Birmingham council leader won’t return home until MONDAY: Daughter admits her father’s New York trip is ‘not a good look’ but insists he deserves to enjoy 50th birthday… before revealing he knew about city’s bankruptcy announcement BEFORE flying out
- Birmingham declared itself effective bankrupt after blowing millions of pounds
The under-fire leader of bankrupt Birmingham city council who took a trip to New York to celebrate his 50th birthday while the city was falling into disarray is not due to return from his trip until next Monday, MailOnline can reveal.
John Cotton, who was handpicked for the role by Keir Starmer, is in the Big Apple with his wife, Kalvinder for another five days.
He faced widespread criticism for being abroad while Birmingham residents face the uncertainty of a crippling financial crisis which could see vital services cut and a 10 per cent hike in council tax.
But speaking to MailOnline, Mr Cotton’s daughter Rose insisted: ‘I know it’s not a good look for my father to be in the US while all this is going on in Birmingham but he’s only a human being and deserved a birthday treat.
‘This birthday trip was arranged two years ago, and we didn’t want him to miss it. I can understand why a lot of Birmingham residents are angry, but my dad works very hard and has the right to celebrate his birthday how he wants.’
Under-fire council boss John Cotton (pictured with daughter Rose) told the BBC ‘tough decisions’ would need to be made, as it emerged he was dealing with the crisis remotely while on holiday with his family
Birmingham Council leader John Cotton with his daughter Rose
Birmingham City Council has declared itself effectively bankrupt after facing a £760million bill
READ MORE: ‘HOW BANKRUPT BIRMINGHAM CITY COUNCIL SPENT MILLIONS ON BOTCHED IT SYSTEM’
Ms Cotton, 23, revealed that her father initially planned to cancel his New York trip as he knew that the announcement about Birmingham’s precarious finances would be made while he was there. He arrived in the US on Monday.
She said: ‘He didn’t want to go because he felt that he should be here in Birmingham dealing with this situation and helping the people. But I made him go. I told him that there was no way I would let him miss his special birthday treat.
‘He might be the leader of Birmingham City Council but he’s also my dad and I wanted him to have a memorable day for his 50th. I have no regrets about making him go. We all love him very much and we know the pressure that he’s under.’
She insisted: ‘Everybody is entitled to a break, and nobody deserves one more than him. He’s doing his best for this city and its people, but you only get one life and one 50th birthday so I hope people understand why he went.’
Ms Cotton, who works for Birmingham City University said that the actual day of her father’s birthday is tomorrow which he plans to mark with a special dinner with his wife at an exclusive New York restaurant.
She said that since Birmingham’s financial woes became apparent had, her father had been under enormous stress and has been working more than 12 hours per day.
Ms Cotton added: ‘He’s under a lot of pressure and stress and I don’t want to lose my father. If the people of Birmingham could see how hard he’s been working they would even say that he deserved this trip to New York.
‘We had a lot of conversations about it and my dad knew that this bad news about the city’s finances was coming but as his daughter, it was my duty to make him go. And I still stand by my decision.’
She continued: ‘I totally understand why so many of the city’s residents are unhappy about this. But my father is an amazing man, has nothing but the best interests of Birmingham at heart and will be dealing with this crisis full on once he returns next Monday.’
Mr Cotton lives in a wealthy suburb of Birmingham, where fellow residents expressed anger that he is in New York.
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Anthony Biswas, 36, who runs a bathroom construction business said: ‘It’s a disgrace that the leader of our city council is living it up in New York while we are in this crisis. It says it all really.
‘There has been chronic mismanagement in Birmingham City Council and a lot of money has been wasted on stupid things like the Commonwealth Games. And now we’re going to have to pay the price. Why isn’t Mr Cotton here with us dealing with this mess?’
His partner Lizzie, 34 said: ‘I wish we could go to New York for a nice break, but we can’t afford it. As a business, we have had a lot of financial problems, and this is only going to get worse with the financial state of our city.’
Nice Stace, 52 said: ‘It’s terrible that Mr Cotton is in New York at this time. We all deserve a holiday or the chance to celebrate a landmark birthday but it’s all about timing. The cuts are going to hit us very hard and the council leader should be here explaining what went wrong and how we’re going to get out of it.’
Self-employed designer Alan Ward, 63 fumed: ‘He’s in New York while we’re facing an uncertain financial future. What a joke. It just shows you how interested Mr Cotton is in dealing with this mess. His birthday celebrations are more important to him than us ordinary Birmingham folk.’
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