Dear readers — welcome to your Monday Briefing. Madeleine is back from her holiday in the sun-drenched island of Kos: the birthplace of Hippocrates and home to one of the largest excavated ancient agoras in Greece. Her review? “Nice, but a bit boring with not much history.”
Speaking of historic arenas for democratic debate, Birmingham’s Council House was alight with drama on Friday evening as members finally elected their new leader. Liberal Democrat Roger Harmer is now officially in charge, with his party working in coalition with the Greens. But another vote — to decide who gets coveted, paid committee chair roles — has caused consternation after Labour and Reform tried to do a deal with the Conservatives and got outwitted at the final hour. Some among Labour’s ranks are especially put out — they had no idea that their leader, Nicky Brennan, had made the arrangement — and, yesterday, Bromford and Hodge Hill councillor Diane Donaldson resigned from the party in anger. That’s today’s Big Story.
In other news from Friday’s meeting, The Dispatch can reveal that Reform councillor for Rubery & Rednal, Rebecca Waters, has been suspended for breaking rank and voting for a Lib Dem leader. Elsewhere, the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery has come under fire from local Art Historian Ruth Millington for “Leftist politicisation”.
Catch up and coming up:
- Our weekend read was all about Professor Charles Craddock, a global leader in blood cancer who is on a mission to revolutionise access to life-saving treatments from Birmingham. Readers called the piece “gripping” and a “brilliant, important, and riveting article.”
Kate Knowles
- Last Thursday, Kate was in Digbeth meeting business owners perturbed by the agonising wait for construction to finish on the delayed Eastside Metro extension. The Friends of Bradford Street called it “incredible journalism.”
Kate Knowles
World class pianists come to Birmingham this June
This June, the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire presents the Birmingham International Piano Festival – five days of collaboration, competition, and top-tier artistry. There’s a jam-packed schedule with concert performances by world class pianists, celebrity masterclasses, and twenty young musicians competing for the top spot. There’s something for everyone – from free shows to one-on-one expert-led tutorials. Head down to the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire from 14th to 18th June to join in the fun. Tickets are going fast, so click below to grab yours.
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Photo of the week
Big Story: Labour’s doomed deal with Reform
Top line: At a crucial Birmingham city council meeting on Friday, Labour and Reform attempted to get into bed with the Conservatives and failed. The three parties cut a deal to divvy up seven important scrutiny roles between them. But, at the eleventh hour, the Tories blindsided their bedmates, taking every single one for themselves.
Context: The meeting was called to elect the new council leader — that's the Lib Dem’s Roger Harmer who is in coalition with the Greens — and other key roles.
The other vote: A vote to decide who will chair the committees revealed that Labour had attempted to cut a deal with Reform and the Tories, and had whipped members to vote for the right-wingers to get key scrutiny roles. That plan was presented to the council as ‘List A’ with each of the seven scrutiny committees assigned a chair from each of the three parties. The roles come with an extra allowance paid by the council.
Surprise, surprise: A surprise alternative option, List B, was also put for the vote — and won. It revealed the Tories had outwitted their erstwhile bedmates by negotiating with other parties to take all of the scrutiny roles. The move has left Reform leader Jex Parkin fuming. He told The Dispatch: “Given that their group colluded with the Greens, Lib Dems and independents on this agreement, it begs the question – how tough will the Tories really scrutinise the group of parties that now pay their wages?”
Conservative leader Robert Alden, told us: “We felt it was vital that the only opposition group that exposed Birmingham Labour's financial mismanagement — and with over 180 years experience — now chairs scrutiny to hold the new administration to account.”
Wagging tongues: Labour leader, Nicky Brennan, declined to respond to The Dispatch’s questions on the matter. But her negotiations with Reform have set tongues wagging in Labour, with many astounded that she wanted to work so closely with the party. She could have opted to try to do a deal with any other party members, apart from those in the cabinet.
A furious goodbye: On Sunday, one Labour councillor even resigned over the matter. As first reported on Birmingham Live, one of two Labour members for Bromford & Hodge Hill Diane Donaldson has walked away from the party she has represented since 2016 in fury. She told The Dispatch that the first she knew about the deal was in the meeting itself. “We had barely any time to think so I voted with the party line but instantly regretted it. I couldn't sleep that night,” she said.
Donaldson’s frustration was largely over the fact that she had campaigned frantically as an alternative to Reform and has been highly critical of Alan Feeney, Reform’s councillor in her neighbouring ward of Shard End. Brennan’s deal would have put him in charge of planning — one of the most powerful committees.
Bottom line: They might have lost out on the scrutiny chairs, but Reform, as the biggest party on the council, is the official opposition, with a shadow cabinet and automatic seats on committees. By contrast, Labour has just one lonely chair of a licensing sub committee and, after Donaldson’s exit, is now in joint third place on the council with the Conservatives. All of which makes the attempted deal a resounding flop.
Brum in Brief
🗳️ As for the rest of Friday’s meeting, it was a lively affair. Five minutes in and the session was adjourned so that the Lord Mayor Zaker Choudhry could be instructed how to run the vote. “You think they might've figured out how to run the vote beforehand,” one independent muttered to The Dispatch. Twenty minutes later and we were back in business. The vote for leader of the council brought a surprise when Reform’s councillor for Rubery & Rednal, Rebecca Waters, abandoned ship to vote for Lib Dem Roger Harmer. Jex Parkin has confirmed to The Dispatch that Waters has been suspended pending an investigation over the matter.
➡️ And, on Saturday, Labour’s Majid Mahmood posted an open letter to Labour’s National Executive Committee, criticising them for instructing Birmingham Labour not to take part in a leading coalition of the council. Birmingham’s political grapevine is now alive with questions about whether or not he will face consequences, or follow his ward mate Diane Donaldson and resign. Notably, Mahmood has today removed Labour from his X bio.
🖼️ Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery (BMAG) has come under fire from the Telegraph for being ruined by “leftist curators”. In an opinion article, local art historian Ruth Millington took aim at BMAG for eschewing much of its 50,000-strong permanent collection of artworks in favour of gimmicky exhibitions. In particular, she was aggrieved by a display showcasing the ‘A to Z of Birmingham’ where pieces — like a photograph of a piece of bread representing the local delicacy the cob — are “tacked up like an amateur school project with stereotypical views of the city.” The Dispatch wrote about the disappointing reopening of BMAG here last year.
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Quick Hits
- Four people have been arrested on suspicion of murdering a man in Sparkbrook last Thursday. The victim, a man in his 40s, died at the scene. (ITV)
- Paul May, a key campaigner who helped free the Birmingham Six, has died at the age of 74. (The Irish Times)
- The King of Clubs nightclub has been forced to temporarily close after a brawl of ‘more than 100 people’ broke out on nearby John Bright Street last month (Express and Star)
- New data from the office for National Statistics reveals that, in parts of East Birmingham, the rate of unemployment among 16-64 year olds is significantly higher than the national average. (BBC)
Media picks
⚽️ A new, short documentary called Lost Down Mexico Way follows five Wolves fans who all spontaneously settled in the US after travelling to Mexico for the 1986 World Cup. Several of the friends had lost their jobs during that period’s employment crisis, and moved over thinking life would be better in Texas. Still, home sickness is real. “Everything was 10 times better than what we had in Stourbridge, but I miss Stourbridge like I wouldn’t believe,” Gary Allen told the BBC.
📸 ‘The Edward Hopper of the Black Country’, Walsall photographer Billy Dosanjh, has spent years capturing the everyday lives of Sikhs across the city. In an interview with the Guardian, he says: “When I do my work, I want the people to enter the space of their ancestors psychologically.”
Our to do list
🌳 Great Big Green Week
There are plenty of ways to celebrate Great Big Green Week across the West Midlands this week. On Wednesday, lend a hand to the charity Fruit & Nut village with some planting sessions. Or on Saturday, the Everwild Festival in Brierley Hill has plenty of fun, sustainable activities to get stuck into — including a fashion show.
📚 Books
If you’re free this evening, head into the city centre for a Pride panel at Waterstones, where authors Cassidy Ellis Slater, Wren James, Caitlin Devlin and Emma Hinds will be discussing queer YA fiction. On Saturday the Birmingham comic fair is being held at The Walker Memorial Hall. Expect graphic novels, books, and rare comics on sale.
🎵 Music
Tonight, a free event at the University of Birmingham celebrates Oriental Star Agencies, a record shop in Balsall Heath which grew into a hugely influential cultural hub for the south Asian diaspora. (Read The Dispatch’s article about the collection here). Or, fans of Harry Potter, Jaws, and more can head to the Symphony Hall on Sunday for a concert celebrating the music of film composer John Williams. Tickets here.
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