Gove may blame Labour, but Tory-led councils are facing similar difficulties

With 26 English local authorities at risk of following Birmingham in next two years, a longer-term view is needed

In Michael Gove's otherwise sombre speech to parliament on Tuesday announcing a team of commissioners to run the cash-strapped Labour-run Birmingham council, the communities secretary could not resist a swipe at his political opponents.

I think it important for us to recognise that the intervention in Birmingham, and our [previous] interventions in Sandwell and Liverpool, have all been interventions in Labour-led local authorities in which comprehensive mismanagement extended back over years," he said.