Labour humiliated with vote on council chief who oversaw bin strikes | UK | News
Birmingham City Council’s Labor leader dismissed in vote of no confidence (Image: PA)
The Birmingham Labor council leader, who was at the helm during a year-long bin strike and was in office when the authority declared itself ‘bankrupt’, received a humiliating vote of no confidence just six weeks before the local election.
Birmingham City Council leader Councilor John Cotton received the slap as Britain’s second city goes to the polls in local elections for the 101-member council on 7 May. The vote of no confidence, introduced by the Conservatives, was supported by the Liberal Democrats, Greens and Independent groups, putting it ahead of the ruling Labor group by two votes. Commander Cotton will not have to resign before the election.
In May 2023 he became Leader of Birmingham City Council (BCC), Europe’s largest local authority. In September 2024, the council effectively declared itself ‘bankrupt’ after issuing a statement blaming a £760 million bill over demands for equal pay under Section 114 and the introduction of a new IT system.
The local government has been forced to halt all spending except for the services it is required to provide by law, such as social care, waste collection and protecting vulnerable people. In March 2025, all-out strike action by rubbish workers began following a dispute over the council’s decision to abolish Waste Recycling and Collection Officer (WRCO) posts. The Unite union claimed the move meant around 170 affected workers faced losses of up to £8,000. The union later said the decision would also affect garbage truck drivers.
This month, ahead of the city’s local elections on May 7, Mr Cotton said the latest council budget showed the city was “no longer bankrupt” and just last week he posted on social media calling for talks to resume with the Unite union, which had been stalled over rubbish strikes.
In February last year the council announced it would increase Council Tax by 21% over two years, while the last budget decided on a 4.99% increase
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Labor leader John Cotton dismissed in vote of no confidence (Image: PA)
An amendment tabled by Birmingham Local Conservatives and supported by opposition councilors has been passed after a heated debate in the council.
He made it clear that Labor had brought Birmingham down over years of financial mismanagement, service collapse and broken promises that had brought the city to its knees, and that the council had no confidence in the leader.
Opposition Leader and Birmingham Local Conservative Councilor Robert Alden said: “Today’s vote needs to be a turning point for Birmingham. “The Labor leader has lost the confidence of the council as Labor has lost the confidence of the public.
“They inherited a thriving city from the last Conservative Party-led administration, which was voted the cleanest city in England, and they are leaving it broken.
“Bankrupt, indebted, with bins piling up on the streets and residents losing faith in basic services, a city with so much potential has been left behind because of the failure of the Labor Party. This wasn’t just a vote of no confidence in one man; it was a vote of no confidence in the wake of 14 years of Labor failure.”
Bin workers on strike in Birmingham (Image: BirminghamLive)
Councilor Matt Bennett, Shadow Cabinet Member for Health and Social Care, said: “We have introduced this motion because enough is enough. Birmingham deserves better than chaos and cover-ups. With local elections just weeks away, people will now have their say and deliver the real change this city desperately needs.”
Opposition councilors from several groups, including former Labor councillors, joined the Conservatives in supporting the motion, reflecting widespread disappointment in the council.
BirminghamLive reports that Labor led the council with a huge majority when re-elected in 2022, but that majority has been reduced by multiple defections, resignations and two deaths in the last 18 months.
Otherwise the vote itself was constitutionally meaningless, and Major Cotton remains leader of the council.
After the meeting, a Labor spokesman said: “This is a cheap game being played by the Conservatives, supported by their allies in the Liberal Democrats and Greens, that does not affect the council’s leadership.
“Under John Cotton’s leadership we continue the work of investing £130 million in frontline services across the city.”
Express.co.uk has approached Birmingham City Council and Cllr Cotton for comment.
