Birmingham MP to quit in bid to become mayor
Birmingham MP to quit in bid to become mayor
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By Matt Hallam. |  |
Wednesday, 03, Feb 2010 01:33
By Alex Steger.
Sion Simon, the MP for Birmingham Erdington, is to step down from parliament in a bid to become the city's first elected mayor.
Mr Simon, an MP for nine years and a junior culture minister, will give up his seat at the next election and will instead campaign for Birmingham to hold a referendum on whether to adopt the elected mayor system.
He is to leave his safe seat, which at the last election sealed 53 per cent of the vote, and is expected to run for the city council and use it as a platform to campaign for the mayoralty.
Mr Simon hit the headlines in December of 2009 when he was forced to apologise for a breach of parliamentary rules. He had been renting his 'second home' in London from his sister Ceri Erskine.
MPs have been banned from renting property from their families since April 2006. He has promised to repay about £20,000.
He also gained notoriety in 2006 for a spoof video he made which satirised David Cameron's video blog.
Discussing the issues in his constituency, Mr Simon said: "The answer to Birmingham's problems simply don't lie in London. The current electoral system is aimed at running the country, and not specifically aimed at what's best for Birmingham."
He also told the BBC: "What we have is out of date 19th Century municipal structures. I'm certainly committed to putting myself forward and becoming the Labour candidate."
A poll taken in 2001 which asked the people of Birmingham whether they favoured "super mayors" showed that the majority did not support the idea.
A 2006 report by thinktank Centres for Cities though suggested ambitious infrastructure projects could be delivered in Birmingham under a tax-raising mayor.