 The report claimed the Council needed to tackle crushing poverty and unemployment before it could hail Birmingham as a great city.The issue of Elected Mayors in major cities has followed Whitby since he entered politics in Birmingham.In 2001 he was part of the "no campaign" which successfully campaigned against the introduction of mayors in Birmingham, whilst in 2006 and 2007 his relationship with David Cameron was reportedly strained as Whitby was identified as an opponent of the Conservative policy of directly elected mayors running large cities in England.