If you were one of the two thirds of people who were unable to name the West Midlands Mayor in a survey reported in the Birmingham Evening Mail recently it’s probably not surprising.

For some who we have spoken with, the first they had heard of Andy Street (Con), yes that’s his name folks, was when they heard he’d said things like:

“I think it will be accepted by the general public in the West Midlands” as he unveiled his plans to raise£8 million through Council Tax. Wait a minute, where was that in your election  manifesto Andy? Came the loud reply.

Just to make matters worse, he has also been reported as saying “They” (that’s you, the West Midlands general public) “want to see value for money, of cause they do, and they want to see modest sums – and this is a tiny amount in relation to total council tax bills”.

On its own you might well think that it’s tiny Andy but what you need to remember is that as well as the extra monies you want to raise through our council tax you have to add on the money the Police Crime Commissioner needs to pay for Policing in the West Midlands. And let’s not forget the extra that councils will asking for to pay for social care and the effects of further Government cut backs to support grants.

Welcome to the real world of delivering an increased demand for services with a budget that ha been ravaged by continuing Tory Government austerity cuts.