Nek’s graffiti is everywhere. Who is he?
One man’s search for the meaning of a Birmingham tag
Samuel McIlhagga
Samuel is a features writer and reporter whose work has appeared in the Financial Times, UnHerd, Jacobin and the LA Review of Books. In 2024, he won The Independent’s Rupert Cornwall Prize
Featured Stories
In Moseley, a multi-million pound London property firm is making life hell
The property management company Freshwater is nearly tripling fees for Wakefield Court residents. Many can’t afford it.
Investigation: Raja Khan’s empire of dirt
How a negligent housing provider courted Birmingham’s bigwigs
Latest Stories
The curious case of the missing councillor
Plus: who are the movers and shakers shaping Brum — and Britain — in years to come?
No water, dead horses and a legal battle to save Bewdley's plotlands
A multi-millionaire bought Hill Farm. Then the eviction notices started
Did Birmingham have to go bankrupt?
Bin strikes, equal pay claims and a disputed £500m
Fireworks, fraud accusations and fallouts at the Westside BID
Gerald Manton and Mike Olley were firm friends until they weren’t. What happened?
With Rembrandt, a bid for relevance?
Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery is still struggling to find its footing
At Reform's Birmingham bonanza, set design is the real winner
Last week, Nigel Farage attempted to host the 'biggest political event' in modern British history
Richard Gamble had a vision. Now he's building a 51-metre wall of prayer by a motorway
California, concrete and charismatic Christianity: one man’s 20 year mission to honour God on the outskirts of Birmingham
On Shrove Tuesday in Atherstone: ‘bollocks is all that matters’
While the rest of the country enjoys its pancakes, one small Midlands town goes to war over a ball
The loveliest part of England? How Jonathan Meades chronicled the West Midlands
The Dispatch catches up with the creator of Birmingham: Heart By-pass, Severn Heaven and Worcestershire: Travels with Pevsner.
Investigation: Raja Khan’s empire of dirt
How a negligent housing provider courted Birmingham’s bigwigs
After 859 years, the future of the Bullring’s markets is hanging in the balance
'The market is a working-class infrastructure. People rely on these markets'
How David Lodge invented Rummidge to explain Birmingham
The late author was the city’s quiet chronicler
Arrested Development? The West Midlands Growth Company was supposed to make us rich: now it’s getting downsized
Facing restructuring, redundancies, and the potential loss of a key partner: is the organisation a vital economic engine or a waste of taxpayers' money?
No justice, no peace? Why hasn’t there been a public inquiry into the 1974 Birmingham bombings?
50 years after the Birmingham bombings, and no one is any closer to getting to the truth. The story of why, and how, a public inquiry hasn’t happened