Conservatives angry at date of West Midlands summit

Jun 29 2009 By Jonathan Walker

A furious row has erupted over the first meeting of a special West Midlands Commons committee to examine the state of the local economy.

The Government has decided to hold the event on the same day that David Cameron makes his speech to the annual Conservative conference, making it difficult for Tories to attend.

The first meeting of the West Midlands Grand Committee is to be held in Sandwell on October 8. It will give all 59 MPs in the region a chance to quiz ministers about what the Government is doing for Birmingham, Solihull, the Black Country and the rest of the area.

It was created as part of Gordon Brown’s plans, first announced in 2007, to give regions such as the West Midlands more of a voice in central Government.

The grand committee is an official House of Commons committee, but sessions will be held in the region instead of Westminster, emphasising the goal of giving the West Midlands more influence.

But Tories say these high-minded ideals have been undermined by the Government’s decision to hold the event on the most important day of the Conservative conference.

Tory leader David Cameron will make his speech to the annual gathering of the party faithful in Manchester on Thursday October 8.

The leader’s annual speech is a high-profile event which is keenly watched by the media - and which MPs are expected to attend. The same is true at the conferences held by the other parties.

But the grand committee will be held at 6.30pm on that same evening, 70 miles away.

The dates of the Conservative conference were announced months ago. A precise timetable has not yet been published, but party leaders traditionally make their speeches in the afternoon, and Mr Cameron may finish speaking around 4pm.

The date, location and topic for debate were chosen by Cabinet Minister Harriet Harman, the Leader of the Commons, and Ian Austin, the Minister for the West Midlands and local government minister.

It was presented to the Commons as a motion to be voted on without debate - causing more outrage among opposition parties, who said MPs should choose for themselves what topics to discuss.

The motion said the committee would consider the state of the economy, under the heading “Building the West Midlands’ future”.

While opposition MPs agreed the economy should be discussed, some argued that other issues, such as public services, should also be on the agenda.

Nonetheless, the motion was approved without discussion with the support of Labour MPs, despite attempts by Tories and Liberal Democrats to vote it down.”

MP Peter Luff (Con Mid Worcestershire) said: “I have always supported the idea of a regional committee where every West Midlands MP can take part and discuss the issues which affect our constituents.

“But I am really angry that the Government insists on controlling what we discuss and how we discuss it.

“Holding it on that day is ridiculous. Even once the event is over, it will take some time to check out of my hotel and get moving. They could easily have chosen to have it on Friday instead.”

Liberal Democrat spokesman David Heath said: “We are now left with a series of meetings arranged without consulting a single MP as to where they are, when they are and what they’re going to discuss.”