Time to
Defend Improve Public Services! »
Appalled by the effect of cuts on your community? But you want to improve public services, not defend them? I was speaking to one of Birmingham’s genuine social entrepreneurs yesterday. He was telling me about his experience of making his voice heard in relation to cuts in public services. The cuts are having a real [...]
Will U Turns Sink the U Boat? »
If tradition held sway in the modern Conservative Party, then Chancellor George Osborne would already have been sacked. The man colleagues call ‘the submarine’ (for his supposed habit of surfacing only when it suits him) oversaw a Treasury so awash with leaks in the run up to the last Budget that the only question on [...]
Who’s in the Council Chamber? »
A diverse group of 120 people will gather on Tuesday 22 May for the Annual General Meeting of Birmingham City Council. For some it will be their first time, but for others it will be a ritual with which they are very familiar. Looking around that group, gathered in the Council Chamber, it would tempting to wonder how representative they are? ‘Representative’, of course, can mean all sorts of things. In one sense, councillors represent us regardless of age, gender, class or politics. It is hard to judge how as individuals they competently discharge that trust. But, what about the very crude notion of proportionality? That is the idea that when you look at the 120 faces in the Council Chamber you should see something like a fair and recognisable reflection of the adult population of the city they represent. I’ve taken a sneak preview of May 22 and here are some of the observations that might be made.
Birmingham City Council Cabinet Composition »
Announced on 14 May 2012, this is the Cabinet that will form the Executive of the Council agreed by members of the Labour group of councillors. The chairs of District Committees will also serve as non-Cabinet members of the Executive. Following the elections on May 3, Labour will chair 7 district committees, the Conservatives will [...]
Inner – Outer City Split in Birmingham Mayor Vote »
The ‘No’ vote given to a Directly Elected Mayor in Birmingham on May 3 was reflected in most wards across the city. Only two – Ladywood and Edgbaston returned a majority of votes in favour. There were, however, significant differences across the city in terms of the percentage of voters in favour: ranging from nearly [...]
Elections – Yes to Labour; No to Mayors »
Yesterday’s elections saw Labour gain control of councils in towns and cities across the country including Dudley and Birmingham (detailed ward-by-ward analysis of the Birmingham vote follows>). In London, Boris Johnson is set to claim a second term as mayor; and Liverpool is waking up to its first democratically elected mayor. Voters in other big cities faced referenda on adopting elected mayors. Manchester, Coventry, Nottingham and Bradford all said ‘No’. The results of the mayor vote in Birmingham will be known later today. The ‘No’ campaign is, however, expected to win.
Photo Gallery
In A Fix? Welfare Cuts and Consumer Society
Time to DefendImprove Public Services!
Cheaper Energy: Together
Co-operative Council
Neighbourhood Timebanks, Carrs Lane – Tuesday 10 July
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