Brum Rise Up

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On the platform from left to right Carl Chinn, Tracey Mooney, Emma Lochery and Gabriel Dyker

Kate Taylor of Birmingham People’s Assembly addressed a packed meeting at the Birmingham & Midland Institute attended by representatives from campaigns against the closures of libraries, youth centres, adult social care facilities and local trade union leaders. 

They were launching Brum Rise Up at the weekend to co-ordinate resistance to the devastating council cuts planned for the city which Kate Taylor said would provide “a collective platform … where we can fight back together through organising protest and action to raise the profile of all our campaigns.

“We’re demanding a reversal of the cuts and the devastation they will bring. A plan for the restoration of jobs, services and culture, a plan to protect our assets and a plan for the government to increase council funding across the country.”

At the back of the hall, standing room only

Ben Chacko reported that commissioners brought to Birmingam — have been paid £1,100-1,200 a day, put up in hotels at the local authority’s expense — to decide what to cut, what to keep and what to flog. “We’re paying them to destroy our city,” veteran local communist Andy Chaffer says. Ben recorded the views expressed by Gabriel Dyker, violinist, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Chris Seeley, Save Birmingham Youth Services and Emma Lochery, Friends of Kings Heath Library

People’s Assembly aims:

Carl Chinn recalled that in the 1840s Birmingham had been a city with “no facilities for the working class. No free libraries, no free parks, no swimming baths.” In the 21st century people should not be going back to that”. He called for a revival of civic pride and pointed to the history of working-class culture delivered through the city’s municipal services, including through the Birmingham & Midland institute itself, an adult education centre opened in 1854. Kate Taylor told Ben the group were mobilising for a May Day! Save Our Services demo on Monday May 6 in Centenary Square Leaflet above top right), predicting that the event would be “the beginning of a movement of people in Birmingham, who will actively and passionately campaign to save our services, our culture, and all the things that make our city brilliant.”o Carl Chinn recalled that in the 1840s Birmingham had been a city with “no facilities for the working class. No free libraries, no free parks, no swimming baths.” In the 21st century people should not be going back to that”. He called for a revival of civic pride and pointed to the history of working-class culture delivered through the city’s municipal services, including through the Birmingham & Midland institute itself, an adult education centre opened in 1854. Kate Taylor told Ben the group were mobilising for a May Day! Save Our Services demo on Monday May 6 in Centenary Square Leaflet above top right), predicting that the event would be “the beginning of a movement of people in Birmingham, who will actively and passionately campaign to save our services, our culture, and all the things that make our city brilliant.”o

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Can any reader suggest premises for the Bartley Green & Northfield Community Fridge?

In 2020, we reported that Birmingham was to join cities across the UK in hosting a ‘community fridge’, provided by students taking part in the UpRising environmental leadership programme, preserving food that would otherwise be wasted. 

It was to be housed in the Peace Hub in Bull St where individuals and businesses could drop off food that would otherwise be binned…

In 2023 Dawn Mason, Trustee at Bartley Green & Northfield Community Fridge, wrote to say that the Peace Hub Community Fridge never actually opened and the first community fridge in Birmingham is Bartley Green & Northfield Community Fridge. Dawn designed a leaflet for their fund-raising appeal. 

She writes:

We opened in April 2023 and were sited at the rear of 26-30 Hillwood Road.

Everyone was welcome, no referrals, no vouchers, just a need for help. We supply FREE pet food to help keep pets with their families, VIA Blue Cross & Pets at Home donations. Free baby food, vitamins & women’s vitamins post delivery. We also have a small supply of free feminine products under Period Poverty.

We also accept donations of unwanted food from the public as well as regular donations from supermarkets and food outlets.

This year, however, Dawn wrote to say that the Community Fridge had to move out of the Bartley Green Community Hub as it was said that the space was needed for another project.

They are still looking for a new venue nearby but funds are very limited. Until then food parcels are being handed out from the boot of Dawn’s car, mainly tins/dry food and whatever else has been donated on Tuesday 12-1 pm &Thursday 11-12pm, on the car park at the rear of the Hillwood shops.

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Heat Pump Workshop and Study Day

Attenders at the March workshop and study day in St Francis Church, Bournville

Another community energy workshop in Balsall Heath on Thursday 25th April is being organised by MECC, an independent charity based in Balsall Heath Birmingham since 1979 and Footsteps, which brings together faith groups in Birmingham, to respond to the challenge of moving to a low carbon future.

Click on this photograph to enlarge it

Footsteps events are open to people of all faiths and no particular faith in Birmingham, who are concerned about the challenge of moving to a low carbon future and want to work together to achieve this.

For details about the April event, watch the Footsteps future events page.

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The Save Birmingham campaign advocates community-based alternatives to the sale of council-owned assets

The Victorian Society has drawn attention to the Save Birmingham campaign  

A group of volunteers co-ordinated by Co-operatives West Midlands  has launched the Save Birmingham campaign to stop the commissioners – appointed ‘to address budgetary and organisational challenges at the local authority‘ – selling off council-owned assets without considering community-based alternatives.

Designating a building, venue, park or other facility that is owned by the council as an “asset of community value” would give local residents a “right to buy” – delaying the sale by around six months. If the community raises enough funds and is successful, this could lead to residents take responsibility for owning and running the asset.

The people of Birmingham weren’t responsible for the problems facing Birmingham City Council, but they could be at the heart of solving them. This is beyond party politics and blame games – it’s about working together to provide positive solutions.

Save Birmingham wants to bring together community groups and residents to:

• show how much the people of Birmingham care about their community places – from the City Centre to buildings, venues and parks in every local area,
• identify and officially register those community places for protection; and
• explore community-owned and co-operative solutions for public spaces and services that are fair and sustainable.

As a first step, community places that have been nominated by the people of Birmingham as important to them will be listed on its website. Already nominated, Stirchley Baths Community hub (above).

Another sterling success has been Moseley Road Baths, still a functioning swimming baths, though temporarily closed as a major phase of work to the building has started.  

Save Birmingham’s campaigns lead, Jeevan Jones, told The Express & Star that the campaign wants to protect community places and offer solutions where communities can take greater control over running them. Residents can go on its website and nominate community places in every part of Birmingham that matter to them. Nominations can be made for well-known or heritage assets, allotments, leisure centres, swimming pools and sports centres in local communities. He ends:

“Our idea is to bring together local and national experts to help to support communities to either take on the running, or indeed take on the ownership of assets.”

 

 

 

 

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Birmingham: central government’s role in the city’s problems

Points made by William Wallis in the Financial Times

The council had to pay out £760m to meet equal pay claims from several thousand mostly female employees. This discriminatory remuneration was largely built up under a former Tory-Liberal Democrat coalition administration.

Experts in local government point to the wider national picture, with local authority funding cut to the bone by Conservative governments in the decade to 2020, hitting large urban areas such as Birmingham

Almost all councils — including big Conservative-run county authorities in Hampshire and Kent as well as the city of Stoke-on-Trent — are now sounding the alarm. According to a recent LGIU survey only 14 per cent of senior council figures felt confident in the sustainability of their finances.

Jonathan Carr-West Chief Executive, LGIU, states in the foreword of the survey that councils are “let down by a funding system that is not fit for purpose”.

“Despite repeated promises from central government we have seen no reform of local government finance and no return to multi-year funding.

“Instead there has been a disjointed series of one-year settlements predicated on local authorities raising council tax by the highest amount permitted. But even with these tax rises, councils have to cut services, borrow more money and dip into their reserves year a­er year.

“Citizens across the country are failed in three ways: their bills rise, their services are cut and the councils they rely on edge ever closer to financial ruin. There’s no single solution to this problem. Instead, local government is crying out for a toolbox of fiscal devolution measures”.

Two readers comment:

Britain is a country in rapid decline because oversized government doesn’t listen to its people and doesn’t empower citizens through its local authorities to be all they can be.

Because UK governments like to control everything, about 50% of all local council income comes from wholly arbitrary or politically manipulated central government grants.

Local council tax only generates say 50% of local council income. Business rates go to central government, then are partly returned. The only other source of income is car park charging, which helped to destroy town centres.

Councils are only allowed to borrow from the Treasury, which isn’t a bad thing per se, until that borrowing also gets politically manipulated.

Birmingham was once famed for its relative lack of reliance on exchequer grants subventions

The Chamberlain prospectus was to ensure that the city was not dependent upon the caprice of Whitehall or regressive rate-payers’ associations by relying on the receipts from utilities and housing that were municipally owned. The loss of these assets (and now of much prime land in the city centre) is essential for the purpose of understanding the city’s present predicament

It’s a denial of the best aspects of the country’s history that has often developed so well from local to national to international – from the industrial revolution to football clubs to popular music among many examples.

What will it take to make the centre act – a ‘Passport to Pimlico’ situation or a more fervent revolt befitting more spirited people in Europe?

 

 

 

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Unite Community Birmingham. documentary film: 18th August

Unite Community Birmingham writes:

“In 2017, with the support of an extraordinary grassroots movement, British Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn came close to becoming prime minister. The establishment trembled. Britain stood on the threshold of huge political change. But within three years all, it seemed, was lost. What happened and why?”

Produced by award-winning radical film-maker Platform Films, with contributions from Jackie Walker, Ken Loach, Andrew Murray, Graham Bash and Moshe Machover, and narrated by Alexei Sayle, this feature-length documentary film explores a dark and murky story of political deceit and outrageous antisemitic smears. It also uncovers the critical role played by current Labour leader, Keir Starmer and asks if the movement which backed Corbyn could rise again.

Book here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/film-show-o-jeremy-tickets-681674906997

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An invitation to ChangeKitchen’s 13th birthday celebration

From Birgit and the ChangeKitchen Team

“Please join us this Thursday 8th June 2023 from 1pm at our site in Edward Road for our 13th birthday celebration (our tenth birthday sadly fell during the pandemic and was never celebrated) and the formal launch of our new venture”.

If you are not able to attend – apologies that due to illness and other issues this invite is late – please do get in touch with Birgit Kehrer on 07828825850 or changekitchenbookings@gmail.com to arrange a tour of the new premises. 

ChangeKitchen has been working with Birmingham City Council to deliver healthy eating training under the Preparation for Adulthood scheme. With thanks for filming and editing to GL events. See this video.

ChangeKitchen is an award winning event caterer and thriving social enterprise. It has been catering for corporate events, weddings, community gatherings and operating hugely popular pop up cafes since 2010. It offers innovative vegetarian and vegan menus, carefully put together using the finest local, organic and seasonal ingredients (continues here).

Since the beginning of COVID, ChangeKitchen, officially registered as a Community Interest Company limited by shares in June 2010, has provided over 75,000 meals (and counting) to the community. Families across Birmingham are struggling with the impact of raising costs and many are forced to make choices about their daily food options. ChangeKitchen is passionate about helping to alleviate food poverty in our city.  

 

 

 

 

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STORYTELLING CAFÉ IN KINGS HEATH

At The Kitchen Garden

A hidden oasis consisting of a Performance Venue, Restaurant, Bar, Cafe, Private Function/Wedding Venue and Garden Shop surrounding a beautiful courtyard.

Maria Credali: Letters Through Time

Like many thousands of others, Simon Evans was quite literally a broken man, in more ways than one, after his terrible ordeal in the trenches. He was badly wounded both physically and mentally.

But this ordinary postman was a man of optimism and drive. He persuaded the surgeons not to amputate his badly shot leg, and he worked hard to recover from the gassing he had suffered. His story is one of hope.

We follow Simon from the busy, noisy post war city of Birkenhead to the quiet restorative calm of the countryside around Cleobury Mortimer. He wrote a great deal about the positive effect the countryside had upon his physical and mental health in his five books and numerous published articles, but this story also touches upon the very personal struggle of a man coming to terms with life after conflict.

The story of Simon’s life is woven together with traditional tales from all over the world – and their messages of hope and perseverance are just as relevant for audiences today as they ever were.

Perhaps we need them even more. 

Food Served from 6.30, stories start at 7.30 

Doors Time – 06:30 PM

 Artist Website – Click Here

We Got Tickets – Click Here

Wednesday, March 15, 2023 @ 07:30 PM (Doors open at 18:30:00) to
Wednesday, March 15, 2023 @ 10:30 PM

LOCATION

17 York Road, Kings Heath, Birmingham B14 7SA

 

 

 

 

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HAVE YOU VISITED THE PEACE GARDEN IN BATH ROW?

Republished from The Stirrer (28-05-2008), ‘a great hyperlocal – a forum for Birmingham and the Black Country’

All but arms manufacturers hope for ‘peace in our time’ and the Peace Garden conveys a powerful message.

Visitors will see many poignant features in the garden and messages of goodwill from other countries; 50 Hiroshima survivors presented a cherry tree.

Its beautiful railings were sculpted by Anuradha Patel and the archway of a bombed church’s tower has become the main entrance.

The Colonnade which used to be located near the Hall of Memory stands there now and holds plaques given by donors from many different countries.

The two photographs above were taken by superlative photographer Ell Brown, and were seen on the Birmingham History Forum’s Peace Garden thread.

International Conscientious Objectors day is celebrated there. Elizabeth Way writes that there have been over 80,000 conscientious objectors from World War 1 to the present time. She adds that the names of objectors through the ages were read out, starting with Maximillanus, beheaded for refusing to obey a military command on the 3rd century, including Israeli military personnel who refused to serve in Palestine and coming up to date with a Turkish objector to military service.

Veterans for Peace gather in the Peace Garden

People who have incurred sanctions for refusing to kill are regarded as cowards by some, but risking the scorn of others is not an easy road to take. Probably the most highly regarded objectors are those who joined the ambulance service and rescued combatants [on both sides] under fire, sharing the dangers but saving lives rather than taking them.

Three children and their teacher from nearby St Thomas’ school first had the idea of creating a peace garden on the bombsite and many others contributed funds or artefacts, including members of the armed forces and Birmingham Chamber of Commerce.

Birmingham City Council furthered the children’s project, commissioning the sculptor and maintaining the garden. It is in honour bound to maintain the site for the benefit of all those who visit it, from the city and its environs or from other countries.

 

 

 

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Levelling up: urgent Government action is needed to fund home retrofit – a call from the West Midlands

First published on Political Concern.

Retrofitting houses to cut energy use, fuel costs and pollution is perhaps the issue in the climate emergency that – right now – impacts on people’s lives in the West Midlands and in many other areas.

Some points made in a recent article by Richard Hatcher, published in the BATC website, are summarised in this blog.

It refers to a 24 page report by the IPPR thinktank (Institute for Public Policy Research) published in January 2023: GreenGo: Unlocking an energy efficiency and clean heat revolution. It is a damning critique of Government failure: “for the last decade the government has failed to grasp the opportunity for retrofitting through a combination of cuts and multiple false-starts with initiatives like the green deal and green homes grant.”

Reports from the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) and Birmingham City Council show that their plans for retrofit are being held almost to a standstill by lack of funding by Government, in the form both of grants to local authorities and householders and of financial incentives to encourage investment in retrofit by the private sector, which at present is simply not forthcoming

In October last year Mayor Andy Street and Cllr Brigid Jones, WMCA Portfolio Lead for Levelling Up and Deputy Leader of Birmingham City Council, launched the Combined Authority’s ‘Levelling Up Growth Prospectus’ at a fringe event at the Conservative Party Conference in Birmingham. Here are quotes from its Foreword by Cllr Brigid Jones:  “…there are an estimated 235,512 fuel poor homes in the West Midlands — the highest rate of fuel poverty in any English region.”

“to hit our targets within the West Midlands Net Zero Five Year Plan, we’ll need to retrofit 292,000 homes by 2026 to stay on course for net zero and over one million retrofitted homes by 2041.”

“Retrofitting the region’s 1.2 million homes to net zero is estimated to require £24.4bn”

But 292,000 is about a quarter of 1.2 million, so it will require about £6.1bn funding by 2026.

These plans are a drop in the ocean compared to the targets of the Five Year Plan, but Cllr Jones and Mayor Andy Street have no answer except to beg for Government funding. 

“The [Levelling Up Growth] Prospectus calls for greater powers and more flexibility over funding and investment”. Andy Street says “we need the Government to give us the tools to go further and faster.”

Read its four proposals here

Richard Hatcher makes suggestions for increasing community engagement through local schools. Teaching about climate issues should obviously be part of the curriculum in every school, primary and secondary. And that could have another benefit: explaining the benefits of retrofit would feed back into the pupils’ homes, alerting parents both to the advantages and to the availability of grant funding. The problem at present is that we have no overall picture in each local authority of what schools are doing about climate in the curriculum, and we know the limited powers of local authorities. But Councils could still send out a clear message to schools about the importance of climate issues, invite schools and teachers to share news of good practice, and publicise and celebrate it in the community.

Only mass public pressure will force the Government to fund retrofit fully.

The 3 Cities programme

This is a collaboration between the 3 Cities – Birmingham, Coventry and Wolverhampton. It is the largest programme being developed by local Councils in the WMCA area and is independent from the WMCA’s plans. Here are some quotes from its 2022 publication ‘Retrofit – The 3 Cities’:

“The 3 Cities Retrofit is an initiative to develop an integrated retrofit programme across the cities and one which reflects the diversity of needs and housing portfolios of each city.”

“c.700,000 homes in the cities

81,887 3 Cities council owned housing stock

83,259 3 Cities Registered Providers’ owned stock

535,455 Privately owned housing stock across the cities”

Richard Hatcher concludes that only mass public pressure will force the Government to fund retrofit fully – and Labour should be building it. In his 16 page article he gives some sggestions for citizen engagement and action and explores what the WMCC could do to build such a campaign. 

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Richard.Hatcher@bcu.ac.uk

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Richard.Hatcher@bcu.ac.uk

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