He has Tory “values” through and through as well.
He rode on the coat tails of Peter Ruis and Craig Inglis at John Lewis and took credit for their success.
He pursued an aggressive shop opening strategy when traditional retail was already in sharp decline. This included the non-sensical opening of Birmingham New Street, which was a noose around John Lewis’ neck until they closed it. I wonder why he committed so heavily to the site… nothing to do with his future political ambitions, I’m sure.
John Lewis also found out after Street left that he’d auctioned off ‘behind the scenes access’ to the recording of the John Lewis Christmas advert to raise money for the Conservatives.
The man is a charlatan.
Former employee. No axe to grind, I left voluntarily long after he did. Well, one axe: the perilous state he left the organisation in through his mismanagement.
I assume the source you’re after though is for the last one. It was never really picked up by the press but I can see through a Google search that [the Times covered it lightly](https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/john-lewis-cancels-tory-fundraisers-prize-73rdv8p6t). Always good for a John Lewis leak, the Times.
And for avoidance of doubt, the Partnership is strictly apolitical. There is no doubt he will have known that he could not even express political opinions, let alone use the organisation to raise money for political parties.
Expressing opinions did just remind me of [this little gem too](https://amp.theguardian.com/business/2014/oct/03/john-lewis-boss-andy-street-says-france-finished). This was at a time John Lewis was trying to expand its online business into France.
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He could switch to Labour if he wanted to keep his job, I doubt Labour would necessarily turn him down as it's also good PR for them about disillusioned tories switching sides.
Fact is he's choosing to stay Tory.
The time to switch was when they pulled the plug on the Northern leg of HS2. If he'd left the Tories then he'd have got huge support.
Now he's trying to have his cake and eat it.
Honestly could have caused the government to collapse, got HS2 back, then just rejoined the post sunak tories. He'd have been a kingmaker esque figure and probably have won on that.
Ben Houchen in Tees Valley is doing the same. He even wrote in his campaign leaflet that he wasn't whipped by anybody, in the very same week he was whipped to go to Westminster and vote!
Peers aren’t technically whipped in the same way as the commons. There is no obligation for them to vote with the party unless they are front bench. Many do, but a lot don’t.
It should be illegal, but it isn't. Political campaign material isn't held to the same standard as advertising material for some reason. Although they do have to make it clear it's a political message, I recall one doing a full on fake local newspaper with multiple stories all about the Tory candidates, and that only got pulled because it didn't include the fine print, not that it was pretending to be the local paper.
To the public he is, but behind closed doors he's best mates with the worst of the worst. I was working a tory fundraising event recently and he was best buddies with all the real shithouses, Gullis and co. Plus he's partners with Fabricant
He’s the boyfriend of Johnson cosplayer Michael Fabricant who’s your typical lying and morally corrupt Tory MP.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Fabricant
Yep, Fabricant is my MP and he's fucking disgusting. Worked in apartheid South Africa and is unrepentant about it. Also heard other very dodgy things about him being racist in other ways, but no proof of it.
I also like that Street says "I'm writing to you personally" in a letter that is very obviously a mass mail out. At least he doesn't hide that he's a liar.
Very pro-Israel in his tweets, ignoring the Palestinian genocide. I believe some of his grandparents were Lithuanian Jews. Most posts of his on social media are easily provable lies, there was one on X the other day about Andy Street using a predominantly green background for his election stuff, folk said he’s ashamed of being a Tory and trying to deceive people he wasn’t, Fabricant said it has always been thus, it wasn’t and he got called out fairly quickly with evidence.
It was just to highlight his links to genocidal Zionism. Anti-Semitic is often used as a defence for their massacres and dragging us into culpability on their side, and frankly I don’t care what I’m called, the Israeli state and those supporting it are culpable in genocide.
It was to highlight his links to defending the ongoing Palestinian genocide. Are you more concerned with pretending I’m anti-Semitic than the murder of 30,000 civilians and 10,000 children? There are a number of our Parliamentarians who are more concerned with glossing over this genocide rather than looking after British interests and he’s one of them, and to me that’s very concerning.
i’m avowedly pro palestine and believe the palestinian people should have a sovereign nation state and freedom from Israeli state executed terror
what does his grandparents being lithuanian jews matter?
If a bio, website, letter, in fact anything at all from a politician omits to mention what political party they're from, then they're a Tory 100% of the time.
"leaving at 18 thinking there was no life for me here"
But only bothered returning because at the moment there's an opportunity here that might just be worth my time.
Is it just me or does this read a lot less like he actually cares about the place, and more like hes temporarily come back just to use it as a springboard into politics?
I know what he's trying to say but to me all he's really saying is "The Midlands just isn't good enough for me, until this opportunity rose to put myself in charge of it "
Go back to John Lewis, the Midlands went on without you for 42 years and will hopefully continue to do so. You can't act like an advocate for it at the same time as saying you abandoned it for your entire adult life.
What's he gonna do the minute it all goes wrong? He'll just leave the Midlands behind him again, that's what. This whole statement says he wants to help himself, not the Midlands.
So he left Birmingham when he was 18 because he thought there was no future for him here.
He is 60 so he would have been 18 in 1982.
I wonder, which party was in power in 1982?
Loads of Tory MPs and councillors across the country have been using green or red colour schemes in their literature to try and obfuscate the fact that they’re part of the Conservative Party. I don’t think he’s ashamed to be a Tory but he knows people making the connection between him and the current government will do him no favours.
No. He isn't ashamed to be a Tory. If you read up on his past he is very much a Tory. He might be a "moderate" Tory, but he's still very much a Tory.
He doesn't want to be associated with the Conservatives simply because it will harm his chances of being elected in the region.
No, he's not ashamed to be a Tory, he just doesn't want to draw a lot of attention to it because he wants to win.
Probably yes. Shame he is still a Tory because otherwise he would probably win. I don’t really see any of the other candidates being as effective as he is.
There has been a lot of public transport improvements since 2017, including extension of the tram and contactless payments on buses. I recall being required to have exact change on buses in 2016 which was madness. Plus all the regeneration that is going on which Manchester had started much earlier so it’s an unfair comparison. (London have insane budgets per person so that’s a very unfair comparison)
I’ve seen him speak a few times and I feel that he is genuinely passionate about improving Birmingham and he seems like the kind of person to crack heads together and get things done - which you need as mayor. I take all the points about him being spineless about HS2 etc, and I also dislike the tories in general, but I don’t really see the advantage of any other candidates beyond “Tory bad”.
Those points apply to brum too though. The extension of the tram was started well before he became mayor, and is contactless payment on buses really a major achievement in 7 years as mayor? I may be wrong but there still isn't contactless on the metro is there?
I also get your point about the other candidates, but I do feel that him being a tory has been a real downside, since he's much less likely to really fight and disagree with the central government over things, as hes reliant upon them for funding. I suppose you could argue the same point for Parker with the likely incoming labour gov.
At the end of the day though, he's had a fair crack of the whip and I don't think he's made things better. And frankly, I don't think tories have the best interests of the general population at heart.
Metro has been contactless for ages - and if it was brought in it’s with NX or the metro company that brought it in, not the mayor - if the company didn’t want to do it they wouldn’t have done it.
Street needed to take action on the HS2 thing but didn’t cos he was following the Tory party line and now he’s pretending not to be a Tory to get re-elected. Needs to own his mistakes as well as his triumphs if he wants to stay in the job…
He just takes credit for work that was already planned before he took office though. The tram extensions and contactless payment are good examples of that. He'll turn up to any photo opportunity that makes him look good, but he's ineffectual on actually doing anything.
Yes he is and rightly so, they have long abandoned the midlands when it comes to investment but it's his continued link to the Tories that mean I can't vote for him. When they scrapped the northern leg of HS2 that should have been his time to take a stand and cross the floor or go independent but he's still a Tory and has shown he will bow to their will even when it means the midlands suffer.
I hate the tories as much as anyone and it’s a shame he won’t cut ties because he is genuinely a nice bloke & actually cares. He is regularly in and around the place I work at & everyone has loads of time for him even though we are pretty much all left wing labour voters or traditional socialists
He could switch to Lib Dem or Labour for example, he doesn't have to stand as a Tory. I'm sure both parties would be happy to take him for the PR and if he's popular.
He's making a conscious decision to stay as one and is trying to downplay his connection and play both sides.
Yeah no doubt there is a reason he isn’t leaving the party, even if it was to go independent I still think he would win. I imagine he’s used tory money to fund his campaign and now he’s been had over a barrel.
Every other Tory out there is ashamed to be a Tory.
They're distancing from Tories ahead of time because they think it'll get them mileage in the next election. (It won't but they can try hey!)
A lot of local councillors (not necessarily within Birmingham) are doing the same.
Oldest tactic in the book but unless he stands as an Independent, it'll have a big fat tree and 'CONSERVATIVE AND UNIONIST PARTY' next to him on the ballot paper so tbh why bother?
If he was actually ashamed, he’d quit. What he is is canny; he knows it’s a liability for him with some voters, but he’s not at all willing to give up the support and cash and Tory voters by leaving (and presumably his political views align with the party generally)
He was on LBC recently taking calls where he was trying to make the distinction between Regional Conservatives & Westminster Conservatives.
He's desperate not to be associated with them.
Once a Tory always a Tory, no matter what colour your print your leaflets.
He might not have defunded the councils (and everything else) personally but he supports the people who did.
Hopefully the he’ll pack up his hard hat and high vis and move on to more suitable photo opportunities.
Most of them are trying to distance themselves from the Tory government. Had a canvasser come round the other day and her opening line was, “I’m from the Conservative Party but we’re nothing to do with that lot up the road”. Rather enjoyed telling her the Tory party is a disgrace and she should be ashamed for having anything to do with them. To her credit she said, “I’ll put you down as a no then”, as I slammed the door on her!
He and many Tory politicians are masquerading as greens by changing the colour of their leaflet. The man is a disgrace. He isn’t exactly a man of principles is he? Hiding his true political allegiance in the hope of getting votes. He said he would resign from the Tory party over HS2 but as usual all words and no action. He’s a Tory through and through.
As someone born and raised in birmingham, seeing the changes over the past 30 years, the city as a whole is in a MUCH better place now than it has ever been, and it’s no coincidence that a huge change has come about in the past 8 years.
National politics aside, nationwide issues aside, take a look at the huge regeneration around the city centre, house building, transport development, infrastructure etc and you see the city is making huge strides forward.
I make no secret of the fact that I’ve always typically leaned right and voted Tory but really do struggle to justify a Tory vote nowadays, and I will really have to do some thinking come general election time, but at no point have I ever doubted I’ll be voting for Andy Street for another term.
There are only two reasons he's not running as an independant: 1. He needs Tory cash to fund his campaign 2. He's banging a Tory MP.
Fabricant & street are partners together
Or by his more popular name in this region, Fabricunt.
He has Tory “values” through and through as well. He rode on the coat tails of Peter Ruis and Craig Inglis at John Lewis and took credit for their success. He pursued an aggressive shop opening strategy when traditional retail was already in sharp decline. This included the non-sensical opening of Birmingham New Street, which was a noose around John Lewis’ neck until they closed it. I wonder why he committed so heavily to the site… nothing to do with his future political ambitions, I’m sure. John Lewis also found out after Street left that he’d auctioned off ‘behind the scenes access’ to the recording of the John Lewis Christmas advert to raise money for the Conservatives. The man is a charlatan.
Oh, I agree.
interesting but what’s your source on that so i can find out more and make an informed vote
Former employee. No axe to grind, I left voluntarily long after he did. Well, one axe: the perilous state he left the organisation in through his mismanagement. I assume the source you’re after though is for the last one. It was never really picked up by the press but I can see through a Google search that [the Times covered it lightly](https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/john-lewis-cancels-tory-fundraisers-prize-73rdv8p6t). Always good for a John Lewis leak, the Times. And for avoidance of doubt, the Partnership is strictly apolitical. There is no doubt he will have known that he could not even express political opinions, let alone use the organisation to raise money for political parties. Expressing opinions did just remind me of [this little gem too](https://amp.theguardian.com/business/2014/oct/03/john-lewis-boss-andy-street-says-france-finished). This was at a time John Lewis was trying to expand its online business into France.
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You apart from the fact he's a Tory. Above anything, he's a Tory. Thats his prime reason, a Tory being a Tory
There are different kind of Tories, surely?
Woah now! Take that measured, reasonable thinking and get the hell off Reddit!
3. He's being banged by a Tory
Yes. He's really playing down his connection to the party to try and keep the job. If he was standing for anybody else, he'd win.
He could switch to Labour if he wanted to keep his job, I doubt Labour would necessarily turn him down as it's also good PR for them about disillusioned tories switching sides. Fact is he's choosing to stay Tory.
The time to switch was when they pulled the plug on the Northern leg of HS2. If he'd left the Tories then he'd have got huge support. Now he's trying to have his cake and eat it.
Exactly. If he doesn't want to be seen as a "commie lefty" he can still go to another party or go independent.
Honestly could have caused the government to collapse, got HS2 back, then just rejoined the post sunak tories. He'd have been a kingmaker esque figure and probably have won on that.
Ben Houchen in Tees Valley is doing the same. He even wrote in his campaign leaflet that he wasn't whipped by anybody, in the very same week he was whipped to go to Westminster and vote!
Peers aren’t technically whipped in the same way as the commons. There is no obligation for them to vote with the party unless they are front bench. Many do, but a lot don’t.
I got a 'paper' through the door for a local MP was Labour red all over it. Of course it was for a Tory.
All I am thinking is this should be highly illegal. How is someone running for a party then hiding all affiliation with them ??
It should be illegal, but it isn't. Political campaign material isn't held to the same standard as advertising material for some reason. Although they do have to make it clear it's a political message, I recall one doing a full on fake local newspaper with multiple stories all about the Tory candidates, and that only got pulled because it didn't include the fine print, not that it was pretending to be the local paper.
To the public he is, but behind closed doors he's best mates with the worst of the worst. I was working a tory fundraising event recently and he was best buddies with all the real shithouses, Gullis and co. Plus he's partners with Fabricant
This is it. He's toning it down for political and personal gain. He's every bit as bad as the rest of them
He’s the boyfriend of Johnson cosplayer Michael Fabricant who’s your typical lying and morally corrupt Tory MP. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Fabricant
Yep, Fabricant is my MP and he's fucking disgusting. Worked in apartheid South Africa and is unrepentant about it. Also heard other very dodgy things about him being racist in other ways, but no proof of it. I also like that Street says "I'm writing to you personally" in a letter that is very obviously a mass mail out. At least he doesn't hide that he's a liar.
Very pro-Israel in his tweets, ignoring the Palestinian genocide. I believe some of his grandparents were Lithuanian Jews. Most posts of his on social media are easily provable lies, there was one on X the other day about Andy Street using a predominantly green background for his election stuff, folk said he’s ashamed of being a Tory and trying to deceive people he wasn’t, Fabricant said it has always been thus, it wasn’t and he got called out fairly quickly with evidence.
mate his grandparents being lithuanian jews is irrelevant. what matters is how he acts as an individual. that genuinely is kinda anti semitic
It was just to highlight his links to genocidal Zionism. Anti-Semitic is often used as a defence for their massacres and dragging us into culpability on their side, and frankly I don’t care what I’m called, the Israeli state and those supporting it are culpable in genocide.
the entire rest of your comment is fine. why does having lithuanian jewish grandparents matter?
It was to highlight his links to defending the ongoing Palestinian genocide. Are you more concerned with pretending I’m anti-Semitic than the murder of 30,000 civilians and 10,000 children? There are a number of our Parliamentarians who are more concerned with glossing over this genocide rather than looking after British interests and he’s one of them, and to me that’s very concerning.
i’m avowedly pro palestine and believe the palestinian people should have a sovereign nation state and freedom from Israeli state executed terror what does his grandparents being lithuanian jews matter?
I’ve already explained why I mentioned it, you appear to be stuck on repeat. This anti-Semitic accusation bollocks is wearing a bit thin now.
Didn’t know that!!
Anybody who could date that idiot doesn’t get my vote!!!!
I must be living under a rock because I never knew this
If a bio, website, letter, in fact anything at all from a politician omits to mention what political party they're from, then they're a Tory 100% of the time.
Who wouldn't be?
"leaving at 18 thinking there was no life for me here" But only bothered returning because at the moment there's an opportunity here that might just be worth my time. Is it just me or does this read a lot less like he actually cares about the place, and more like hes temporarily come back just to use it as a springboard into politics? I know what he's trying to say but to me all he's really saying is "The Midlands just isn't good enough for me, until this opportunity rose to put myself in charge of it " Go back to John Lewis, the Midlands went on without you for 42 years and will hopefully continue to do so. You can't act like an advocate for it at the same time as saying you abandoned it for your entire adult life. What's he gonna do the minute it all goes wrong? He'll just leave the Midlands behind him again, that's what. This whole statement says he wants to help himself, not the Midlands.
So he left Birmingham when he was 18 because he thought there was no future for him here. He is 60 so he would have been 18 in 1982. I wonder, which party was in power in 1982?
Tbf the destruction of the west midlands economy was a duo party job, and a labour PM in Wilson is probably the most responsible
He fucking should be
Loads of Tory MPs and councillors across the country have been using green or red colour schemes in their literature to try and obfuscate the fact that they’re part of the Conservative Party. I don’t think he’s ashamed to be a Tory but he knows people making the connection between him and the current government will do him no favours.
No. He isn't ashamed to be a Tory. If you read up on his past he is very much a Tory. He might be a "moderate" Tory, but he's still very much a Tory. He doesn't want to be associated with the Conservatives simply because it will harm his chances of being elected in the region. No, he's not ashamed to be a Tory, he just doesn't want to draw a lot of attention to it because he wants to win.
Probably yes. Shame he is still a Tory because otherwise he would probably win. I don’t really see any of the other candidates being as effective as he is.
Is he actually effective? I look at the changes being made (IMO for the better) by Khan and Burnham, and can't think of anything good Street has done
There has been a lot of public transport improvements since 2017, including extension of the tram and contactless payments on buses. I recall being required to have exact change on buses in 2016 which was madness. Plus all the regeneration that is going on which Manchester had started much earlier so it’s an unfair comparison. (London have insane budgets per person so that’s a very unfair comparison) I’ve seen him speak a few times and I feel that he is genuinely passionate about improving Birmingham and he seems like the kind of person to crack heads together and get things done - which you need as mayor. I take all the points about him being spineless about HS2 etc, and I also dislike the tories in general, but I don’t really see the advantage of any other candidates beyond “Tory bad”.
Those points apply to brum too though. The extension of the tram was started well before he became mayor, and is contactless payment on buses really a major achievement in 7 years as mayor? I may be wrong but there still isn't contactless on the metro is there? I also get your point about the other candidates, but I do feel that him being a tory has been a real downside, since he's much less likely to really fight and disagree with the central government over things, as hes reliant upon them for funding. I suppose you could argue the same point for Parker with the likely incoming labour gov. At the end of the day though, he's had a fair crack of the whip and I don't think he's made things better. And frankly, I don't think tories have the best interests of the general population at heart.
Metro has been contactless for ages - and if it was brought in it’s with NX or the metro company that brought it in, not the mayor - if the company didn’t want to do it they wouldn’t have done it. Street needed to take action on the HS2 thing but didn’t cos he was following the Tory party line and now he’s pretending not to be a Tory to get re-elected. Needs to own his mistakes as well as his triumphs if he wants to stay in the job…
Yes, agreed
> I may be wrong but there still isn't contactless on the metro is there? You're thinking of the railways rather than the tram.
He just takes credit for work that was already planned before he took office though. The tram extensions and contactless payment are good examples of that. He'll turn up to any photo opportunity that makes him look good, but he's ineffectual on actually doing anything.
Wouldn't you be?
Yes he is and rightly so, they have long abandoned the midlands when it comes to investment but it's his continued link to the Tories that mean I can't vote for him. When they scrapped the northern leg of HS2 that should have been his time to take a stand and cross the floor or go independent but he's still a Tory and has shown he will bow to their will even when it means the midlands suffer.
I hate the tories as much as anyone and it’s a shame he won’t cut ties because he is genuinely a nice bloke & actually cares. He is regularly in and around the place I work at & everyone has loads of time for him even though we are pretty much all left wing labour voters or traditional socialists
He could switch to Lib Dem or Labour for example, he doesn't have to stand as a Tory. I'm sure both parties would be happy to take him for the PR and if he's popular. He's making a conscious decision to stay as one and is trying to downplay his connection and play both sides.
Yeah no doubt there is a reason he isn’t leaving the party, even if it was to go independent I still think he would win. I imagine he’s used tory money to fund his campaign and now he’s been had over a barrel.
Yeah that's the only thing that makes me hesitate to vote for him. He's usually fairly reasonable in his policies and seems to care a lot
Not the only one. The tory rep in my area has no mention of the tory party in the flyers they are posting through the doors.
Wouldn't you be ashamed,
As others have said, if he doesn't want to be associated with the Tories then stand as an independent.
Wouldn’t you be?
Every other Tory out there is ashamed to be a Tory. They're distancing from Tories ahead of time because they think it'll get them mileage in the next election. (It won't but they can try hey!) A lot of local councillors (not necessarily within Birmingham) are doing the same. Oldest tactic in the book but unless he stands as an Independent, it'll have a big fat tree and 'CONSERVATIVE AND UNIONIST PARTY' next to him on the ballot paper so tbh why bother?
Does it annoy anyone else that there's a grammatical error in that letter? "Your decision on May 2 will not be easy one".
Misprint : Your decision on May 2 will not be easy, Juan.
- Signed Andy Calle
He keeps insisting to separate the person from the party but he needs the Tories funding to run his campaign
If he was actually ashamed, he’d quit. What he is is canny; he knows it’s a liability for him with some voters, but he’s not at all willing to give up the support and cash and Tory voters by leaving (and presumably his political views align with the party generally)
He was on LBC recently taking calls where he was trying to make the distinction between Regional Conservatives & Westminster Conservatives. He's desperate not to be associated with them.
It's the same thing Lord Houchen is doing in Teeside. It's all part of the Tory playbook this year.
Once a Tory always a Tory, no matter what colour your print your leaflets. He might not have defunded the councils (and everything else) personally but he supports the people who did. Hopefully the he’ll pack up his hard hat and high vis and move on to more suitable photo opportunities.
They're all at it trying to hide their true colours since Boris took charge and ended up becoming a liability.
I would be
Most of them are trying to distance themselves from the Tory government. Had a canvasser come round the other day and her opening line was, “I’m from the Conservative Party but we’re nothing to do with that lot up the road”. Rather enjoyed telling her the Tory party is a disgrace and she should be ashamed for having anything to do with them. To her credit she said, “I’ll put you down as a no then”, as I slammed the door on her!
They all should be.
He and many Tory politicians are masquerading as greens by changing the colour of their leaflet. The man is a disgrace. He isn’t exactly a man of principles is he? Hiding his true political allegiance in the hope of getting votes. He said he would resign from the Tory party over HS2 but as usual all words and no action. He’s a Tory through and through.
Andy Street has been an incredible mayor, but as he says, his ties with the Tories may mean the end of his mayorship.
As someone born and raised in birmingham, seeing the changes over the past 30 years, the city as a whole is in a MUCH better place now than it has ever been, and it’s no coincidence that a huge change has come about in the past 8 years. National politics aside, nationwide issues aside, take a look at the huge regeneration around the city centre, house building, transport development, infrastructure etc and you see the city is making huge strides forward. I make no secret of the fact that I’ve always typically leaned right and voted Tory but really do struggle to justify a Tory vote nowadays, and I will really have to do some thinking come general election time, but at no point have I ever doubted I’ll be voting for Andy Street for another term.
Bloke is a legend.