Good morning Patchers — welcome to Thursday’s Dispatch.
It’s the last you’ll hear from me until next week with Dan back at the reigns on Tuesday. Ahead of the bank holiday, we’ve got a couple of politics stories about Labour/Tory bust ups (does anything ever change?) and Andy Street has responded to those calls of no-confidence we reported yesterday. To keep things somewhat light there’s a Kirsty Bosley special about CAMRA’s pub of the year (the Hop and Scoth in Kings Heath) and a couple of April events you won’t want to miss out on.
Apart from that, enjoy your Saturday read from us at the usual time of 7am, and have a great long weekend.
Brum in brief
🗣️Starmer drama: Sir Keir Starmer was in Dudley yesterday to launch Labour’s local election campaign and take a dig at the Conservatives for ‘failing’ to address regional inequality. In a speech which drew on Boris Johnson’s 2020 levelling-up speech, also made in Dudley, Starmer promised a Labour government would deliver greater powers to regional mayors via a new bit of legislation: the Take Back Control Act. He called it a “full fat” approach to devolution, saying: “It wasn't a big politician that made Stourbridge famous for glass production,” or the “Black Country and Birmingham the workplace of the world,” but local people. However, he has been criticised for failing to finance the plans — The Times reports he has told local councils there is no “magic money tree”.
🚨Disorder at The Den: Police have released images of 11 people they are on the hunt for following violent clashes after a Millwall v Birmingham City match in London on 9 March. One arrest was made in Birmingham earlier this week but detectives want to speak to others they believe have information about the incident. The fighting broke out outside Millwall’s home ground The Den following the team’s 1-0 win against Blues.
🍻Two pints and a packet of crips: Real ale dons CAMRA have named Hop and Scoth in Kings Heath their pub of the year. Kirsty Bosley visited the little bar that is tucked on a side road just off the High Street, tried new beers and made friends with a man called Bird. “I'd gone into a place I didn't know, full of people I didn't know, and had managed to not only make a friend, but I was leaving with new ideas and inspiration too,” she writes. Sounds pretty good to us.
🚮In the gutter? Andy Street has responded to a letter of no confidence sent by leaders of four Labour councils on the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA), calling it a “desperate attempt at gutter politics.” He also pointed to public reaction to the letter, which it’s fair to say went down like a sack of bricks, judging by most of the responses The Dispatch has seen online. Fynn Rose said it was “partisan and unhelpful” and Mark Hipwell-Scholes pointed out the next WMCA Christmas party would likely be a little awkward. However, Philip Burrows called for a “plague on both their houses”. What do you think? Let us know in the comments.
⚽Claret and Blues: This sweet video of a young fan teasing ex Blues’ star player turned Real Madrid mid-fielder, Jude Bellingham is super cute. “You’re an Aston Villa fan!” he yells, delightedly.
🏃♀️Instacalm: Taraki, the mental health support service for the Punjabi community, is fundraising for a new project: Using Social Media for Good. They want to fund grants for innovative and inspired Punjabi youth to start positive initiatives using social media — which so often fuels anxiety and depression, especially among youngsters — to improve mental health and wellbeing. Gurpreet Singh will run three (three?!) marathons for the cause and you can donate to their £10k target here.
🖼️Art for all: One for the diary — Stryx is a new, women-led art gallery of affordable contemporary art. Stryx opens on 13 April but co-directors Anna Katarzyna Domejko and Karolina Korupczynska are hosting a private viewing and panel discussion on Thursday 25 April at 5pm. The topic is: How to Start Collecting Art?
🎭Playing Perrault: Emma Rice’s stage adaptation of dark French folk tale Blue Beard begins its run at The Rep on Tuesday 9 April. “It leaves you absolutely struck with horror,” says the Guardian. Book now for eerie entertainment.
It's a difficult situation with the mayor. I haven't liked the campaign material comparing the 0 precept here with the cost of the mayoral precept in London. I would like to know what London gets for that money that we possibly don't? I also think a comparison with Manchester might be fairer? Also he is very careful not to use colours and language that strongly link him to his party. Possibly the mayor position needs divorcing from party anyway due to the whole issue where some people would vote in a hamster if it wore the rosette of their preferred party.
A mayor should first and foremost champion the interests of the region.
His politics aren't mine, and I can see why his ability to get photographed everywhere is irritating, but I think the problem with Andy Street might be illustrated by two loudly announced improvements to public transport in Walsall. I think they were included in the same announcement.
One was that Walsall was to lose its place in the unenviable competition for largest town/city without a direct rail service to London. A direct service was provided, by stringing together existing London-Brum semi-fast trains and Chase Line services Brum-Walsall-Rugeley. Predictably, this proved to be a bit of a disaster, with massive delays arising from linking two very different types of service. It ended within about a year, with no mayoral announcement.
The other was an integration of timetables for services on the Bloxwich bus corridor, so that services operated by NXWM and Diamond appeared together. A new West Midlands Bus livery was rolled out, with both companies' vehicles on the Bloxwich routes the first to receive it. Once again, this was short-lived, with Diamond having a mardy strop and walking out of the joint arrangement, and even completely stopping service on one route (the 32 to Lower Farm) for a time. They're now back, but I have to look up online bus times on two separate timetables for the same route. So far as I know, the lovely new paint-job has been applied to no further buses. Once again, the loudly announced initiative has been dropped in silence with not a word from Mr Street.
Not obviously political, but I think it could be argued that Mr Street's Conservative ideology prevents him from the bolder move to bus franchising introduced by his Greater Manchester opposite number and name sake, Andy Burnham.
And come to think of it, while I'm OK as a pensioner with my "twirly pass", does there still exist any all-modes season ticket in the West Mids for bus, train and tram?