Politics
LIVE UPDATES: General Election 2024 – Birmingham results
Voting has closed across the country for the UK General Election and now the process of vote counting and results announcements begins. We’re at the ICC for the Birmingham count and will bring you results as we get them, along with opinion, interviews, galleries and video updates.
Passenger anger at new mayor as regional bus fares set to rise across West Midlands
Public transport users have been left raging after bus fare hikes were announced only a month after the new West Midlands mayor was elected on pledges to reduce ticket prices. Rates for day and season bus tickets are set to rise by an average of 6% at the end of June after mayor Richard Parker promised…
Protesters challenging Rwanda plan arrested outside Home Office immigration centre in Solihull
Police officers arrested 13 protesters following a demonstration at a Home Office immigration centre in Solihull yesterday evening. The group were apprehended just after 9pm on Monday (April 29), after preventing access to Sandford House, where they had spent most of the day in support of 5 asylum seekers who had reportedly been detained by authorities in…
West Midlands mayor Andy Street unveils plans for a massive global ‘Tech’ festival to overtake London in terms of growth
West Midlands mayor Andy Street has unveiled plans for a massive global ‘Tech’ festival – and predicted that the region’s booming innovators can help it overtake London in terms of growth. ‘FutureFest’ will supercharge and provide an ambitious global showcase for the West Midlands Tech sector, he claimed, which is worth over £15.3 billion and…
Activists ‘occupy’ Birmingham New Street Station to protest “deplorable” Gaza aid suspension
Pro-Palestine activists have held an “emergency occupation” of Birmingham New Street Station, protesting against the British government’s “deplorable decision” to suspend funding to UNRWA. Called with less than 24 hours notice, around 100 people gathered on the station concourse yesterday evening (Monday 29 January) to voice their opposition to the UK suspending payments to the UNRWA, the…
“No words for such madness”: George Galloway decries ‘ban’ from Birmingham Palestine protest
George Galloway has condemned allegedly being banned from addressing a Birmingham pro-Palestine protest, amid claims he was “refused the right to speak” over his views on UK border controls. Attending the mass rally in the city last weekend, the firebrand political figure initially hoped to speak to the near 10,000 people who turned out for the event.
Why are pro-Palestinian activists targeting Barclays bank?
In recent weeks, pro-Palestine protests have been held across the country in response to the ongoing Israeli bombardment of Gaza. Among the calls for a ceasefire, activists have been pushing for a boycott of companies believed to be funding or supporting Israel’s military machine or state policies. Popularly known as ‘BDS’ – Boycott, Divestment and…
Birmingham councillor Jack Deakin suspended by Labour Party over harassment claim
Birmingham city councillor Jack Deakin has been suspended by the Labour Party pending an investigation into a claim of harassment, which he categorically denies. The council finance scrutiny chair is being investigated following a complaint he allegedly harassed a party employee, reports Birmingham Live.
Activists to hold protest outside Birmingham MPs constituency event over Gaza ceasefire vote
Residents from Birmingham are to hold a protest outside a constituency event by Steve McCabe MP this weekend in response to Israel’s ongoing war on Gaza. Activists and constituency members are claiming the Labour Member of Parliament for Birmingham Selly Oak is “supporting genocide” following his failure to vote for a ceasefire in Gaza.
Birmingham activists plant tree to remember the city’s contribution to global debt justice
Local activists will plant a gingko tree in Birmingham’s City Centre Gardens to mark the location of the largest human chain to have taken place in the UK in the last 30 years. 70,000 people took part in the chain during the G8 meeting in the city in May 1998, influencing G8 leaders to initiate…