Midlands councils have angrily warned the Government they will not sell shares in an airport as part of the Government's asset sell-off. A consortium of councils, led by Birmingham City, vowed to resist pressure from ministers to cash in their shares in Birmingham International Airport. A wave of anger followed the announcement by the prime minister that local authorities would be expected to jettison assets in a bid to raise £16bn towards cutting Britain's £175bn deficit. The Tote bookmakers, the Dartford river crossing and Channel Tunnel rail link were among assets proposed be put up for sale. The councils defended their investment as a long-term business decision which would provide valuable income that would counter the cuts in grants from central government. Birmingham City Council's chief executive, Stephen Hughes, said: ‘All assets owned by the council are managed for the long-term good of the city and its people, and the Government cannot dictate to us how we manage them.' Mr Hughes was joined by every metropolitan authority in the West Midlands, which together own a 49% stake in the airport. That stake is a vital source of revenue to council coffers at a time when income is falling due to the recession. The other investor, Airport Group Investments Ltd, owns 48.25%, having paid £420m for the shares in 2007. Labour leader at Sandwell MBC, Cllr Bill Thomas, also went against the prime minister's announcement, arguing it was critical to regeneration. ‘It is vital to the development of the region, and for that reason the councils need to be involved with it,' he said. Elsewhere, business leaders in Northern Ireland have questioned the financial burden of City of Derry Airport. Chamber of commerce president, Jim Sammon, said plans to create a council-owned holding company to run the airport were vital to cutting costs to taxpayers. He said: ‘Airport reforms will take us one step closer to reducing the ratepayer burden and, at the same time, free up Derry City Council to target this spend to other areas.'
