Mayor praises Chamber’s response to ‘Brum bashing’ newspaper article

West Midlands mayor Richard Parker (pictured) praised the CEO of Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce for her defence of Birmingham following a “damaging” national newspaper article.

Speaking at the Chamber’s annual awards at the ICC, the mayor referenced an article in The Times from 10 February which was fiercely critical of the city.

Chamber CEO Henrietta Brealey used her column in last week’s Birmingham Post to dismiss the “Brum bashing” and highlight the many positives about Birmingham.

Mr Parker said: “ The theme of promoting this region and driving it forward is critical to our success  and we all need to do better at it.

“And that's why I was so disappointed that there was a politically motivated article in The Times that was damaging to this region and very critical of it.

“And it's also why I was so pleased to read Henrietta's riposte in the Birmingham Post that dealt more than adequately with the issues raised in that article.

“Henrietta - on behalf of all of us in this room, I think you deserve a massive round of applause.”

Meanwhile, awards attendees heard how the Chamber has stood alongside businesses “every step of the way” during a dramatic 12 months of national and global developments.

Reflecting on some of the GBCC’s activities over the past year, Henrietta Brealey said: “What a year it’s been - from elections to the budget and some frankly unsettling messaging coming from the USA.

“It’s been a lot to navigate as a business community. But here at the Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce, we’ve stood alongside you every step of the way.

“We are a not-for-profit organisation that has been ‘in business, for business’ since 1813.

“Over just the past year, we’ve been proud to achieve some remarkable milestones.”

Ms Brealey said the Chamber had supported more than 200 businesses in protecting, commercialising and scaling their innovations, facilitated 900 introductions between members and supported 11 international trade missions to “put Greater Birmingham businesses on the global map”.

She added: “I think it’s pretty obvious - I absolutely love what I do, and I also love that I get to do it in this incredible region because I’m a bit of a Greater Birmingham superfan.”