Amusing exchange in the Commons yesterday, as bouffant-haired Lichfield Tory Michael Fabricant feigned amnesia to deliver combative local government minister Eric Pickles an opportunity to have a swipe at Sir Albert Bore:

 

Michael Fabricant (Lichfield) (Con): I spent Sunday afternoon at the launch of the Heseltine review under the auspices of the Greater Birmingham and Solihull local enterprise partnership, chaired by Andy Street, whom I know you know, Mr Speaker. It was a real pleasure to see the leader of Birmingham city council, whose name I have temporarily forgotten-no, it is Sir Albert Bore-a Labour councillor, support this. Does my right hon. Friend agree that this is a real step forward for the Midlands, and will he soon go up to the Midlands to help with this exciting project?

Mr Pickles: Obviously, I regret that my hon. Friend forgot the name of Sir Albert Bore-an important man in local government who I am pleased to say seems to have changed his tune. He was predicting disaster; he was predicting that all kinds of things would go terribly wrong-yet here we are, with him co-operating with the Government. That is a marvellous sign for the future.

 

Music to the ears of Bore’s city Labour leadership rival John Clancy, who is already branding the LEP a Tory creation.

 

Related articles

• Just whose hands are on the LEP and its Single Pot?
• GBSLEP hopes there’s a pot of gold at the end of Hezza’s rainbow