Dear oh dear. As the Birmingham bin strikes rumble on and rubbish continues to pile high on the city’s streets, some of the area’s residents can’t get out of there quick enough – including the, um, MP for Birmingham Hodge Hill and Solihull North, Liam Byrne. The senior Labour politician has found himself in the spotlight after he was accused of abandoning his constituents by taking an extravagant trip to Japan during the crisis. Alright for some!
As revealed by the Mail, Byrne flew to Asia with seven other politicians on the business committee at the end of March. But at the same time the parliamentarian was enjoying his business class flight and five-star hotel stay in Tokyo, Birmingham’s bin workers were taking strike action – with uncollected rubbish piling up so quickly that the city council was forced to declare a major incident in the area three days after the MP left for Japan. To add insult to injury, it has even been suggested that Byrne may have extended his trip for a personal holiday – as he was not listed as one of the politicians with Friday as their departure day. The parliamentarian is now understood to have left the country – but a source close to him declined to give details of his movements since the Friday his colleagues flew home. How very curious.
It’s not the first time the business committee chair has come under fire for dereliction of duty. The politician has also been accused of being ‘missing in action’ during Donald Trump’s Liberation Day tariff drama, reportedly steering clear of a number of Commons hearings this week. And this is the same MP and former Treasury minister, Mr S would remind readers, who in 2010 left a note for his Conservative successor to inform them there was ‘no money’ left. Perhaps if Byrne spent less time enjoying himself on taxpayer-funded trips and more time with his constituents, he might find the cash will stretch a little further…
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