the parties see an advantage in a directly elected Mayor forBirmingham. For itto happen it will have to a Government decision

Gary Carter
I just don't think we need another layer of inevitably incompetent bureaucrats and a mayor taking even more of our taxpayers money. All we'll see is more paperwork, more expensive cars and buildings to house and transport these nonentities, and more interference in our day to day lives by people that wouldn't be able to get a responsible job in the private sector where they would have to show a profit and positive results or else lose their job. Seems to be just another way for the sitting government to pass the buck when their own misguided policies don't work. Didn't mean to rant, i'll stick to lorry driving and leave the politics to those that enjoy it!

Ron Clarke
YES.why because most local council:s are elitist and stuck in an old ideology based on what is good for the group and the clicks within the group and what they think the people want.I believe it would give back to politics a fresh agender. A single indervidual could and would be held responsable to produce a mandate on a dedicated budget for the West midlands.That woul be judged on ever 5 or 4 years.

Peter Howard
The Government likes to give the impression that constant change is the same as progress

marilyn byrne
no

Tom Belte
With what Ruth Kelly said on leadership and how it can be beneficial for the city i can agree on, we do need to have a figure head to know and utilise. I think with having this "super mayor" in some sort of conjunction with local MP's and Goverment Funding in the long run it will work for the various communities. But like all goverment backed actions only time can tell.

ian colby from sutton
yes a greater birmingham divided into three. north based in sutton , central birmingham and south based in solihull

Jessica Jarrett
Its ridiculous to even attempt and change Birmingham. Birmingham stands for exactly what it is and has done so since the beginning of its existence. The PM is already trying to change our currency, currency which england is famous for, so why try and elliminate everything else Birmingham is known for? We are known as Birmingham, a well built city with a great history, so why change it? These officials need to put money into things that are more important, such as hospital hygiene and waiting times.

R.B.
Personally I am for Birmingham gaining extra powers from London and I can't see what all the fuss is about when people from Sutton go on about being in Warwickshire. Brummies constantly complain about London's tight grip on our city, we've lost money for the metro, still haven't seen progress in demolishing New Street Station and are never successful when we bid for things such as the Capital of Culture, which would have seen millions of pounds worth of investment in the city, or a 'Super-Casino' which would have seen the redevelopment of Saltley, the construction of a fantastic stadium and the creation of thousands of jobs. If we in Birmingham and the Black Country acted in partnership representing our 2.5 million residents together, we would have far more clout to get the investment we need. I think it's a great idea!

rob france
i dont think a mayor is the answer. Perhaps a restructure of the current council which experiances dis-economies of scale due to its huge size. Given the fact Birmingham is the largest meteropolitan council in western europe, its no surprise it is slow and unwieldy. Split birmingham up into 4 or so regions with a council in each. These new councils would still be bigger than the majority of town councils in the UK.

roger dilnutt
why the need for a greater birmingham.as a resident of sutton coldfield.this could ruin any chance sutton had of returning to being an independent town in warwickshire as before 1974

DEREK
THIS IS JUST THE GOVERNMENT DIVIDING ENGLAND INTO REGIONS AS DEFINED BY BRUSSELS THROUGH THE BACK DOOR AS PER AMBULANCE SERVIES AND POLICE

Julie from Sutton
I think it sounds ok but as everybody knows these things don't work out as planned. It will be just another waste of tax payers money going out on yet another layer of council/government.