REMEMBER Mrs Thatcher selling off all those council houses! The government’s got a new plan called ‘Right to Regenerate’ which they say will increase house building and improve local areas. Like council house sales, it involves selling off council land, garages and empty properties, but will it work? Birmingham, with a population of over oneContinue reading Housing plans central to who we choose as mayor
AFTER weeks of encouraging us to proceed, the PM has finally pulled the rug on our Christmas plans by admitting things are much worse than he’d let on. How has it got so out of control? Is it just that things are so difficult that it would be too hard for anyone or are notContinue reading When it comes to politics it’s better to under-promise and over-deliver
Steve McCabe MP, Birmingham Selly Oak and Women’s Aid Federation of England (‘Women’s Aid’) are calling for oversight of exempt accommodation to protect vulnerable women and children. Steve McCabe MP met with Women’s Aid to hear their concerns about the growing number of exempt accommodation providers housing victims of domestic violence without any expertise or experience, and inContinue reading Birmingham MP joins Women’s Aid in Calling for safe Accommodation
Isla-Rose’s card summed up our spirit during tough times I PICKED up my Christmas cards from Billesley printer LG Davis last week. Each year I run a competition for local children. Things start in September, as my staff invite schools to take part, so that we can have a winner and a fully printed cardContinue reading Isla-Rose’s card summed up our spirit during tough times
IT appears that a small group of cabinet ministers decided last week to place Birmingham in Tier 3. Without further support, that amounts to another nail in the coffin for our hospitality sector. I’m not sure I follow the reasoning that sees Birmingham in Tier 3 and London in Tier 2. If we judge itContinue reading A final nail in the coffin with no-one fighting our corner
It’s been a really tough year for local businesses so it is more important than every to shop local. Visit (or order online) your favourite local business this weekend and support Small Business Saturday. Shops Clean Kilo, 249 Mary Vale Road, Bournville, B30 1PN The Clean Kilo is the largest zero-waste supermarket in the UK,Continue reading Support Local in Selly Oak Constituency
WE’VE come a long way since Edward Jenner first inoculated a 13-year-old with vaccinia virus (cowpox), resulting in the first Smallpox vaccination, and almost 200 years later a global programme to eradicate the disease altogether. It’s sometimes easy to forget the awful suffering caused through conditions such as Polio, Rubella and Diphtheria before the discoveryContinue reading Anti-vaxxers are undermining the work of scientists in battling Covid
We have all been affected by coronavirus this year but it’s true to say that people will have had very different experiences. Too many people are being pushed further into poverty and as unemployment continues to rise, I am worried this is going to get worse before it gets better. The Trussell Trust Foodbank NetworkContinue reading Reverse Advent Calendar, please join my foodbank appeal
I really missed the veterans this Remembrance Sunday. The pandemic has robbed us all but none more so than elderly people with precious years left. It’s been especially cruel for those in care homes. Face-to-face visits were banned during the first lockdown. This time the government’s offering guidance which says visitors can meet residents inContinue reading Care homes need practical help, not costly gimmicks
I got short shrift from the Prime Minister on Monday for daring to ask him to his face what so many of his own MPs are saying behind his back. I asked him if he should quit. Actually, I asked him if he’d thought of making way for someone with a skillset, better suited to getting us through this crisis. This is the kind of situation that should bring people together but that’s not how it’s comingContinue reading Cometh the hour, cometh the man – we’ve got the wrong man for this situation
