Dear readers — welcome, old faces and new, to this week’s Monday Briefing. Swathes of new members signed up over the weekend, instilling Dispatch HQ with a sense of Springtime abundance. There are now 1,741 of you; Samuel and I (this is Kate writing — hi) are ecstatic to have you.
On the theme of new beginnings, we also have some news about the latest addition to our little team. You may have gotten used to the presence of Jack Walton in these pages (he’s the wordsmith behind such Dispatch classics as ‘The Phantom Tower of Station Street’ and ‘New Street is in Desperate Need of Renewal’). After overseeing the running of The Dispatch since August, Jack has moved on to our sister title in Manchester. From today, filling his very large boots, will be the brilliant Moya Lothian-McLean. Moya hails from nearby Herefordshire, and has been up in Glasgow, editing our sister publication, The Bell. Please give her a warm welcome in the comments.
Catch up and coming up:
- Last week Kate detailed the PR war between the council and the bin workers’ union.
- Our weekend read about how Birmingham got its bad reputation (titled simply Why does everyone hate us?) was a hit. If you haven’t read it yet, you’re in for a treat.
- Kate is keen to make more contacts at Birmingham City University. If you work there, please reach out at kate@birminghamdispatch.co.uk.
- We’re still on the hunt for former stockbrokers who worked in the Birmingham Stock Exchange which closed during Thatcher’s ‘Big Bang’ in 1986. Email Samuel at sam@birminghamdispatch.co.uk.
- Samuel attended Reform’s ‘biggest political event in British history’ on Friday at the Utilita Arena. More on that tomorrow.
- Samuel wants your gossip about Birmingham’s Westside BID — give his ear a wag at sam@birminghamdispatch.co.uk.
And finally, Eid Mubarak from all of us at The Dispatch!
Photo of the week
The Wombles have seemingly migrated from Wimbledon Common to the streets of Birmingham — intent on picking up litter. Photo by @drhingram. Samuel and Kate are too young to remember the Wombles on TV — are they malicious strike-breakers or well intentioned furry friends lending the city a helping hand? Let us know in the comments.
Brum in Brief
🐍 Angela Rayner is facing calls for an emergency COBRA meeting to address the Birmingham bin strikes. Two senior Tories have written to the secretary of state for housing, communities and local government, urging her to intervene with a ministerial meeting usually reserved for moments of national emergency or major disruption. Alex Burghart, the shadow cabinet office minister, and Kevin Hollinrake, the shadow housing secretary, said the all-out dispute — now in its fourth week — was “putting residents at risk.” The pair want Rayner to send in private contractors to break the strike and instruct Birmingham City Council commissioners to cut councillor pay to fund the move. A Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government spokesman said commissioners will continue to support the council to reach “a fair and sustainable resolution with the union."
Late last week, the council upped the ante by threatening to sack 76 bin workers who have refused offers put to them. In a statement on Friday, the local authority said “it is regrettable that it has come to this, the council has consistently tried to find a solution to the industrial action.” From today, they will notify and enter a period of collective consultation on compulsory redundancies. As for Unite the Union, who represent the striking workers, they have accused the council of spreading “malicious accusations” that their members are being threatening on picket lines. General Secretary Sharon Graham said: “The council’s behaviour is absolutely disgusting. Bully boy tactics are just making this dispute worse – our members will not back down and neither will Unite.” A mysterious statement by Minister for Local Government Jim McMahon is scheduled to take place at 3.30pm today in the House of Commons, so we could be getting an update on the situation soon.
🚗 Twenty five percent tarrifs on car imports into the USA are due to come into effect on 3 April. Despite some cozy meetings in Washington DC, it now seems unlikely that prime minister Keir Starmer will be able to avoid these duties. According to one economist, Professor David Bailey of Birmingham Business School, Birmingham will be one of the “worst hit” areas in the UK. The Midlands is home to a large automotive industry, including brand names like Aston Martin and Jaguar Land Rover. Consequently, the West Midlands is “the number one exporting region” for cars headed to the USA from the UK. Currently, one in four of Jaguar Land Rover’s cars is sent to the USA for purchase.
🛫 The Moseley and Hall Green Labour MP, Tahir Ali, has caused political controversy over the weekend with his call to build an airport in Mirpur, Kashmir, Pakistan. A group of MPs and peers, many of whom have previously campaigned against a third runway at Heathrow, signed a letter to Pakistan’s prime minister, asking to speed up plans for an airport in Kashmir. Ali argues it will aid many of his constituents who are having to “drive over three hours to get to the nearest airport in Pakistan.” The letter requests that the Pakistani government “deliver[s] a new international airport,” and is cosigned by Coventry South MP Zarah Sultana. Khalid Mahmood, ex MP for Perry Barr has also backed the demand. The letter has been picked up by the shadow justice secretary, Robert Jenrick who told Ali: “The streets of your city are literally piled high in rubbish thanks to your Labour council. Focus on the UK.” Mahmood has insisted that no taxpayer money will be spent on the plans.
⚖️ MP for Birmingham Ladywood, Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, Shabana Mahmood is in a tense stand off with the UK’s Sentencing Council over pre-sentencing reports. Pre-sentencing reports help mitigate punishments by detailing a defendant’s background and context. Mahmood has claimed that new pre-sentencing guidelines issued by the council are discriminatory in only requiring reports for certain demographics. Mahmood has called the Sentencing Council’s decision “unacceptable” and has threatened to “legislate” to overrule the body and protect the rule of law. The council has previously rejected Mahmood’s requests to amend its stance on pre-sentencing reports. On Sunday, Mahmood committed to overriding the council on sentencing.
Quick Hits:
🗑️ West Midlands mayor, Richard Parker, has issued an official statement on the bin strikes saying that while he “hold[s] no direct role in those negotiations" the mayoralty wants "Unite to pause [...] strike action to prevent a public health emergency.”
🪧Campaigners are battling to save a “lifeline” Amblecote dementia centre axed by Dudley Council.
🏢 Turned tables: a Birmingham-based developer is planning a £1bn expansion into London’s residential property market.
🏡 NIMBYs have lost a battle – but not the war — in opposing 450 new homes proposed for construction in Solihill’s so-called ‘Arden Triangle.' “[The benefits of the scheme] clearly outweigh the totality of the harm,” said one council officer about building on green belt land.
✊ A Birmingham billboard has been repurposed to read ‘Free the Filton 18.’ The sign is in solidarity with pro-Palestine activists imprisoned for a 2023 protest near Bristol that allegedly caused nearly £1m in damage to an Israeli arms manufacturer.
🪙 A very rare Roman coin found near Dudley last year has gone for £5,000 at auction. Finder Ron Walters said the proceeds from the “once in a lifetime” discovery — of which he’ll receive about £2,500 — would be going on repairs to his motorhome.
🍲 Eid Mubarak: 4,000 people a week broke their fast during Ramadan with hot iftar meals at the new Birmingham Community Fridge foodbank at Ghamkol Sharif mosque in Small Heath.
Home of the week
This Grade II listed, late-Georgian cottage is nestled on the edge of town in Edgbaston. It has three bedrooms, a south facing garden and neat sash windows, all for £500,000.
Media picks
📰 Financial Times US Opinion editor, Jonathan Derbyshire, has been reminiscing about his time at the University of Warwick in the 1990s. There, Derbyshire would encounter a group led by a feminist academic previously from the University of Birmingham: Sadie Plant. In Birmingham, Plant was based at Stuart Hall’s Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies. At Warwick, she set up the Cybernetic Culture Research Unit (CCRU) a cultural studies sub-department that would go on, indirectly, to influence almost all of modern Western politics. The CCRU, a tiny group of academics at the university, would delve into obsessions with jungle music, French philosophy, the internet, the occult, methamphetamines and Japanese cyberpunk anime. The CCRU helped produce figures like famous left-wing philosopher Mark Fisher, DJ Kode9, award winning author Hari Kunzru — and most infamously of all, the right-wing theorist lurking behind much of Trump’s DOGE agenda: Nick Land. Samuel has previously written on the CCRU and is putting together a reported piece on the West Midlands, Nick Land and Mark Fisher. Were you doing weird stuff in the 1990s? Email him at sam@birminghamdispatch.co.uk.
📰 British Black history is not just London. The Guardian’s Bradford-born Lanre Bakare sets out to detail 20th century Black British history outside the capital. Birmingham is a big focus for Bakare, including cultural theorist Stuart Hall and reggae group Steel Pulse (read The Dispatch’s interview with lead singer David Hinds here). The article details how in 1979, amidst negative articles about ‘rastafarian muggers,’ Hall developed his critique of media in response to the negative portrayals of the Black neighbourhoods in Handsworth, Birmingham.
📰 The new editor of the New Statesman is a Brummie! Well, at least by birth. Tom McTague, current politics editor of UnHerd, is moving to take up the hallowed spot at the centre-left periodical, following in the footsteps of Kingsley Martin, Anthony Howard and Richard Crossman. In his last ‘state of the nation’ piece for UnHerd, McTague details his early experiences in Birmingham and impressions of the city as an adult. “I’ve been reading David Lodge’s Nice Work, set in the depressed Birmingham of the Thatcher years,” he tells us. “What is so striking about that novel, written almost four decades ago, is just how relevant it remains. That sense of decline and neglect captured by Lodge in 1988 has, if anything, only become worse.” Feel the same, or think he’s talking rubbish? Have your say in the comments.
📰 How do you make £400m from chicken wings, all while being apathetic towards hospitality and restaurants? Ask Tom Grogan, Solihull-born franchiser of the US fast food chain Wing Stop. The Times details how Grogan, a 35 year-old from Solihull supercharged the brand with Gen Z in the UK through advertising deals with English rappers Stormzy and AJ Tracey. The UK chain now has over 50 spots across the country. Grogan sold the UK arm of Wing Stop to an American private equity firm last year for £400m, moving out to Dubai. Grogan joins Gymshark founder Ben Francis as yet another very, very, rich under 40 year old to come out of sleepy Solihull. Are they putting something in the water?
Our to do list
💬 We’ve written a lot about the ongoing development of Digbeth. This (very early) free workshop on Tuesday morning is all about shaping the future of the neighbourhood for the community — and it’s free. Check it out here.
🎤 Fresh from their United States tour, former-poet laureate of Birmingham Jasmine Gardosi will headline this week’s Poet’s Palace at Nightlife Outreach on Wednesday. Secure one of eight open mic spots now. Tickets from £6.13.
🌙 Make like it’s the 18th century and attend this Thursday talk by the Lunar Society: ‘Birmingham's economic miracle: how we make sure everyone benefits from it?’ Three experts will present their ideas on how to make Birmingham more equitable for everyone. Tickets from £4.50.
🎧 Ever uttered the infamous phrase: “We should start a podcast?” Well, Birmingham City University’s podcast festival is back this Friday for a day of panels and workshops for anyone interested in honing their audio chops. Of note: a discussion between the creators of the BBC Radio 4 programme ‘The Lost Archives of James Baldwin.’ Tickets from £15.
🎤 If once every five years isn’t enough of an opportunity to catch Count Binface, the parody political candidate with a bin for a head will appear at Cherry Reds Comedy Club on Thursday. Tickets available for £11.25.
☪️ Celebrate Eid this Saturday with a free festival at North Edgbaston Sports Club with food stalls, sports tournaments, face-painting, henna and horse riding, plus the much-loved alpacas who live at the ground. This one is free — access via Hockley Port off All Saints Road.
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