There was a call-out to protest against him cashing in on the Tornado, but no one seemed bothered enough to brave the cold to protest. A local resident, however, did put up a sign in their window offering passers-by rotten tomatoes for Cameron’s visit. A handful of residents and a member of the Balsall Heath Forum waiting to meet Cameron expressed an awareness of the risk of his visit being used as a crass Public Relations exercise, although they revealed the visit hadn’t been publicised to local or national media. One pointed out that it was considerably cheaper to use the under-funded voluntary sector as a means to tackling social justice instead of the state. Another remarked about the front cover of Private Eye after Cameron's election as leader of the Tory party where Cameron’s face and Tony Blair’s face were juxtaposed (before and after) with the tagline: “World’s first face transplant: A Success”

Cameron’s day long visit to the city was hosted by Balsall Heath Forum, a voluntary sector organisation lauded by none other than neo-Labour’s David Blunkett as a model of urban regeneration and renewal. According to a report on Cameron’s visit by the Birmingham Empowerment Network (b:cen) entitled “We’re In This Together”, “Danny Bailey and Dick Atkinson of Balsall Heath Forum both made the point that David Cameron came to Birmingham without TV cameras and reporters and the paraphernalia that usually accompanies a visit by such a high-profile politician: he came to listen and to understand.” So Cameron’s visit could be, at worst, interpreted as just another electoral opportunity to press the flesh of local people. At best, it could have been a sincere attempt to raise the profile of the disaster, with the possibility of putting pressure on Mike Whitby, the Conservative leader of Birmingham City Council, to get off his arse, whilst enjoying a cup of tea chez Rohan’s.

However, neither of these explanations seem to be true. The visit was mysteriously described by Conservative Central Office as “private”, and this appears to explain the complete lack of any local and national media to cover the event and the lack of any press release. There seems to have been a more ulterior motive based on promoting commercial interests over the real interests of local people.

Cameron’s mask slips

During the visit, one of Cameron’s entourage was wielding a broadcast-quality camera filming Cameron’s scripted poses, whilst another frantically snapped away with another camera. At one point, a builder working on one of the terraced houses asked the camera woman if he would "be on TV tonight". She replied in her Received Pronunciation accent: “No, it is for the Conservative Party.”

So, it turns out that the actual aim of the visit was to record Cameron’s part in a film promoting Birmingham's so-called “economic renaissance”. The video, which is being produced by the Council’s promotional arm, Marketing Birmingham, aims to present Birmingham as a “first class place to do business”, and will be shown to hundreds of the world's top “regeneration experts” at the MIPIM property fair in Cannes, France between 14-17 March, 2006. It is rumoured that Cameron agreed to take part in the film following a special request from Tory City Council leader Mike Whitby.

Voluntary organisation stifles dissent

Whilst voluntary organisations like the Balsall Heath Forum have eulogised Cameron’s Tory Party’s newly found interest in the voluntary sector, it is also worth pointing out the role the Forum appointed for itself as a broker between local people and the City Council after the Tornado. Some have even gone as far as to say the Forum has effectively hijacked much of the initial grassroots interest in self- recovery for its own ends. Last year, the Forum hosted a series of events led by Dick Atkinson to solicit views from local people and traders about redeveloping the area in a focus group, ‘fantasy re-development’ scenario. Atkinson offered to collate and process ideas generated into a report to hand to the Council.

Atkinson’s report, however, differed substantially from the original ideas expressed by local people so much so that many people commented that his report reflected his own plans for the area and that of the Forum over local grassroots plans. A glaring omission in the report was a suggestion by local people to mobilise and demonstrate about the Council’s negligence over asbestos removal and other issues.

All politicians are parasites

Last October, David Cameron -then a Conservative leadership contender- visited Birmingham immediately after the so-called Lozells riots, when he announced choosing Birmingham to launch the next phase of his campaign. He is quoted to have said: “Brindleyplace, the Bullring, the Mailbox – all these great new developments are testament to the renaissance of a world-class city. They're proving the truth of the city orchestra's slogan ‘An international reputation, made in Birmingham’."

So, since Cameron’s mask has slipped, so to speak, has the Tornado damage in inner-city South Birmingham evolved into just another investment opportunity for property developers and their corporate political cronies? What has happened to local people’s aspirations of having control over redesigning and developing their neighbourhood?

In any event, the ‘honourable guest’ was escorted around Birchwood Road and Alder Road, which are some of the worst Tornado-affected areas. He also talked to some local residents who were made homeless and are still being housed in temporary accommodation. He seemed aware of people’s grievances and the criticisms of the Council’s inadequacy in responding to the crisis, but was unable to acknowledge his party’s role and responsibility in the Tory/Liberal Democrat-controlled Council. Instead, he bizarrely made a point of asking leading questions blaming the bureaucracy of the local council and the top-down nature of its organisation.

This is not the first time a member of the establishment has sauntered down the Tornado-hit terraced streets of Balsall Heath. Last November, Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, did the very same. Yet, 6 months after the Tornado ripped through South Birmingham houses are still clad with scaffolding and local people are still essentially homeless.

At one point during Cameron’s tour of Birchwood Road, another onlooker pointed at Cameron and declared: “You’re looking at the next leader of this country!” at which point Cameron dived in to firmly shake his hand, grinning ecstatically whilst the camera rolled. After some reflection, the onlooker later conceded that politicians, regardless of political persuasion, were “all fucking parasites anyway”.