Birmingham Post

Where does that leave the Tory leader of Birmingham City Council, Mike Whitby, whose fondness for his chauffeur-driven X-Type Jag, paid for out of the public purse, is well documented.
What a splendid gesture it would be if Coun Whitby were to follow the example of David Cameron, get the cycle clips out, and jump on to the saddle of Brummie-made bike. Or even better, get out into the fresh air, walk a bit and meet the people.
Don't hold your breath. Details of journeys by Whitby in the Jag during the first three months of the year suggest that the council leader is in danger of losing the use of his legs if he isn't careful.
Labour attempted a smear campaign based on a few trips to the pub and the fishmongers. But who cares about a couple of pints and a quid's worth of haddock?
It is far more interesting to look at the use of the car for incredibly short journeys.
Nine trips were less than a mile in length, with Whitby ordering the car to go from the Council House to the Bullring, to Alpha Tower, to the Radisson Hotel, to the Hyatt Hotel, to Snow Hill, to Cornwall Street, to the Bank restaurant and to New Street Station. These are all destinations that could easily be reached on foot within ten minutes, after all this is the same council that thinks it is fine for people to walk between the split-site library locations in Centenary Square and Eastside.
But the most extraordinary trip of all saw the Jag take Whitby from the Council House to Opus Restaurant, all of 250 yards. When the leader had finished his lunch, or dinner, or whatever bean feast it was, the chauffeur was ordered again to Opus to take him back to the Council House.
Good grief. I thought it was only eastern European dictators who behaved so decadently.
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Iron Angle has been taken to task by someone who, God help us, may represent the future of the Conservative Party in Birmingham.
Kingstanding schoolboy Gary Sambrook is an enthusiastic blogger whose right-wing rantings under the pseudonym Brummie Tory have attracted a cult following. Young Sambrook is well known for his trenchant political views.
He has taken exception to my disclosure that guests at the Lord Mayor's inauguration banquet made off with the costly flower displays decorating the Council House.
Sambrook was there, you see. Had an afternoon off school and was allowed to stay up past his bedtime to join the grown-ups at dinner.
He writes on his blog that there must be more pressing political matters to to comment on, before claiming that in any case he thought the flowers were fake.
Quite why anyone would want to steal fake flowers, the sage of Kingstanding does not comment on.