Dear readers — welcome to another beautiful week in what we claim to be the second city. But can Brum still wear that title?
Well, Dispatch HQ will soon be tackling that very question. We’re so excited to announce our next event — and this time it’s open to non-members too, although paying subscribers get dibs on discounted tickets, which include food and drink. On 4 September, we’ll be asking a panel ‘What can Brum do to become the UK’s second city again?’
Expect local voices to speak about the city’s economics, culture and our national reputation and consider how our great city can emerge from its challenges better than it has ever been. We’ll reveal our panel members shortly, but you can grab your tickets right now, at this link. We look forward to seeing you in September, at our home in the Jewellery Quarter.
As for this week, our Big Story is all about the Union Jack and St George’s flags that have recently appeared on lampposts, especially in Northfield and Weoley Castle. Do they represent something more concerning than merely national pride? Plus, in today’s Brum in Brief, we have news of Saturday’s anti-immigration protest and anti-racist counter protests in Nuneaton, as well as a new milestone for HS2.
Catch up and coming up:
- On Saturday, Jon Neale chronicled the unexpected history of Brummie hop pickers, who helped to brew British beer.
- Catch up on Thursday’s scoop, in which Rhi Storer tried to get to the bottom of the mystery surrounding Frankley Great Park councillor Simon Morrall’s Conservative Party membership status. Since publication, Birmingham Conservatives have revealed their candidate for next year’s local elections — and it’s not Morrall.
Enjoying this edition? You can get two totally free issues of The Dispatch — including our Monday news briefings and our weekend reads — every week by signing up to our regular mailing list. Just click the button below. No cost. Just old school local journalism.
Photo of the week
Photographer Szymon Mrozek caught this recent shot of a night time meet up on the grounds of St Philip’s Cathedral, in front of the Ivy restaurant.
Big Story: Who is responsible for all the flags in Northfield?
Topline: In Northfield in recent weeks, Union Jack flags have been hoisted up on lamposts around the area — especially in Weoley Castle. Their appearance has elicited a range of responses from curiosity to concern to pride. But who’s responsible?
What’s the worry? In one Northfield community WhatsApp group conversation, seen by The Dispatch, a member asks, “is it astroturfing by the far right?”, referring to the practice of political campaigning made to look like a grassroots social movement.
‘Spoiling for a fight’ In the same group, Labour councillor. Jame Tennant, says “we know who it is” and reveals the council is keeping a list of locations where flags are, adding “there’s a couple of people spoiling for a fight for political reasons so taking it slow and steady so not giving them what they want.”
A ‘phenomenon’: A Northfield resident, who did not want to be named, told The Dispatch the flags “don’t seem to display anything racist or nationalistic” but they have become a “phenomenon” in the area. One person who supports the new decorations is former Conservative councillor Simon Morall, who took to Facebook on Sunday to declare “I approve this message!” accompanied by a video taken from a car driving past some of the flags.
Rhi Storer
The people responsible: Yesterday, a man called Sean Doolan, along with 14 other men, claimed responsibility for the patriotic displays, taking to the Weoley Castle Community Facebook page to do so. Posting a photo of the group smiling with a giant Union Jack, Doolan wrote: “Over the past 6 weeks there has been a lot of speculation about who and why there have been flags going up around Weoley Castle!” The reason, he explained, is “simply, to bring pride to the area and pride to the people that live in it, nothing more nothing less.”
‘Weoley Warriors’: Commenting under the image, a response from the Reform UK Birmingham Northfield account praises them and encourages them to “keep spreading the love and the community spirit!” A fundraiser for “flags, poles and cable ties” (shared on Facebook by Doolan) has also been launched on the site gofundme.com by a group called the Weoley Warriors. They describe themselves as “a group of proud English men with a common goal to show Birmingham and the rest of the country of how proud we are of our history, freedoms and achievements.”
Islamophobia: But others who have expressed Islamophobic views online have joined in the flag flying. A Facebook user called Lee Neal has a profile photo showing a man standing on a ladder in front of the Catholic Church of St John Fisher in West Heath, holding a Union Jack, as though preparing to attach it to a lamppost. The picture was posted to the group Good Old Britain with the text: “flags are going up around the streets of Birmingham, join in lets see your flags going up.” In response to a complimentary comment about the church, Neal wrote: “Christians and Catholics will have to fight together against the Muslim threat. The crusades have never been conquered.”
Bottom line: The Dispatch understands that, regardless of what’s on them, Birmingham City Council’s policy is to remove flags fixed to council-owned lampposts. We understand that highways contractor Kier has been asked to take down the flags in Weoley Castle.
Brum in Brief
🪧 Union Jacks and St George’s flags were also on display in Nuneaton on Saturday, when hundreds gathered at an anti-immigration protest called in response to the alleged rape of a 12-year-old girl. The suspected perpetrators are reportedly two Afghan asylum seekers: Ahmad Mulakhil, 23, who has been charged with rape, and Mohammad Kabir, 23, charged with kidnap, strangulation and aiding and abetting rape of a girl under 13. Reform politicians Nigel Farage and George Finch, leader of Warwickshire County Council, have accused Warwickshire Police of ‘covering up’ the identity of the men, which the force denies. Counter protesters also assembled on Saturday, with police separating the two groups outside Nuneaton town hall, reports ITV. The anti-immigration protesters then marched through the town centre. Some shouted "scum" and "get them out" as they walked through the Ropewalk Shopping Centre. Nuneaton and Bedworth police said a 17-year-old boy was arrested for making threats to cause criminal damage and remains in custody.
🚄 A milestone in the development of HS2 is set to be reached this week as construction workers prepare to move a 112-metre-long steel bridge over Lawley Middleway. Joint venture Balfour Beatty Vinci have spent the last two years building the structure on land next to Digbeth Canal and it will eventually form part of a one-mile stretch of five connected viaducts, with this one forming part of the line’s approach to Curzon Street station. The move will take place during overnight closures from 10pm to 6am, between 16 and 23 August, with the bridge shifting about 12 metres each night. Lawley Middleway is due to fully reopen at 6am on 24 August. Read the full report on Construction News.
Quick Hits
📺 No second series for new show set in Brum from Peaky Blinders creator (BBC)
🚨 Man arrested in Acocks Green over ‘small boats’ smuggling operation (Metro)
💻 Mayor Richard Parker wants to spend £10m on teaching West Midlands adults how to use AI (Express and Star)
🌳 Residents complain of ‘anti-social behaviour’ at Earlwood Lakes (BBC)
💰 Edgbaston’s historic Golden Lion pub gets over £300,000 in funding for a rebuild project (Birmingham World)
AD: Would you relish the challenge of bringing our unique journalism to a wider audience? We're looking for a head of growth to work with us and our sister titles across the UK to get more people reading us. You need to have a keen focus on growth and the creativity to try lots of different approaches. Deadline to apply is 3 September. Find out more here.
Media picks
📰 Francesco Calvo, who has taken over business operations at Aston Villa, is the focus of this long interview in The Times, in which he claims his goal is to run things so smoothly that “no one will realise I’m here”. Calvo’s task is to close the financial gap between Villa and the “big six” Premier League clubs. But that will be a challenge — Villa currently sits at number 18 in the 2025 Deloitte Money League with a revenue of £270m (Chelsea, at number six, has £475m). “In many ways Villa feels a test case,” writes reporter Jonathan Northcroft. “How they go over the next few seasons will tell us whether it truly is still possible to build a top club organically, or whether money has polarised the game to such an extent that it’s simply impossible [to live with England’s “big six”] and, beyond them, Europe’s elite.”
Our to do list
🎭 On Tuesday, Polly Teale reimagines the life of the Brontë sisters as a literary detective story at Crescent Theatre. Tickets from £9.50.
🎤 On Wednesday, Liam Cromby is bringing ‘storytelling and soaring melodies’ to The Sunflower Lounge. Tickets from £11.
🎤 On Thursday drag family, the Haus of Aja grace Hurst Street’s Glee Club for an evening of electrifying performances. Tickets from £11.55.
🍗 On Friday, Wing Fest, a three-day celebration of chicken wings and, urm, axe throwing, apparently, kicks off at Hockley Social Club. Tickets from £19.50.
🪩 On Saturday, the 1980s are back with a bang in Digbeth at the UK’s ‘biggest’ outdoor tribute festival. Tickets from £22.25.
🎶 On Sunday, events company OurTurn is showcasing the city’s independent R&B, soul and hip hop talent at the Midlands Arts Centre. Free.
Comments