Birmingham city council "effectively bankrupt"

[adam2]

All but essential services closed.https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-b ... m-66715441

[Vortex2]

I was there for an Energy presentation quite a few years ago.

I was quite early so I had a wander around.

In the executive suite I expected to see door signs such as "Director" or "Head Of HR" etc.

Nope - more like : "Leader Of Diverse Opportunities Functional Initiatives", "VP OF Ethnic Preferential Selection Activities", " Head Of Positive Selection Activities for Non-white minorities" etc etc.

A great use of taxpayers money.

[BritDownUnder]

I was thinking of headlines like "Brum Goes Bust" or some similar tabloid style.

Seems to be due to an equal pay claim dating back to years ago but all the diversity did not help I am sure.

I lived there many years ago for a Summer working at Albright and Wilson and loved the place and the people but it definitely had its dark (quite literally) side.

I recall a US council in California also went bust when the proportion of its population that was illegal immigrants went over about 80%. Of course they paid no taxes but expected lots of services.

[Mark]

It's not unique to Birmingham.....

Northamptonshire - Tory - bankrupt 2018
https://www.theguardian.com/society/201 ... alf-decade

Croydon - Labour - bankrupt 2020
https://www.theguardian.com/society/202 ... -two-years

[Mark]

Slough - Labour - bankrupt 2021
https://www.theguardian.com/society/202 ... -in-budget

Thurrock - Tory - bankrupt 2022
https://www.theguardian.com/society/202 ... ebt-levels

All councils are under financial pressure - all have had their funding cut from central government...
Reading the 4 articles - whole range of reasons - some Labour controlled, some Tory...

Birmingham is the biggest, but suspect it won't be the last...
LA Budgets hit again this week - how many will have enough money to cover the bill for RAAC ?

[mr brightside]

I wonder when decline is going to start getting talked about openly, like gay marriage and sewage discharge into rivers. Can't be long now, surely.

[Potemkin Villager]

Sure looking more and more like a failing state.

[clv101]

Local Authorities are broke, irrespective of which party is in charge. Blame flows back to funding cuts from central government since Cameron's austerity government - but of course the reasons are far deeper than that. Collapse - this is what it looks like.

[BritDownUnder]

Maybe the Birmingham councilors could take a trip to Cuba to see how it is going to end.

[emordnilap]

I was thinking of headlines like "Brum Goes Bust" or some similar tabloid style.

Bermingone!

[Mark]

Local Authorities are broke, irrespective of which party is in charge. Blame flows back to funding cuts from central government since Cameron's austerity government - but of course the reasons are far deeper than that. Collapse - this is what it looks like.

You mean like this...... ?
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/articl ... d-car.html

[UndercoverElephant]

Sure looking more and more like a failing state.

Looks to me, at the minute, more like a failing government. There are specific problems in Birmingham for which central government is not responsible, but there is a more general problem that they've spent far too long cutting budgets when there was nothing left that could be cut, because they are ideologically incapable of making the wealthy parts of society support the failing bits, or of making necessary systemic changes that seem too socialist (eg renationalisation of railways and utilities, with no compensation to shareholders). The tories have been in power too long, and as far as actually governing the country is concerned they've completely lost the plot.

The question is how capable Labour is of slowing down the decline. Chris thinks an English parliament might be on the cards. Clear most of the crap out of Westminster and start again in Manchester or Birmingham.

[clv101]

The question is how capable Labour is of slowing down the decline. Chris thinks an English parliament might be on the cards. Clear most of the crap out of Westminster and start again in Manchester or Birmingham.

I do think an English parliament - in the image of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, followed by a dramatic reduction in Westminster (down to ~150 bodies, responsible for just macroeconomics, foreign policy, defence etc.) would be a positive move for the UK.

But that could only be a project for a 2nd+ term, building on a very successful 1st term. I think it'll be hard for the first term to be successful enough for Labour to return with enough political capital to enact such a dramatic change. Let's see how Lords reform goes down first!

The wildcard is the physical state of the Westminster estate - the whole place could burn down next week!

[Mark]

& Nottingham....

[Mark]

Councils in crisis: Town Hall debt levels staggering, MPs warn
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-67707156