Cllr John Lines

by Richard Lutz

Petitioners have started circulating an E-campaign to stop controversial Birmingham councillor John Lines from taking up his role as Lord Mayor.

The former Tory housing chairman has been quoted over the past years for his ironclad, if not outright virulent, views over immigrants.  Sometime back, he was  reported as  calling them ‘scumbags.’

The petition wants to block the appointment which becomes official on May 22nd. It can be found here

Those who sign will back a point of view that Cllr Lines is ‘entirely unfit to perform…’ the Lord Mayor’s role because of his far right views. ‘His appointment as Lord Mayor’ says the petition, ‘will turn the city into a laughing stock.’

It will also be the first sticking point in the new Labour administration which won control of the council earlier this month.  Leader Albert Bore stuck to the all party line on the role of Lord Mayor. He  told this site that the appointments are non political and alternate between the parties.

And he said the role is representative of the whole city. ‘We have assurances that John Lines will honour these expectations.’  he said. Sir Albert made no allusion to Mr Lines’  opinions nor  what some may feel are distasteful remarks about  immigrants.

The petition also alludes to his brushes with the law.

+ RL adds: When I interviewed Mr Lines for the belated news website The Stirrer, he backed his earlier comments about asylum seekers and how he termed them ‘scumbags.’ (To watch the interview click here)

When I pointed out that he might be mixing up all immigrants, whether they be political, economic, illegal or victims of torture, he accepted that he might be mixing up his terminology and seemed simply  unsure of his use of words.

In the hour I recorded the video interview, he struck me as a man totally at ease with his virulent views but bathed in ignorance and blinkered by rigid opinions over  race, immigration and housing.