It would be misleading to suggest that nothing has been achieved. The Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition in charge since 2004 has succeeded in vastly improving the state of council housing and adult social services, as well as redeveloping New Street Station, building a new library and enabling Birmingham Airport to build an extended runway.

On the other hand, the growing hegemony enjoyed by Capita, which now has £1 billion worth of council contracts, is providing plenty of challenging work for the main scrutiny committee with evidence emerging that the performance of Service Birmingham is not quite as stunningly brilliant as we have been led to believe.

What, then does the next 10 years hold in store for Birmingham? The answer, probably, is not much progress unless city leaders resolve to make a fresh start and work constructively together, regardless of political affiliation.

All too often Birmingham’s default position seems to be hand-wringing despair followed by anger when things do not go according to plan – the national football stadium and super casino we didn’t get, the Capital of Culture that went to Liverpool instead, the BBC moving to Bristol and Manchester.

To my mind, the problem with Birmingham has always been that it thinks rather too much of itself. It has the unhappy knack of producing elected representatives with large egos and incredibly thin skins, a fatal combination underpinned by feuds and vendettas stretching back decades among politicians who have been there far too long for any good that they are doing.

Alarmingly, precious few leaders from the ethnic minorities (soon to be ethnic majorities) have emerged.

Every Conservative councillor is white and the party could not bring itself to select a non-white candidate for a winnable seat even at times when Labour-held wards were falling to the Tories.

We have a Local Enterprise Partnership without a single female board member, chaired by a businessman from London. Meanwhile, a state of simmering warfare which has existed between Birmingham and much of the West Midlands since 1974 staggers on and on, evidenced by the costly failure to bring the Black Country councils and Coventry into the Birmingham-Solihull LEP.

The headline above this column has been chosen deliberately. Not only does it reflect my departure, it hopefully sends out a message that the time has come to lay down arms and move forward in common cause for the greater good of Birmingham.

New, fresh, younger men and women are desperately required to take this city forward, most probably under the leadership of an elected mayor with a democratic mandate to deliver change.

The system we have has not worked, does not work and will not work in future. It is time for change.