West Midlands council coalition sets out vision for next four years

The Birmingham bins strike, HMOs, the climate crisis and tackling hate crime are among the key priorities for the coalition now running the city.

An alliance including the Liberal Democrats, Green Party and various independents took over the city council in the summer after May’s local elections triggered a political earthquake.

The fragmentation of the city’s politics paved the way for the minority coalition to step up and take control from Birmingham Labour, who saw its number of councillors dramatically collapse.

The new administration has this week adopted the Fairer Birmingham Partnership Agreement, which sets out a “shared basis for cooperation” between the groups involved as well as their priorities.

Those in the administration say this vision for the next four years will help provide hope for struggling communities who voted for change earlier this year.

The agreement’s guiding principles include working respectfully across political differences, prioritising residents over “political positioning”, supporting transparency and resolving issues constructively.

There are several key priorities within the coalition’s agreement, such as creating a ‘cleaner, greener city’ by resolving the bins strike and ensuring the “council and city does all it can to tackle the climate crisis”.

It also wants to provide improvements to public transport, with a focus on underserved communities, and tackle road safety issues which have plagued the city.

When it comes to creating a Birmingham that works for everyone, the council’s leadership said it would be “unflinching in our support for residents and communities no matter their gender, sexuality, or ethnic background”.

It continued that it would “commit to a vision of Birmingham guided by our global history as a diverse city”.

Another focus is having responsible finances, with the coalition wanting to improve budget scrutiny, achieve long-term financial sustainability and give residents a “real say” in setting the budget, as well as the direction of the council.

Other key priorities include:

• Protecting and investing in its public services and community spaces, like libraries, youth centres and museums, as well as green spaces, waterways and neighbourhood centres.
• Improving support for families and young people, including fair access to services.
• Creating an enforcement system which deals “promptly and effectively” with road safety, planning and fly-tipping offences.
• Working towards “significant” increases in genuinely affordable socially-rented homes across Birmingham.
• Stronger rules for and enforcement of poor HMO and Supported Exempt
• Accommodation in Birmingham, with more support for residents dealing with poor landlords and poor-quality housing, as well as the impact on local communities.
• Continued improvement in the council’s own housing estate.
• Ensuring regeneration projects are “led by residents to deliver for communities”.
• Investment in left behind communities and ensuring no area in Birmingham is forgotten.
• Ensuring the council supports training, apprenticeships, and job creation.

Green Councillor Julien Pritchard, deputy leader, said at a cabinet meeting this week that the agreement would provide a “clear basis for how the administration is going to work together over the next four years”.

Cllr Harris Khaliq, from the Better Birmingham group, stressed that the agreement needed to put residents and communities – particularly “those that have been left behind” – at the heart of it.

“For too many years, residents in places like Ward End, Alum Rock, Small Heath, Sparkhill, Sparkbrook and many other deprived communities have felt overlooked,” he said.

“They have seen services decline; opportunities become harder to access and investment go to other places.

“The election was a clear message from residents across Birmingham – people voted for change.

“They wanted a council that understood the pressures facing ordinary families, they wanted a council focused on everyday life.”

Cllr Kamel Hawwash (Green, Stirchley) added: “When we were knocking on doors, there’s no doubt people were looking for hope and that’s what they kept telling us.

“I believe this agreement goes a long way towards providing them with the hope that they were looking for.”

‘We pledge to stand against all forms of hate’

The agreement also said all councillors in the coalition would make the following pledge: “We are proud to represent all the communities in our city in all their diversity.

“We pledge to stand against all forms of hate including antisemitism, islamophobia, racism, homophobia, transphobia and ableism and stand up for all of Birmingham’s diverse communities, regardless of race, faith, gender, sexuality or economic background.

“As councillors we will always seek to use our positions to bring communities together.”

It continued that the administration will “engage regularly and seriously” with all faith groups in Birmingham, a process that the leader and deputy leader will take part in personally.

“We will work together with faith community groups to develop a programme of activities to tackle hate crime, extremism and community division,” the agreement went on to read.

“All members of the administration commit to undertaking recognised diversity training.

“Any councillor whose conduct breaches this pledge, during the lifetime of the administration in a serious manner, will not be able to hold positions representing the administration.

“If a councillor does this while holding such positions, there will be a formal process to review their position and withdraw it if this is warranted.”

At Tuesday’s cabinet meeting, Labour group leader Cllr Nicky Brennan called for misogyny in particular to be included as a form of hate in future documents.

“I think that’s a really good point,” Cllr Roger Harmer, leader of Birmingham Council, said. “We will look at how we can ensure that is done.”

Reform group leader Cllr Jex Parkin meanwhile called for transparency around the diversity training. Cllr Harmer responded by saying training programmes are still being developed and updates can be provided in “due course”.