Lewis Goodall

the city going bankrupt and all of that, Labour is considered to have done a bad job.

Unpopular, incumbent, with its coalition and new political actors gnawing away at its coalition at every edge.

Sound familiar?

I'm Councillor John Cotton, leader of the Labour group on Birmingham City Council.

It's Councillor Cotton.

These are going to be bloodbath elections for Labour nationally in this city, aren't they?

Why does Labour represent unity when other people don't represent unity?

I mean, the democratic election by definition is divisive.

Why do you represent unity?

Unity for what?

I suppose, John, I suppose if someone from the outside might look, and someone indeed on the inside, might look at what's happened in Birmingham and they see...

A Labour administration which has been in office for over a decade, during which time the council has gone bankrupt, during which time the city has been paralysed by bin strikes which were endless and have only recently latterly been resolved.

A city which frankly is being left in the dust and behind by comparison to what we're seeing in Manchester under people like Andy Burnham and so on.

and just think why on earth should we re-elect the people under whom this has all happened?

Manchester hasn't gone

Some people have said that Birmingham

is sort of ground zero, if you like, for a new type of sectarian politics.

And indeed, we have seen independents elected at a parliamentary level in the city.

We've obviously got people standing for the council now, Gaza independents.

Has the Prime Minister been an asset on the doorstep?