Time to bin ‘Soviet Sandwell’ declares Tory MP in stinging attack on 'corrupt' council

During a speech in the House of Commons on the possibility of allowing councils to host their meetings virtually, Mr Bailey opposed the suggestion and called for the abolition of the council as the only way to ensure accountability to the public and give the towns of Sandwell back their Identity.

Tory Mr Bailey, who was elected to the seat in 2019, dubbed Labour-run Sandwell Council as “Soviet Sandwell”, adding: “I have a concern that [this amendment allowing councils to meet virtually] is predicated on the fact that councils actually do their job properly. Unfortunately, I have experience of a council which doesn’t do its job properly.

“I remember the pandemic and the lack of accountability. We saw with meetings cutting out part way through. I saw the public unable to access these virtual meetings where key decisions were being made and it frightens me quite frankly.

“We might look at giving a local authority as – and I am afraid to say so – corrupt as Sandwell Council any possibility of hiding itself behind virtual meetings.

“The fact that (Michael Gove, Secretary of State for the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities) had to call an intervention into this local authority twelve months ago because of the utter failure of its governance processes is to me the reason I am hesitant to support this. I do appreciate that local authorities do and can get this right however where this can go horribly wrong; we have seen it; we have lived it; and that terrifies me.

“Even today when we are back in physical meetings, we have had a situation where the monitoring officer failed to advice that councillors were in breach of Section 31 of the Local Government Act. This allowed councillors to vote on a pecuniary matter they have an interest in, which members know is against the law.

“It is a local authority that would use the provisions within this amendment to hide itself and mask itself to allow for even more of the inept and quite frankly borderline corrupt we have seen. With officers unfortunately at a higher level, and I don’t speak for all of the officers, but some I have delt with seem quite happy to complicit in that. It would terrify me to allow this amendment through.”

The MP said more should be done to engage people with local politics, adding: “We do need to be better at improving accessibility for people to become councillors and we need to look at a broader way to do that. Whatever the colour of government we need to get more people from underrepresented backgrounds, such as the single family I grew up in, to get into councils and give their experiences.

“I have come to one conclusion. Sandwell Council is an embarrassment to the Black Country. It’s a stain on the local government scene in the West Midlands. As we are going through a review of local government in the West Midlands; the only conclusion that I can draw is that it is now time to abolish Sandwell Council and subsume the towns that make up that authority into other parts, particularly my communities of Tipton and Wednesbury. They need their identity back and they need accountability. It is time for Sandwell to go, it has been an embarrassment for the last 50 years, and – we need to put it in the bin.”

The leader of Sandwell Council hit back at Mr Bailey's astonishing attack.

Responding to criticism of the borough and a call to “put it in the bin,” Kerrie Carmichael called Sandwell “The Green Gateway from Birmingham to the Black Country,’” and said it had amazing potential.

Councillor Carmichael said Sandwell was a great place full of people who look out for each other and get things done.

She said: “As one of the largest councils in the country we serve more than 340,000 residents, and whilst it’s not our normal way to shout about ourselves, we’re proud that in our recent survey our residents scored us five per-cent higher than the national benchmark for overall satisfaction levels with the way the council is run.

“From our work to support vulnerable children and adults to maintaining our highways and parks, we’re always looking to deliver the best possible services for our community.

“In just the last three months we’ve welcomed more than 15,000 visitors a week since we opened the best community leisure facility in the country, in the Sandwell Aquatics Centre. We’ve also agreed our Levelling Up Partnership with Government bringing in £20m investment that shows we’re trusted to deliver our ambitious plans to build new homes and create opportunities. We’re the green gateway from Birmingham to the Black Country and we will continue to work hard to unlock the amazing potential here in Sandwell.”