ALBERT BACKS WARD AS GRUNDY LAUNCHES CHALLENGE

09-05-2008

Birmingham’s Labour leader Sir Albert Bore is calling on colleagues to back his current deputy Ian Ward in the face of a challenge from Catherine Grundy. Her decision to fight for Ward’s position comes just weeks after she threatened to stand down from her role as a Kingstanding councillor, citing a heavy workload.

Grundy’s candidature is being seen by all sides on the Labour party as an attempt to smoke out opposition to Albert – but seems doomed to failure.

Although she is regarded as a talented politician, and was at one time touted as a possible leader, her recent “will she, won’t she” performance has done her few favours – not least among the electorate who returned her with a wafer thin 80 vote majority in a solid working class ward.

As The Stirrer revealed, she was hoping to make way for Andy Howell, who unsuccessfully challenged Bore for the leadership several years ago. (link here)

When that plot – cooked up with Kingstanding ward Chair Hugh McCallion -came to grief, Grundy suddenly decided she could manage her council duties after all and decided to stand. And now she reckons she can be deputy leader too, despite extensive work and family commitments.

McCallion explained that, “sometimes in life people have a sudden change in what they want to do.”

And of course, he’s right. But all the signs are that this is the wrong move at the wrong time for Grundy, and it would be remarkable if she managed even half a dozen votes from among Labour’s 36 councillors.

Sir Albert said: “I accept that Catherine has every right to contest the vote, but Ian Ward has done a great deal of work in the past year, which should encourage Labour group members as a whole to re-elect him as deputy leader.”

Ward himself also diplomatically accepted her democratic decision to stand, while Grundy was unavailable for comment.

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