Battle of Birmingham

摘要

Conservatives feel the same way about Birmingham as the Democrats in America used to feel about the South: it ought to be theirs, but they're not sure how to get it back. The small businesses that Brummies think of as the mainstay of their economy should be a production line for manufacturing Tories. The city's most famous politician, Joseph Chamberlain, converted from Liberalism to Conservatism and used the town hall to launch his best-known campaign. But Labour has now been the largest party on the council for the last 20 years. There is no Conservative MP here, and Tory councillors are largely confined to affluent suburbs (see map).