Soggy Sunak calls general election

But does Labour have enough time to prepare?

Good morning Patchers — Welcome to your Thursday briefing.

Settle in. We’ve just gotten over the excitement of the most closely fought mayoral contest in the country and Rishi Sunak throws a general election at us. Amid a flurry of letters of no confidence from fellow Conservatives — some reportedly submitted after he made his announcement, in the hopes of calling the whole thing off — the prime minister has hedged his bets and sent the country to the polls. Not just yet though, you’ve got until July 4 to make up your mind.

Unfortunately, the news did sideline the investigation we had ready to publish. It’s a very important story and we will send it as soon as we can. Until then, today’s Brum in brief leads on election speculation, followed by news of a potential Pride boycott and a quirky collection of arcade games that could bring in the big bucks for two Brummies. Plus, an update on Sacha Lord’s attempt to sue us. Read on for more.

Our favourite post about the GE.

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Brum in brief

🗳️To the polls! This general election will be the first held in July since 1945. If Labour is hoping for a historic landslide akin to that year, the polls are certainly on their side. The summer weather also bodes well for activists on the doors, unlike the tragic scenes in the pouring rain in the winter of 2019 (something like soggy Sunak during yesterday’s press conference). That said, Starmer doesn’t have the mass membership the party enjoyed five years ago and will instead rely on targeted campaigning and the collapse of the Tory vote to get into no. 10. Sources say Labour’s main concern right now is time — with the election six weeks away, do they have enough of it?

🥊Birmingham battlegrounds: An initial look at key West Midlands battlegrounds highlights Birmingham’s Northfield. Labour’s Alex Aitken is hoping to wrest the seat from Gary Sambrook, who won it for the Conservatives for the first time ever in 2019 — but only by 1,478 votes. We also think campaigns in Ladywood will be interesting. Although Labour’s Shabana Mahmood has a very healthy majority of almost 29,000 votes, she faces critcism from both pro-Palestine voters and campaigning locals who are angry about her response to regeneration plans. Plus, controversial lawyer Akhmed Yakoob, who took a huge chunk of Labour’s votes in the mayoral election, is standing against her as an independent.

🕹️SpaceInvaders: A collection of vintage arcade machines owned by a father and son is expected to sell for up to £100k at auction. Ken Jackson, 89, and his son Stewart, 49, from Birmingham started collecting the games 34 years ago, inspired by a love of visiting British seaside towns like Blackpool. With contraptions dating as far back as the 1890s, the lot will go up for sale on May 30 at Hansons Auctioneers. Ken, who learnt to restore the machines alongside Stewart, said: "If we moved, we made sure there was a suitable room for them — they were part of the family.” Click for the full story.

🏳️‍🌈Pride boycott: There are two days to go until Birmingham Pride but the event now faces a potential boycott due to its sponsor’s links to the war in Gaza. Outcast Stomp, a group which curates queer music nights in Birmingham, and national campaigners Queers for Palestine, have put out the call to would-be attendees and performers to avoid this year’s LGBTQ+ celebration and its sponsors HSBC, Amazon, Mondolez and McDonalds. HSBC is one of the largest boycott targets by pro-Palestine protestors due to the bank’s £100m shares in manufacturer Caterpillar whose equipment is used by the Israeli military to demolish Palestinian homes. More info here.

⚖️Lord’s legal threat: On Monday, we told you how Manchester’s Night Time Economy Advisor Sacha Lord has threatened to sue The Dispatch’s parent company, Mill Media. To jog your memory, our sister newsletter in Manchester, The Mill, published a story containing evidence that a security company owned by Lord misrepresented itself in an application for £400,000 of public money during the Covid pandemic. We’ve learned that Arts Council England and the Greater Manchester Combined Authority — two of the organisations featured in the story who had previously refused to investigate the claims — are now doing some digging themselves. This greatly reduces the risk to us and is a big win for our journalism! You can read the latest here.

🎤Historic hahas: Head to Warwick Castle for a good laugh in a historical setting this weekend at the Cobra Beer Comedy at the Castle festival (will there ever be a time when culture isn’t served up by corporations?) Heading up the bill are Simon Amstell, Rory Bremner, and Nina Conti plus, Brummie newcomer Lindsey Santoro who won The Biggest Prize in Comedy at the Edinburgh Fringe last year. Get your tickets here.

Local comic Lindsey Santoro.

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