Birmingham broods over Tory treachery as Conservative party conference looms

Tax cuts for the rich have not gone down well in Ladywood, the city constituency due to host the Conservatives' annual gathering

Only the most bullish Conservative party strategist would have dared forecast the centre of Britain's second-biggest city turning Tory anytime soon.

Yet as the real-life implications of the government's mini-budget continued to crystallise on Saturday, anyone even contemplating a Conservative victory in central Birmingham should now be judged beyond delusional.