TORIES EDGE CLOSER TO BRUM

23-01-2007

Birmingham's hopes of hosting a major party conference - as championed by this website - are moving ever nearer. Our sources tell us that the city is “very close ” to securing the Conservatives, possibly as early as next year.

In the Stirrer's Birmingham Mail column last September, we revealed that the local Labour group had rejected an opportunity to bring the party's conference to the ICC.

Sir Albert Bore knew from bitter experience that political in-fighting was likely to scupper any proposal - especially as it would require a controversial multi-million pound subsidy.

We called on the leaders of all three main parties locally - Bore, Mike Whitby and Paul Tilsley - to pull together in the interests of the city, and recognise the spin-offs in terms of international profile, hotel bookings etc. Since then, there's remarkable progress.

Long-term the aim is to bring Labour and the Lib-Dems here, but the Tories look like being the first arrivals, not least because council leader Whitby regards himself as a pioneer of the kind of “caring Conservatism”adopted by David Cameron.