Satirical Cartoon: Devolution and the Kerslake Review

Interior of a council house meeting room, with wood paneling and a framed portrait of Neville Chamberlain doing his Munich paper waving dance. In the room is a big meeting table: one side are three men, we don’t really know who they are but luckily their name plates give us a clue.

L to R: Albert Bore, Labour, Council Leader: he has a rosette.
Bob Kerslake, Chairman.
Thomas Shelby, Local Businessman: he wears turn of the last century dress including a smart looking flat cap.

Kerslake is speaking to the assembled reporters (ie one man in a hat with ‘Press’ on it.

“The conclusion of the review is that we should leave things just as they are, but with a greater role for business in governing Birmingham.”

The cartoon is captioned: A local tradition upheld.

Author: Jon Bounds

Jon was voted the ‘14th Most Influential Person in the West Midlands’ in 2008. Subsequently he has not been placed. He’s been a football referee, venetian blind maker, cellar man, and a losing Labour council candidate: “No, no chance. A complete no-hoper” said a spoilt ballot. Jon wrote and directed the first ever piece of drama performed on Twitter when he persuaded a cast including MPs and journalists to give over their timelines to perform Twitpanto. But all that is behind him.