Letter to FT : More Little Britain than New Britain

In the interests of journalistic balance, I suggest that Philip Stephens (Another Country: with Blair has come confidence in an embrace of the world/FT 22.9.06) read The Birmingham Post published on the same day as his article.

This newspaper has the headline "City Split by Poverty", and carries an editorial entitled "Face the Truth: Birmingham isn't working". The business section leads with "PWC: Car plant closures not over".

Birmingham is Britain's "Second City", yet to read Mr Stephen's article, one would indeed think that he was living in "another country". However, I would suggest that the messsage to be drawn from his rather rosy "New Labour" worldview is this : it is much easier to "accentuate the positive" in economic trends - such as a strong property market - even if these have "negative externalities", than it is to tackle deep rooted problems.

As The Birmingham Post's Chief Reporter Paul Dale points out : "While relatively prosperous suburbs continue to flourish, more than a third of adults in inner city wards where black and Asian populations are in the majority are either unemployed or claiming benefit". However, this situation is not unique to Birmingham, nor to areas with majority ethnic populations. The fact is that we live very much in the best and worst of times, and most cities have two tales to tell.

My guess is that Mr Stephens has been spending too much time in the capuccino and smoothie bars of Canary Wharf and the Tate Britain. As a result his article, as far as I am concerned, is "More Little Britain than New Britain". As for "a country travelling in the right direction", I would suggest he read the articles on transport in The Birmingham Post.