A Boris for Birmingham?
Last month I blogged about the mutterings among some Labour MPs who were toying with quitting Parliament if a new wave of powerful new big city mayoralties was created.
Today, Culture Minister Sion Simon announced he's doing just that in the hope of becoming Birmingham's first mayor.
Even though the post has yet to be created. The Birmingham Erdington MP (majority 9,000 plus) will leave the government later this month and stand down as an MP at the general election.
He is expected to become a city councillor and use the platform to campaign for the mayoralty. And he will be lobbying for the city to adopt an elected mayor system - a move proposed by the pressure group the , in Local Councils already have the power to call a referendum on switching to a mayoral system.
He told the : "It has become clear to me that the answers to Birmingham's problems do not lie in Westminster and Whitehall. We need to take back control of our own city. We need strong, dynamic leadership with streamlined decision-making powers. The current 19th Century arrangements give us neither. The city council, as an institution, is not fit for purpose in the 21st Century.
"I will put myself forward for consideration as the Labour candidate. As a result, I will not be seeking re-election as MP for Birmingham Erdington this year. I hope that Birmingham people will see this as my badge of commitment to the city."
Jeff, now Lord Rooker, was widely thought to have the same end in mind when he stood down from Parliament in 2001. He ended up taking a seat in the Lords and a series of ministerial posts, when the job didn't materialise.
Having seen the dash cut by first Ken, then Boris, as Mayor of London, I suspect a number of MPs on all sides will be sorely tempted by the lure of municipal power - if we do indeed get a new wave of powerful mayors in towns and cities across the land.
I'm Mark D'Arcy and I'll be writing about what goes on in the chambers and committee rooms at Westminster.
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