Sir Keir Starmer is desperate. He’s desperate for Dudley
The Dispatch brings you the top lines ahead of the West Midlands council elections
Good afternoon Patchers — Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer is desperate. His party has a massive lead in the polls, and he looks an incredibly safe bet to become the country’s next Prime Minister, but nonetheless, he’s desperate. In fact he’s craving. He’s aching. He’s yearning and longing. He’s positively thirsty. And what — you ask — is Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer so utterly, unrepentantly, unforgivably desirous of? The market town of Dudley.
Starmer knows that taking Dudley in Thursday’s local elections will be (yet another) sign his party is on a clear path to power. That’s why he chose to launch Labour’s local election campaign there. In today’s bumper election-themed Dispatch, we’ll have that and all the other important headlines before the region heads to the polls.
Looking back: It’s not just local councils heading to the polls of course; Andy Street’s position as mayor is also up for grabs. With that in mind, why not revisit last week’s article giving the lowdown on the man with eyes on his crown? Labour candidate Richard Parker. Or, looking (very far) back, Saturday’s fascinating read by history buff Jon Neale asked if it was time to reassess our obsession Joseph Chamberlain, a man often cast as Brum’s legendary father figure. Do join the debate in the comments once you’ve read it.
Editor’s note: Coming up this week we’ve got a brilliant article on West Midlands sound system culture by Ian Burrell and a piece looking at how Birmingham’s museums and art galleries are coping with the massive incoming cuts. Are any institutions set to close? How are employees feeling about the future? Get in touch if you have any inside information to offer: kate@birminghamdispatch.co.uk
Plus, look out for our local election feature this weekend. If you like your local journalism with plenty of intrigue and a cast of colourful characters, sign up today for access to everything we have to offer.
Weather
🌦️Tuesday: For the majority, cloudy with a chance of sun. Wetter in evening. Max 18°C.
🌦️Wednesday: Cloud, then showers and some sun. Very spring-like. Max 16°C.
🌧️Thursday: Heavy rain all day. Max 15°C.
☁️Friday: Less heavy than Thursday but dull and drizzly all day. Max 17°C.
🌧️Weekend: A consistently drizzly weekend. Weather-wise, little to cheer about. Max 17°C.
We get our weather from the Met Office.
Big story: Sir Keir Starmer is desperate. He’s desperate for Dudley
Top line: Strap in. While much attention has been focused on the mayoral race between Reluctant Tory™ Andy Street and his little-known opponent, Richard Parker (little known to non-Dispatch readers, that is) there are also important local council elections this Thursday. One Black Country council is top of Labour’s target list.
Dudley is the one to watch. All seats are up for grabs in the Black Country town where a strong result for Labour would give Keir Starmer a good omen for the general election later this year. Despite a massive lead in the national polls, it isn’t a given that this local election will go Labour’s way — last year red Dudley councillors failed to dent the Tories comfortable majority.
But that hasn’t stopped Starmer’s fighting talk — when he launched Labour’s local election campaign in Dudley last month, he channelled his inner third division football manager:
“You can take it from me, we’re not playing for a draw. We’re looking to win in Dudley, looking to win in the West Midlands, right across the country.”
Meanwhile in Walsall there’s another tough race to predict. In the last couple of elections, the council has bucked the trend towards Labour and retained or increased its Tory members (it has 37 to Labour’s 12). The Dispatch understands that the feeling among councillors is that won’t happen again and even leader Mike Bird (who has served on the council since 1980!) has said he views the elections “with trepidation” which doesn’t inspire much hope for the Tories.
Whether Bird can soar above his own grave predictions is the big question, but his opponents have had their own challenges. Nine ex-Labour councillors are standing as an independent group after defecting over the party’s stance on the war in Gaza. Unless something out of the ordinary happens though, they are expected to lose their seats.
Solihull is another Tory stronghold which currently has no Labour councillors. It does have the most Green councillors of any council in the region — a hefty 12. They’ve got candidates standing in all 17 contested wards. One to watch will be Shirley East, with Conservative Deputy Leader Karen Grinshell defending the seat.
Sandwell has 72 councillors in total, a whopping 61 of which are Labour and just eight blue. 24 — a third — of seats will be contested in the election, including four of the Tories and 18 of Labour’s.
In Coventry, a Labour source tells The Dispatch the party expects to lose some seats but not overall control of the council. Plus, a leadership challenge is on the horizon for council leader George Duggins, but this is mostly hot air. The Dispatch understands that while there are grumblings, these don’t translate into votes against him and even if it did he'd probably still have a sizable majority in the Labour group.
Labour majority Wolverhampton will contest 20 — a third — of its seats on Thursday. Last year the reds gained three from the Tories who didn’t gain a thing.
Bottom line: The West Midlands has long been seen as a bellwether region that offers the best clues to how the nation will vote. If Labour manages to oust the Tory mayor and make significant gains in Dudley, Sir Keir Starmer will be laughing. If they don’t, it could mean Labour’s chances of winning back the West Midlands’ red wall aren’t as good as expected. And if they gain in Dudley but lose to Andy Street, it will be a sign that voters see the mayoralty as its own contest separate from party politics.
Photo of the week
Elliott Brown’s snap captures ongoing development in Birmingham, with the Octagon tower alongside the BT Tower, Brum’s current tallest building. The 49-storey skyscraper is staking an extraordinary claim to being the tallest octagonal building in the world. When completed it will house 364 homes.
Brum in brief
👮 PCC: who and what? While many will have followed our coverage of the mayoral hustings in the build-up to this week’s vote, there has been less focus on the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) contest (also taking place on 2nd May). But we wouldn’t want all our PCC hopefuls to feel left out. The PCC does not run policing operations but has a say in the focus and performance of policing. Incumbent PCC Simon Foster (Labour) has already successfully fought to keep hold of his powers after he took West Mids Mayor Andy Street to court to strip them from him. He now takes on Conservative PCC candidate Tom Byrne. Read more about both candidates here.
🐂 Tributes for Bull sculptor: The designer of Birmingham's first public bull — that near the entrance to the Bullring — has died, with tributes pouring in. Laurence Broderick was best-known for his 2003 Birmingham-based artwork, one that would later inspire Ozzy (now standing in Grand Central station). Broderick had previously described his own artwork as “a gateway emblem for Birmingham throughout history”. Read his obituary here.
Home of the week
This Grade II listed Georgian Townhouse in Edgbaston has a walled garden and a pedestalled bath, if that’s your thing (and you’ve got £775,000 down the back of the sofa).
Media picks
👂 Once “the cradle of Municipal government”, Birmingham’s current local authority is in, well, not fantastic shape. The Prospect Podcast this week focuses on how we got here (that is bankrupt and facing down unprecedented and devastating cuts — if you needed reminding…). Broke Birmingham and the Council Crisis. Not the cheeriest listen, but a really well made audio documentary.
🎮 On a lighter note, Sky News have delved into the virtual world of competitive gaming, as thousands of fans arrive in Birmingham for ESL One – a major e-sports tournament attracting around 15,000 fans. “Frankly, the rules of the game are lost on me,” writes Becky Cotterill. “But I'm told it involves a king, queens and trying to destroy the enemy’s base.”
Things to do
Tuesday
🎵 Live Blues at O Bar on Broad St, from a night that spawned Status Quo, Judas Priest, Thin Lizzy and Black Sabbath. Doors open to the so-called Henry’s Blueshouse at 7PM. Details and contact information here.
🚶On Tuesday afternoon, there’s a leisurely two-hour walking tour of central Birmingham taking in the city’s history from St Martins to the Council House. Guide is local with tickets at £7.
Wednesday
🌳 For those based in the north of the city, there’s a ranger-guided wildlife amble on Wednesday morning at 10am at Kingsbury Water Park. The photos advertising the walk look fab. Book here.
🎤 If you want to support emerging Birmingham talent, then Hare & Hounds is the place to be in the midweek as they give the stage to up-and-comers. All the details with sounds from R&B to reggae.
Thursday
🧏 Want to learn more about what it’s like to live with deafness? The Glee Club is holding a talk with Shaun Fitzgerald who has lived his entire life deaf. BSL interpreted. Tickets here.
⛪ Another candlelit suggestion from The Dispatch team? Oh well, you can’t have too many. This time readers can head to Worcester Cathedral to hear a live orchestra perform movie soundtrack classics from Jurassic Park to E.T. Booking via the link.
PCC elections... the office costs millions and has done what exactly??? Name one thing foster or jamieson acheived??? jobs for ones chums or brothers in this case.