The Leader of Birmingham City Council John Clancy has today resigned, with immediate effect, under growing pressure regarding his handling of the refuse workers’ strike.
Cllr Clancy (Labour, Quinton) has resigned both as leader of the council and of Birmingham Labour Group with immediate effect.
He has received criticism for his handling of the bin strike, including calls from some Labour councillors for him to resign and the threat of a vote of no confidence.
In a statement on the Leader of Birmingham website Cllr Clancy said: “It has become clear to me that frenzied media speculation about the Birmingham waste dispute is beginning to harm Birmingham City Council and the Birmingham Labour Party. I can see no end to such speculation, as ill-informed as much of it is, for as long as I remain Leader.
“I have therefore decided to resign both as Leader of the Labour group and as the Leader of Birmingham City Council with immediate effect.”
Cllr Clancy goes on to admit that he made some mistakes over the bin strike but that his actions were made with “the best of intentions” in an attempt to “end to an extremely complex and difficult industrial dispute were done with the best of intentions.”
He said: “I am honoured to have been Leader of the council since December 2015 and proud of the many achievements during my time in charge. These include issuing the first £45 million ‘Brummie Bond’ for local housing, and two other initiatives that generated substantial savings for the council – renegotiating the ICT joint venture agreement with Capita, and reaching agreement to reduce the council’s annual payments to the West Midlands Local Government Pension Fund.”
Cllr Clancy ended his statement saying that he is looking forward to spending more time with is family.
Deputy Leader Cllr Ian Ward (Shard End) will take over as Acting Leader until a replacement is in place.