Birmingham, UK

Election candidates raise support for Council Workers' strikes

Press Statement for immediate release 27/04/2008

Election candidates raise support for Council Workers' strikes

Raghib Ahsan and John Tyrrell, both candidates in the local elections, have been raising support for the council workers and their recent strikes.

Over 1,000 signatures have been collected so far on the doorsteps of Handsworth Wood and Lozells and East Handsworth. The response has been incredible with most people wanting to sign.

John and Raghib, both former Labour councillors, have made support for the council workers a major part of their election campaigns.

Raghib Ahsan says “It's shocking that the council can think it is OK to cut the pay of thousands of their workforce. I visited the council worker's picket lines and joined the street protest on Soho Road. There was huge support from passing motorists.”

John Tyrrell, who is standing for the Socialist Labour Party says “I joined the protest at Victoria Square where council workers, teachers, lecturers and civil servants all joined together to oppose pay cuts. As prices continue to rise the people who run our vital services should treated decently, not have their pay cut.”

Continue reading "Election candidates raise support for Council Workers' strikes"

Posted by John Tyrrell at 7:00 PM April 27, 2008

What sauce!

Sauce is not the word for Heinz behaviour following their theft of the company from Aston putting many loyal staff out of work. Now they have moved on as if Birmingham never existed. I am afraid, however, that this is the logic of the so-called global village made to sound so appealing in the pretext of progress.
What it means is that the multinationals have the power to pick and choose where they locate and who they employ cutting costs to their benefit. Where do people come into this. Sure there will be those suffering poverty who will be pleased to get a job. Poverty, then, is a tool to ensure companies like Heinz are able to maximise profits. Their shareholders and directors should be shamed.

Continue reading "What sauce!"

Posted by John Tyrrell at 9:44 AM March 26, 2008

Women from the West Bank in Birmingham

Three women representing Palestine spoke at the Council House in Birmingham (11/3/2008) of the situation they continue to face daily at the hands of an occupying force. No one had come from Gaza because of the impossible restrictions placed on its people. There the Israelis say its is because of rockets being fired that such force is necessary, but as one speaker pointed out no rockets come from places like Nablus but it makes no difference to continuing attacks on them by the Israeli army.

I was concerned to learn that there was now no British Consulate in the Palestinian territories. Since the office had closed in Ramallah it was necessary for people to travel to Jerusalem to get visas, a near impossible task. This was true of the United States, but some European states maintain a presence. This seems to me to mark the British approach which is all the time to support the criminal Israeli administration. Many Jewish people are ashamed of what is being done to Palestinian people in their name.

Continue reading "Women from the West Bank in Birmingham"

Posted by John Tyrrell at 4:14 PM March 13, 2008

No tram in Birmingham? Then what?

The Birmingham Post today (23/2/2008) questions the future of the Midland Metro, which consists of one line between Birmingham Snow Hill and Wolverhampton. As Cabinet Member for Transportation 2003-4 I felt it a matter of great importance to advance new routes.

Every new tram system brings out the NIMBY groups and so it did here with the Tories drumming up opposition in Edgbaston and Lib-Dems canvassing residents living along the Walsall Road. What I didn't expect was for other Labour councillors to try to outdo the Lib-Dems in opposing plans. They enlisted the support of Khalid Mahmood, M.P. for Perry Barr who described it as a "white elephant". Since he was then PPS to Tony McNulty, a transport minister does he bear any responsibility for stalling the one hope we have of getting some sort of public transport system which will help get cars off the road. The problem is he and others have no alternative suggestions. The only idea they have is the bus, which instead of improving in Birmingham gets steadily worse. Anyway the Tory/Lib-Dem coalition have closed bus lanes I approved! Desperate! The underground? Well it was always patently obvious that if we were having difficulty funding the Metro then the likelihood of getting an underground was below zero, but you couldn't tell them that. Anyway the Metro can be an underground, or it could become a "sky train" like in Vancouver. If it ain't there at all it can't do anything.

Nottingham managed to get its plan through for a tram employing a public relations officer to build enthusiasm for the venture. Yes the NIMBY lobby were there but not allowed the upper hand. Their numbers pale into insignificance compared to other residents. Councillors opposing the scheme in Birmingham did not bother to sound out other opinion.

Continue reading "No tram in Birmingham? Then what?"

Posted by John Tyrrell at 11:55 PM February 23, 2008

Public Services. The Future

I got to the tail end of a conference and workshops debating where public services are going, or where they should be directed. Speakers included John McDonnell MP, Hillary Bills, past President of the National Union of Teachers and Rick Hatcher, leading a campaign against academies.

The main thrust of all speakers was that the privatisation of public services was not only a very bad idea, it was extremely harmful to service users and threatened jobs of dedicated and experienced service providers. Example after example was given of the serious consequences of privatising services with large sums of money going into company profits with service users losing out.

Hillary Bills pointed out that children were being treated as "commodities" and that their education has suffered as a result. She said that the NUT along with the other teachers' associations were united against academies referring to the way that the sponsors were able to dictate the way schools were run and the content of their curriculum. Creationism in the science lessons in schools in north east England was an extreme example. When she was President of the NUT she had visited many countries where she had witnessed first hand the effects of "globalisation" arising from what she termed a "neo-liberal agenda" (John McDonnell preferred "neocon"). Rick Hatcher pointed out that the new governing bodies of academies were appointees of the sponsors so parents would have no say. There would be no role for local authorities, and therefore local democracy as the new systems were introduced.

John McDonnell pointed out that he was "Labour", not "New Labour" which led to a question what he was doing in the party as it was now impossible to operate from within. (No, I wasn't the questioner in this instance!)

Posted by John Tyrrell at 12:02 PM February 17, 2008

G.P.s need to watch their backs

Usually I reject commercial telephone calls at home. I tried to get them stopped but at least some get through. This was a consultant, I was told, employed by the Primary Care Trust (Heart of Birmingham) surveying satisfaction with their general practitioners.

The questioning was lengthy with endless questions prefaced with "would you change your G.P. if....?" . Opening hours was one of the carrots.

Actually I have no intention of leaving the practice I use. Apart from getting appointments by telephone I have no complaints. In fact care I have received has been excellent including effective treatment for a number of potentially disabling conditions.

However I did fall for agreeing that more convenient opening hours would be beneficialm such as Saturdays and evenings.

Continue reading "G.P.s need to watch their backs"

Posted by John Tyrrell at 11:09 AM February 17, 2008

G.P.s need to watch their backs

Usually I reject commercial telephone calls at home. I tried to get them stopped but at least some get through. This was a consultant, I was told, employed by the Primary Care Trust (Heart of Birmingham) surveying satisfaction with their general practitioners.

The questioning was lengthy with endless questions prefaced with "would you change your G.P. if....?" . Opening hours was one of the carrots.

Actually I have no intention of leaving the practice I use. Apart from getting appointments by telephone I have no complaints. In fact care I have received has been excellent including effective treatment for a number of potentially disabling conditions.

However I did fall for agreeing that more convenient opening hours would be beneficialm such as Saturdays and evenings.

Continue reading "G.P.s need to watch their backs"

Posted by John Tyrrell at 11:09 AM February 17, 2008

Transport of delight

Getting the a revamp of New Street Station is a great achievement so I don't want to sound ungrateful on behalf of fellow citizens of Birmingham or any other users of the facility across a considerably wider region. (People in Shropshire and Wales, for example depend on it as a gateway to London and elsewhere.)

As a Londoner, however, I would like to suggest we look at Birmingham and the region as the Heart of the Nation rather than the "Second City" or second anything. That means our expectations should not be capped to the spending of millions when it is announced that a cross city line in London will run to billions without anyone turning a hair!

The Evening Mail today rightly states that while the plans will ease congestion for people (that's great), pity about the trains. Two tracks between Coventry and Wolverhampton accommodate high-speed inter-city rail links, local passenger services and freight. Is that sustainable for development?

I stood on the platform at a similar station in Brussels with trains entering from tunnels at either end. The difference was that the tunnels were straight and trains were coming and going non-stop. It is not something allowed in UKsince the speed of trains entering stations is restricted for safety reasons.

To get a half decent transport system in the Midland Region we need to set our sights much higher at an integrated system. Locally it helps people access a greater range of jobs, but it's just as important for travelers across the UK. A hold up around New Street can have a knock-on effect as far away as Scotland and the South Coast (it actually happens!)

Let's start looking at ourselves as an integral part of a nation rather than an outpost of the capital. This has had huge amounts spent on links such as the Eurostar link with European capitals. That stopped short in London instead of coming to Birmingham, Manchester and Glasgow. (Why should we allow this to go without comment?) Then there was the Jubilee Line to service the famous Dome (less said the better), and untold sums to fund transport for the Olympics. And there's more....

Meanwhile even our modest tram seems to have hit the buffers.

Published in "The Stirrer" 14/2/2008

Continue reading "Transport of delight"

Posted by John Tyrrell at 9:51 AM February 14, 2008

City Hospital and Human Rights

A claim is being made that the proposed plans for City Hospital in West Birmingham will put an ethically diverse area at a great disadvantage (the area is already high on many indices of deprivation).

I visited Handsworth Wood Ward Sub-Committee this week. Only two councillors were present while the turn out of residents was pitiful. There was a speaker from City Hospital speaking about the proposed new hospital in Grove Lane, Smethwick which is the next step in the merging of two hospitals, City and Sandwell. At present it seems that anyone from this part of Birmingham being taken by ambulance to hospital for emergency treatment will be ferried to Sandwell Hospital. This is highly inaccessible for Birmingham residents, greatly so if relatives and friends rely on public transport.

THe fact the the trust is called Sandwell and West Birmingham suggests which is the dominant partner, and as I pointed out before there have been no voices on the Trust from Birmingham Bill Thomas, Leader of Sandwell Council is a member. Bill and some of Sandwell' MPs have close links with the New Labour leadership. including Gordon Brown.

Continue reading "City Hospital and Human Rights"

Posted by John Tyrrell at 5:12 PM February 9, 2008

A 21 Drum Salute to Roi Kwabena

A large gathering at The Drum in Birmingham tonight (2/2/2008) paid tribute to Roi Kwabena who died from cancer earlier this year. There were academics and entertainers who provided eloquent testimony to the contributions Roi had made to equality and justice.

Roi had a habit of sprinkling water on the ground at the start of his talks and performances. The African tradition of paying respects to ancestors took place at the start of the evening. Roi's family were given a place of honour, including his mother and then a libation was made to remember Roi and others who paved the way for us benefiting or lives. A table was laid out as an alter and an elder performed the ceremony with the audience chanting "ashay" (be with us) after each name was said. The elder then took some of the water into his mouth and blew it into the air in every direction. Next he took white spirit "because it evaporates more quickly than water" invoking the spirits of those named. At this point all were asked to name someone they wished to be remembered. Family members and outstanding leaders were included. I mentioned Frantz Fanon. "Ashay" came the response.

A dancer then entered. Gracefully descending the steps she bowed before the alter and then acknowledged Roi's family with blessings. Her dancing accompanied by the 21 drummers was an affecting experience. the mood ranged from calm, fluid, movement to twisting and turning becoming increasingly intense. Finally she picked up the scarf she had dropped earlier as if picking up a young child, holding it aloft as in a naming ceremony when presenting to the deity

Continue reading "A 21 Drum Salute to Roi Kwabena"

Posted by John Tyrrell at 10:58 PM February 2, 2008

Frantz Fanon's message in Birmingham

I heard that the Frantz Fanon Centre in Birmingham closed in the last few weeks. Looking at the services it provided it seems we can ill-afford to be closing them down. Perhaps the prison service is preferred since that's the place where those with mental illness end up.

I speak in ignorance because I don't know the rationale for the move. A friend who was there however told me he spoke to someone who found the centre of value when he was depressed. He didn't know where he could go now.

It has to be Birmingham UK where the name Fanon can be treated so lightly. When there is such deep concern and puzzlement about why black and minority ethnic groups have high proportions suffering mental health problems, you only have to look to Fanon to see the reason. He himself worked as a psychoanalyst in Algeria under French colonial rule. His job was to help patients return to normality. Except for them there was no normality as colonialism defined what this was or should be. Black Skin, White Masks was an early response.

Continue reading "Frantz Fanon's message in Birmingham"

Posted by John Tyrrell at 9:08 AM February 1, 2008

Coming soon to a school near (very) you

I went to a governors' presentation on what we, unpaid long-suffering volunteers, will have to do to work out pay for staff following the introduction of single status for school staff.

Don't get me wrong I take on the role of governor because I want to ensure kids get the best education we can give them, particularly those who are struggling because of unfavorable home circumstances.

What I don't like is being set up. Single Status has a serious purpose in bringing poorly paid women in line with everyone else. It has been in the pipeline for a rather long time, principally because it was realised that it was going to be bloody expensive to do what was intended. That is pay a living wage and backdate it to April 2007.

I lost confidence in the presentation when a head teacher announced that he had already been to a head's presentation and what they told him them was quite different.

Continue reading "Coming soon to a school near (very) you"

Posted by John Tyrrell at 9:54 PM January 25, 2008

Is Capita getting paid on time?

I am just one of a long list of people "waiting patiently" for payment for services rendered unto the City Council. Since the payments will either prevent accounts going into the red or interest will be lost (or both). I wrote an e-mail to Stephen Hughes, Birmingham's Chief Executive, copied to Mike Whitby, Leader of the Council. I pointed out that if it was me owing the Council money there would be little leeway before action was taken to recover the debt:

Dear Stephen Hughes, I have not received even an acknowledgment to my e-mail which I am re-sending. I look forward to a response. I am continuing to lose interest on outstanding payment.

Yours sincerely,

John Tyrrell

----- Forwarded message from john.tyrrell -----
Date: Wed, 09 Jan 2008 11:33:20 +0000
From: john.tyrrell
Subject: Payment to contractors
To: stephen_hughes@birmingham.gov.uk

Dear Stephen Hughes,

I wrote to you in December about non-payment to contractors. I made the point
that if citizens failed to pay their accounts with the City Council action would quickly follow.

Non payment to contractors means loss of interest and bank balances being overdrawn. Will these costs be re-imbursed? In my case it backdates to October and November.

The Council knows full well that the introduction of new systems can lead to disruption and should take this into account. It certainly isn't the fault of contractors who do their best to supply a quality service.

Yours sincerely,

John Tyrrell

This was the reply I received:

Dear Mr Tyrrell

Further to my email sent earlier today, I have now been advised of the following by my Interim Head of Shared Services Centre -

The settling in of our new system is taking a little longer than anticipated and I am sorry this is causing delays in getting invoices paid. Certainly as a City Council, we do fully recognise the importance and value of the service provided by contractors such as yourself and we are extremely grateful for the patience displayed during this stabilisation period.

A great deal of consideration and contingency measures went into the planning, design and construction of our new system and our prime concern was to keep disruption to an absolute minimum. Whilst this has been achieved to some extent, clearly we have fallen slightly short in some areas because of the complexities involved.

So far as loss of interest is concerned, I am sure you are aware of the Late Payment of Commercial Debt Regulations and the City Council would consider any claim under that legislation. Hopefully, however, we would be able avoid that and fast track payment of invoices in cases that are notified as particularly urgent.

Once again, I do apologise for these delays and I can assure you that everyone is working flat out to settle in the new system and revert to business as usual as a matter of urgency.

Yours sincerely

Stephen Hughes
Chief Executive
Birmingham City Council

Adrian Goldberg has been doing a bit of digging for his Stirrer column and found a lot of unhappy folk out there. No guys don't fret, don't you know what a privilege it is to be one of the chosen to serve the Council?

Continue reading "Is Capita getting paid on time?"

Posted by John Tyrrell at 8:01 PM January 25, 2008

Birmingham UK show solidarity with Gaza

A group gathered together near the Bullring in Birmingham yesterday (23.1.2007) to show their solidarity with the people of Gaza. Passers by took leaflets and candles were lit to remind us that lights have gone out in Gaza because of the inhumane blockade by the Israeli government.

There are further rallies being held across the globe, including London and again in Birmingham on Saturday, 26th January.

Continue reading "Birmingham UK show solidarity with Gaza"

Posted by John Tyrrell at 8:29 AM January 24, 2008

Single Status in Birmingham

Very wet blustery weather gave way to sunshine as demonstrators - Birmingham City Council's work force - gathered to protest about the huge cuts - many thousands of pounds that some are facing. Single Status, we thought, was to do with equality. Not so from the point of view of the Tory/Lib-Dem alliance that is now in charge. It's a golden opportunity to restructure, and if you don't like it you'll make yourself redundant. Your jobs will go to those nice folk at Capita.

Between speakers Dave Rogers and a colleague from Banner Theatre gave rousing support. If Councillor Alan Rudge was somewhere in the city shopping he might hear. I've always thought of him as "Cllr Drudge" when I had to sit through long interminable speeches delivered in a monotone which no one understood anyway. Well this is what his policies and imagination look like in reality. The City Council coming out on strike to preserve not only jobs but half-decent services. Here he became known as "Cllr Grudge", a Dickensian figure who while taking £45,000 himself without any assessment wanted to dock others and make them justify any future increment. Victoria Square and Council House had stood still in time, Victorian values intact.

Good to see the Labour opposition out in force in solidarity with Sir Albert Bore in the lead. He was the last speaker with a rallying cry to abandon the scheme. "There are so many anomalies that it can't be sorted. Need to start again." The assembled were pleased to hear this and hoped he would accompany them on the coach to London to persuade Gordon and New Labour to fund single status nation wide. (Birmingham, we are told, is being watched by other authorities. If they push through this travesty here then others will follow, cutting the costs of local government down and down).

Continue reading "Single Status in Birmingham"

Posted by John Tyrrell at 4:29 PM January 12, 2008

Dr Roi Kwabena

I was deeply shocked to read of Roi's death at 51 from cancer. He has been a friend for over 20 years. I first met Roi when I was chair of All Faiths For One Race (AFFOR) in Lozells in the mid eighties. Roi wanted help in publishing materials, one on African Caribbean history, which we did, and a more controversial one on recognising botanical species. I still have the document.

Although Roi had some recognition as Birmingham's Poet Laureate it didn't make him rich, and he found working for departments of the City Council hard work. Not an unfamiliar feeling.

Birmingham has a number of local celebrities - Vanley Burke, Pogus Caesar amongst them, who get grudging recognition here in Birmingham compared with elsewhere.

I think it was just last year that Roi gave an illustrated lecture at the Library Theatre. It did raise controversy with some material which I felt detracted from what he was about and knew from personal experience. He spent time in Nubia which in history was the precursor of Egypt (Kemet). When w elost track of him in Birmingham we found out hat he had been acting as a senator in Trinidad. One of the things Roi always did at the beginning of any sessions he led was to pour a libation (of water) onto the ground. He was deeply attached to his African roots and was able to get us to share that feeling.

Actually you did a lot for Birmingham and education in the City and it should be very grateful. Thank you Roi.

Continue reading " Dr Roi Kwabena"

Posted by John Tyrrell at 7:09 PM January 11, 2008

Alan Johnson upsets Birmingham residents Big Time

Some forty to fifty people turned up at City Hospital today, New Year’s Day, 2008, to make it clear that they were very unhappy with the Secretary of State’s decision to down grade City’s Accident and Emergency Department. After all when this happened to Kidderminster when their A & E went to Worcester resulting in one of the protesters being elected to Parliament.

These protesters are unhappy that Birmingham residents’ views have been discounted by Alan Johnson. They made their feelings known at a public meeting called by the Evening Mail in January, and again several thousand people signed a petition in May. The Trust Board of Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospital remained unimpressed and nodded the plans through. In response Birmingham’s Social Care and Health Scrutiny Committee requested the Secretary of State review the Trust’s decision. Not only did he ignore Birmingham residents, he issued his decision prematurely before Christmas contrary to assurances he had made to Cllr Deirdre Alden that he would make his announcements in the New Year.

Cllr Alden visited the demonstration along with her husband Cllr John Alden. The assembled group chanted “Fight back, not cut back” and spoke to reporters from press, radio and t.v.

City Hospital has already lost services as uncertainty for the future has led to key specialist staff moving elsewhere. The longer term plan is to build a new hospital in the Cape Hill area of Sandwell, not something which Sandwell residents will find attractive either since the existing hospital is in a central location. Two hospitals to close, one to open. This is a hospital closure!

Then there is the financing of the new build. The Private Finance Initiative (PFI) has proved costly elsewhere and hospitals have found themselves going into deficit to meet repayments. Improvements in patient care has become a lesser priority.

The problem for Birmingham people is that they have not had support from their elected representatives. While Khalid Mahmood, MP f or Perry Barr, attended the January meeting when he was asked where he stood on the plans, he replied that he would follow his constituents’ wishes. Residents of Handsworth Wood Ward and Lozells and East Handsworth made it very clear hat they opposed the plan in May. Khalid’s response to Alan Johnson’s announcement is awaited. None of the City Councillors for these wards, all New Labour, has been seen or heard.

Continue reading "Alan Johnson upsets Birmingham residents Big Time"

Posted by John Tyrrell at 9:02 PM January 1, 2008

Sandwell stitches up City hospital

Press Statement
For immediate release

WE WILL CONTINUE THE FIGHT TO SAVE CITY HOSPITAL ACCIDENT AND EMERGENCY WARD IN 2008

Local residents are shocked at the announcement by Health Minister Alan Johnson that he would uphold the decision to close the Accident and Emergency Ward in City Hospital.

How dare Alan Johnson claim “I am satisfied that the proposals are in the interests of the local health services and users."

Let him come to Birmingham and ask the public what we think. The public meeting held by the Evening Mail clearly showed the opinion of the public, as did the thousands of signatures collected against the closure.

One of the campaign organisers, Raghib Ahsan, says “we should be able to expect our Labour government to listen to the people in our area, not turn their backs on us. We will continue to campaign to save the A&E ward.”

Campaigners have called a protest for 2pm on Tuesday 1st January 2008.

Raghib says “we have called the protest on New Year’s day to make it clear we will campaign every day of the year if necessary to stop this closure”.

For more information call
Raghib Ahsan on 07941 284 617
John Tyrrell on 0121 241 7896
Pete Jackson on 07977 057 902

As an early Christmas present Alan Johnson has announced that Birmingham's City Road Hospital's A & E department will move to Sandwell. This is a prelude to the closure of both hospitals to build a new single hospital in Sandwell. Actually it's not likely to please Sandwell constituents either since the proposed site is well away from the centre of the borough.

All this is in spite of public meetings where there has been massive opposition from Birmingham residents and hospital staff. One meeting I went to, when the joint trust board decided on the move, members of the board just sat there without saying anything. It appears to be dominated by Sandwell. And who should come into the room late but Bill Thomas, Leader of Sandwell Council, who turned out to be a board member too. He promptly fell asleep. There is no representative from Birmingham City Council as far as I'm aware. Trying to get information through the "freedom of information" on the trust's website is like trying to get blood out of a stone. Looking for details in the glossy self-congratulatory Annual Report like finding a needle in a haystack. Transparent they're not. This lot are paid, I think it was £5,000 a year last I heard. Doubtless it's gone up by now. I get sweet FA for being a governor of a school which entails far more than sitting in on meetings once or twice a year and dozing. That's New Labour.

There's a group of people here who are influential in New Labour, some of them being members of the notorious "Labour First" that ganged up to support Khalid Mahmood as MP for Perry Barr.
Khalid was at another public meeting organised by Birmingham Post and Mail. He was asked directly what his position was to which he replied "I will do whatever my constituents decide". So what will he do now. Over to you Khalid!

Continue reading "Sandwell stitches up City hospital"

Posted by John Tyrrell at 9:24 AM December 20, 2007

Academies in Birmingham. Who will benefit?

When I tackled the Director of Children's Services, Tony Howell, about Academies in Birmingham he assured us that creationism couldn't creep into the curriculum. He would see to it that couldn't happen. Well, judging by a report in the Birmingham Post (14.12.2007), the King Edward Foundation are looking at one school at least, Sheldon Heath, which they wish to help run.

According to the report "Representatives from King Edward's will sit on the governing board of Sheldon Heath - whose name will change - and have an influence on its curriculum."

Continue reading "Academies in Birmingham. Who will benefit?"

Posted by John Tyrrell at 12:34 PM December 16, 2007

Terrorists don't eat fish and chips - according to Liam Byrne

Liam Byrne has been around making fatuous comments about being British. More crap from New Labour. Our identity according to Byrne is measured on our liking for fish and chip and cups of tea. So if you're "a terrorist" then supposedly you don't like these things.

The facile equation between being "un-British" and involved in dangerous activities likely to cause harm was exposed ages ago. It is very well known that this led to the least suspected - those who had adopted a British way of life - were overlooked as suspects. The case of an off-duty police officer in Muslim dress was the cause of a comment by his colleague when he commented that "he looked like a terrorist". Byrne appears oblivious to the problem.

Continue reading "Terrorists don't eat fish and chips - according to Liam Byrne"

Posted by John Tyrrell at 11:46 AM December 7, 2007

Lords find Labour guilty of racism

Those running the Labour Party in the West Midlands have been ducking and diving for years. They were so sure of themselves they ran their appeal against earlier judgement to the House of Lords. M' Lords have passed judgement today (21/11/2007). The person who has taken them on is Raghib Ahsan. Congratulations Raghib! Justice has been done and seen to be done so the petty officials who have taken the law into their own corrupt hands are exposed. Not that there are likely to be changes. They have presided over postal voting fraud - a case is still pending.

This year the wheeling and dealing continues as the sitting councillor for Handsworth Wood is imposed as a candidate. As last year the Regional Office came up with the offer that if 20% of the eligible membership of the ward wanted a selection then that would happen. The difference this year is that the offer came from the reconstituted Birmingham Labour Party and its secretary Keith Hanson. Yes, but just remember who Keith Hanson is. He's a West Midlands Labour Party paid official, side kick to Ian Reilly. I have told Mr Reilly he should go before for his incompetence. The loss of 6 councillors at one fell swoop, his role in the selection procedures for the Perry Barr MP when postal voting was an issue. Yes Ian knows how it's done and he failed to check it when it went for real in the local elections. But he's still there in his bunker. No one ever sees him, it's Keith who is the fall guy in the front line!

Still it's not my problem now, I'm just sorry for old comrades in the Labour Party who choose to continue to endure their officers' bizarre behaviour promoting the halt, the lame, the no-hopers and worse, the corrupt and crooked.

Raghib hasn't finished with them yet so watch this space.

Continue reading "Lords find Labour guilty of racism"

Posted by John Tyrrell at 12:09 AM November 22, 2007

West Midlands Punjabi-Sikh Community Pay Tribute To Sikh War Veterans at Sikh-Diwali and Remembrance Day Event

from Sundeep Singh, SCYS UK:

More than 200,000 Sikh veterans of World War I and II have been officially recognised by members of the Handsworth community.

The special event was organised by the Sikh Community & Youth Service UK to pay tribute to all the Sikhs involved in world war I and II.

The Sikh Community and Youth Service UK organised the event in Handsworth, Birmingham to coincide with the Sikh-Diwali celebrations.

The ceremony was attended by leading figures from the local Sikh community including,
Deputy Lord Lieutenant of West Midlands - Dr Jagjit Singh Taunque MBE DL, Lord Tarsem Singh King, Magistrate - Satnam Singh Poonia (Sikh Parents Association), Cllr Chaman Lal, Cllr Mohinder Singh Tagger, Honorary Alderman - Gurdev Singh Manku, Barrister - Charnjit Singh Jutla, Raghbir Singh Mangat - Akali Dal Party, Former Cllr John Tyrrell - Socialist Labour Party, Mick Archer - Secretary Handsworth Wood Ward Labour Party, Ranjit Singh Randhawa - General Secretary Akali Dal Jalandhar, Bhupinder Singh Reyat, Gurdeep Singh Mann, Harjit Singh, Balbir Singh Dhesi – Former Magistrate, Chan Boparai - Ravidass Gurdwara, Inder Singh Sohal – Dasmesh Sikh Temple, Major Khella, Mrs Virdi, Mrs Matharu, Mrs Khella and Amardeep Kaur. Members of the West Midlands Co-operative society, Members of the West Midlands Labour Party and Members of the Ramgarhia Gurdwara.

Acclaimed poets and singers from the Punjabi Sikh Community also present at the event included, Ranjit Singh Rana - Sahib Magazine, Tarlochan Singh Chan Jandalvi - Poet, Nirmal Singh Khandalwi, Surinder Singh Shinda, Dev Raj Jassal.

Councillor Surinder Kaur Dhesi - Former Mayor of Banbury, Rajinder Singh Pardesi from Ludhiana Punjab – World Reknowned Poet were presented with a plaque by Dal Singh Dhesy Chairman of Sikh Community & Youth Service UK and prominent figure from the Sikh community in recognition of their contribution to the Punjabi-Sikh community.

Sikh Community and Youth Service UK Chairman Dal Singh Dhesy said: “The Sikh contribution and involvement in the war is often overlooked. “This event will serve as an important and poignant reminder to today’s generation of the sacrifice our forefathers made while fighting for Britain. The contribution of over 200,000 Sikh Servicemen in World War 1 and 2 and the various other wars that the Sikh servicemen have served in should be covered in the National curriculum to ensure that the younger generations both Sikh and wider communities are aware of the sacrifices made by the Sikh people”

Sikh Community & Youth Service UK is a ‘one stop’ advice, training and development centre which has been established for over 30 years and been providing specialist support to the local community. The project is presently funded to provide a number of key services linked to employment, housing, welfare, education and health.

Continue reading "West Midlands Punjabi-Sikh Community Pay Tribute To Sikh War Veterans at Sikh-Diwali and Remembrance Day Event"

Posted by John Tyrrell at 7:51 PM November 13, 2007

Ray Holtom

Ray Holtom joined Birmingham City Council the same time as I did in 1995 and I found him to be a staunch upholder of traditional Labour values which he demonstrated to effect when our own New Labour colleagues tried to bring in Housing Stock Transfer. Ray was himself a council house tenant, and it was that group of people who gave a firm "no" to this attempt at privatisation. Due to people like him the attempt failed. I was sad, therefore to note his passing, not in the Post or Mail but in the Stirrer.

Bill Challis and I went over to Weoley Castle to support his election campaign for Labour, and at the same time work against the BNP who were fielding a candidate there. In his disillusion with New Labour Ray joined the Lib Dems. This was difficult to understand when that party went on to prop up the Tories.

Posted by John Tyrrell at 9:57 PM October 2, 2007

Jesse Jackson in Birmingham UK

Jesse Jackson was on target when he visited the Cannon Street Memorial Baptist Church on Soho Road, Handsworth. This is Birmingham UK not Alabama. Other speakers gave a warm up, including Cllr Salma Yaqoob who reminded the audience that when she had questioned the Tory leader, Mike Whitby, about no black cabinet members he had told her to go back to Oldham. She said that there were now two appointed!

Jackson's message was timely. Speaking on the anniversary of the Haitian revolution of 1791 when slaves revolted under the leadership of Toussaint L'Ouverture, Jackson reminded us that slavery wasn't over. If you didn't have access to decent jobs, education, health care etc. then how was freedom a benefit? He reminded the audience that African people had contributed hugely to the economic success of America and European countries yet they had still to reach a point when they got equal reward. This was still a way off at the present rate of progress.

Ken Livingstone gave an apology for slavery happening as Mayor of London following Liverpool's example. Birmingham has yet to think of it so let's put in an apology. As a Birmngham citizen, former Labour Councillor representing a Handsworth ward let me put forward an apology. Birmingham manufactured guns, Birmingham manufactured chains and shackles. Birmingham still does and one of its clients is Guantanamo Bay! Let Mike Whitby repudiate this, let Paul Tilsley repudiate this. Let Albert Bore repudiate this. We are deeply sorry for the centuries of violence, degradation and death inflicted on those taken from their African homes and the exploitation of their labour and resources. In doing so we pledge to build a society based on equality and to right the continuing consequences, the enduring legacy left by slavery.

Continue reading "Jesse Jackson in Birmingham UK"

Posted by John Tyrrell at 4:20 PM August 24, 2007

Oh, by the way....

A piece in the Birmingham Evening Mail (23/8/2007) reported the early release of a violent prisoner fro Winson Green. It's not clear whether it was an error or a case of swapped identity. As an after thought the report mentions casually that two people committed suicide there last weekend.

One of the deceased was an Iranian awaiting sentencing. He was on a charge of "harbouring". Well that's cleared that up then. The other was an Irish national inside for burglary.

Meanwhile Pauline Campbell has had one charge replaced by another because she insists on demonstrating every time a woman dies in the "care" of HMP. If she didn't take the trouble then the cases would pass by unnoticed just as these two men did.

Posted by John Tyrrell at 6:36 PM August 23, 2007

Lots of excitement over transport announcements

There appears to be a lot of excitement at money becoming available for new 100
mph rolling stock on the London Euston Line and for a fleet of new
"super-buses". Problem is both will operated on congested rail and road
networks. By contrast London is granted billions of pounds for the Thameslink
service.

My good friend Cllr Jon Hunt is now leading on buses on the PTA, problem is,
like Khalid Mahmood MP he hates the tram. OK, but neither has any other
modernisation idea to put forward as far as I can see. I've asked them enough times. Perhaps it's these gentlemen who are responsible for beginning to paint the trams in outrageous colours!

I use the number 11, a show case route. It now has real time information at
stops. Piy about the buses though. Today I saw that the next bus was due in 7
minutes, but so was the following one. The next one was 28 minutes. The times of
the first two eventually reduced to 6 minutes only to revert to 7! They stayed
at that while the 3rd bus reduced to 18 minutes. Were the others going backwards.

There is, of course a real problem on the number 11 route which the former
administration were tackling by improving junctions and introducing bus lanes.
Len Gregory, in control(?) for 3 years now seems to have taken things backwards,
like the no. 11 bus with closure of lanes. Improvements proposed 4 years ago
such as the Perry Barr underpass have vanished apparently. Menawhile congestion
increases apace.

I like using the tram for all the reasons I dislike the bus. It doesn't get held
up and is usually more reliable. I say "usually" because that service seems to
be falling into disrepair. Most of the station real time indicators don't work,
and on the trams the information system is not operating. It's not so bad if
it's switched off but sometimes it gives the wrong information.

Continue reading "Lots of excitement over transport announcements"

Posted by John Tyrrell at 6:27 PM August 17, 2007

The Birmingham Carnival

The sun shone and everyone was out to enjoy the Birmingham Carnival with its spectacular costumes, many designed by Professor Black who has worked on the event for many years now. We watched as the the floats and dancers passed by Chris Khamis and Brenda Addison's house on Church Lane. There a stall had been set out to give prominence to the Palestinian struggle for freedom of oppression which carnival too represents,

This year the procession started in Handsworth Park instead of Holyhead Road which made the rout rather shorter than usual. Handsworth Park used to be the venue but after objections from the police the event moved to Perry Park.

Posted by John Tyrrell at 10:09 PM August 7, 2007

Getting about, or not

On the one hand we are panic stricken over carbon emissions and their effect on global warning, on the other we appear to be pussy footing about any real challenge to clogged up roads for getting about. Clearly more and more people are using the train and probably a lot more want to. So is putting up fares for rail users going to help?

Here in Birmingham we are still waiting with bated breath about an announcement about New Street Station (£350 million, no hang on that's a porkie, the government are offering £128 million) which has become hideously overcrowded. But it seems like we are going cap in hand to the minister for a titbit when what is needed is an expanded national service, one that gives people a choice not only of not using the car but one where you don't have to get on a plane to get into Europe. Now you can only do that in London and the South-east and once more Thames-link (£5.5 billion upgrade) appears to be putting that region at the front of the queue.

A news station at New Street will be a breath of fresh air (literally) for passengers but it doesn't do much for a clogged up system which doesn't have too much room to manoeuvre. Two tracks between Coventry and Wolverhampton taking high speed intercity, local traffic and freight.

Can we afford a decent transport infrastructure that moves away from dependence on roads. Can we afford not to as we build more and more roads akin to car parks.

Continue reading "Getting about, or not"

Posted by John Tyrrell at 8:32 AM July 25, 2007

Handsworth Conversations

3 Minute Wonder grabbed me this week. It featured the work of Vanley Burke, photographer, who has documented the social scene over 40 years. It is now featured in Tate Britain.

Earlier I portrayed Handsworth as an artistic incubator. I have known Vanley for many years and used some of his photographs in schools. They convey an insight into the community in an extraordinary way, and it is just and good that his work should feature nationally and internationally. Vanley remains a modest man attached to the community and alive to social division and exclusion. His work should be known since it offers an education and deep understanding of a dynamic and vibrant society.

Posted by John Tyrrell at 8:02 PM June 21, 2007

Viscious attack on prominent Sikh family

While a demonstration had been promised outside a Birmingham Gurdwara because of a marriage between a Sikh woman and Muslim man, the matter took a serious and more violent form of protest. The perpetrators would appear to be against the Sikh religion rather than upholders of a faith which has proud traditions. Early in the morning someone set light to three cars in the driveway of Jarnail Singh Bhogal at the family home in Handsworth Wood.

It has not been established who perpetrated this criminal act, but the sooner they are brought to justice the better it will be for all of us.

It appears that the bridegroom accepted Sikh values, so precisely what the problem is for the protesters I fail to see. Any excuse for gratuitous violence seems the only answer.

Posted by John Tyrrell at 6:30 PM June 20, 2007

Inter-faith union

A young couple recently married with the blessing of one of the Gurdwaras in Birmingham. The unusual thing about the occasion is that the bridegroom was Muslim. One would have thought that this was an occasion to rejoice as an expression of moving on from a chapter of history of bitter division between religious faiths.

Unfortunately the hate brigade have entered the arena pointing out how it offends Sikhism. So Sikhism has its own home grown fundamentalists.. In this years Vaisakhi celebrations in Handsworth Park a group of the self-appointed turned up with unsheathed swords and committed serious acts of violence against people taking part in the celebrations. There were serious injuries. Another group damaged Birmingham Repertory Theatre when a play with views they did not like about aspects of their culture was staged. Its author received death threats. Again in the recent local elections members of three Gurdwaras were expected to show their allegiance to their faith by voting for a Sikh candidate irrespective of his track record and political views.

Continue reading "Inter-faith union"

Posted by John Tyrrell at 9:27 AM June 17, 2007

A gem on the high street

Imagine Cafe can be found on Harborne High Street in Harborne in Birmingham U.K.. It is a Japanese restaurant and something of a rarity run by local people. As an article in the Birmingham Post on 3rd February 2007 pointed out it is extremely difficult for individual enterprises to continue on the high street given the prohibitive rates charged by the City Council. Long established and traditional businesses have either gone, or are struggling to survive.

Go to high streets in towns and cities up and down the country and you'll find the same chain stores selling the same merchandise. To find a local business selling something different can be a pleasant and exciting experience. This used to be the case in central Brum. I used to spend time in Vincent's in Needless Alley browsing through racks of recordings, many rare and unusual, while a few doors away my wife found a large stock of needle craft materials. While the Bullring Shopping Centre can be proclaimed as a major success for drawing shoppers internationally it does not have local produce apparent. Thankfully the Farmers' Markets still appear in New Street and in Kings Norton.

Some progressive local authorities recognise the importance of keeping local concerns thriving and apply differential charges for this purpose. Birmingham City Council's Tory/Lib-Dem alliance describe themselves as such, but when the idea was run past the leader, Mike Whitby, he just said he would give it some thought. Better be quick Mike before things disappear for good!

Continue reading "A gem on the high street"

Posted by John Tyrrell at 6:18 PM May 28, 2007

City Hospital plans remain

At this afternoon's meeting of the Sandwell and Hospital Trust a presentation was given on the findings following consultation. The written comments were from a very small sample with many more women than men responding. Older people were more likely to respond than the young, and, most worrying, the majority who responded were white British. This indicates that the Trust has failed to connect with large sections of our diverse community whose health needs are so great.

The composition of the Trust Board seems odd too. Its chair is a Sandwell Councillor, and later the Leader of Sandwell Council arrived to take his seat on the board. He appeared to sleep through most of the proceedings. This means that there appears to be little representation of Birmingham. Sandwell will end up with a brand new hospital while Birmingham's will close.

My point that this is a hospital closure was confirmed by the chair who felt that having new facilities and closing down 150 year old buildings justified this. One speaker confirmed that a number of specialisms had already gone to University and Heartland Hospitals. Health is now like virtually everything else part of a competitive culture rather than one based on need.

Continue reading "City Hospital plans remain"

Posted by John Tyrrell at 9:42 PM May 10, 2007 | Comments (2)

The end of the campaign

Got to bed last night aching badly. First the leafleting, then the door knocking to bring out the promised votes, and finally the count. This time it was at the Handsworth Leisure Centre where three counts went on simultaneously. Half past twelve and we were still waiting for an announcement. The untried computers had failed to verify the postal votes in the stepped up battle to prevent fraudulent voting.

It was clear when we left before the declaration that Labour and the Tories were battling it out in Handsworth Wood with Labour slightly ahead. The postal vote could be decisive.

During the day there the Tories had been in evidence. They were quite friendly though since it was clear to them that it was in their interest for us to do well! Opposite where we had our HQ we could see our own supporters joined by a Tory brigade. In the morning there were women who had come along in a Mercedes, but in the afternoon they were joined by a rowdy bunch of youths who yelled at people to support the Sikh candidate, not he white man. The police turned up in some force clearly not wanting a re-run of the violence which had erupted in Handsworth Park a couple of weeks ago. Among those who appeared was Sewa Singh Mandla. He is, or has been, President of the Sikh Gurdwaras in Birmingham, and was present at the selection meetings of Handsworth Wood Labour Party on two occasions when I stood. The first time I beat Arjan (Parmjit) Singh, while on the second when all candidates were up Parmjit won bringing with him Gurdial Singh Atwal and Paulette Hamilton. They both owe Parmjit and Sewa Singh their good fortune. Since Mandla is (or was) a member of the Labour Party it was interesting to see him in the line up of Tories yesterday (3/4/2007)

We have an interesting document in our hands suggesting that at least three Gurdwara council members instructed their members to support the Sikh (Tory on this occasion) candidate. This is clearly what happened. A former teaching colleague and (I thought) friend of mine turned up with a slip urging those turning up to vote for number 5, Mr Singh.

Many in the Sikh community are less than happy that the Gurdwara is being used for political purposes. Presumably they have charitable status and so the Charities Commission will have something to say about this abuse. Corruption it is, and it needs exposing for the good of us all.

Posted by John Tyrrell at 11:02 AM May 4, 2007

The state of things

I have not represented the area which is now Handsworth Wood Ward for three years now. Visiting some areas where I haven't been since brought a great shock . One area, known as the Leverretts, was affected by a grass fire in the surrounding Sandwell Valley just over a year ago now. One house I visited was open to all comers. The fence had not been replaced, and others had taken advantage of the dereliction by dumping. Evidently the Council had promised to dig a trench as a fire break. But there are other open areas where people come into the estate and leave all sorts of debris behind. I have alerted Cabinet Member for Housing, Councillor John Lines. We used to do a lot of work here and helped residents get rid of asbestos. I had a very warm welcome.

At the New Inns, populate by African Caribbeans after a Housing Association associated with the churches developed the site. "We are forgotten about" complained a resident pointing out rat holes as evidence of infestation. I got on the phone to Environmental Services there and then. These are not the only places who say they never see a councillor.

Continue reading "The state of things"

Posted by John Tyrrell at 12:39 PM May 2, 2007

Violence in the park

The Vaisakhi Festivities are celebrated annually in Handsworth Park. This year was no exception when many hundreds turned up to enjoy good food, the fun fair and gather socially. Unfortunately one or two others had different ideas coming into the park brandishing a range of potentially lethal weapons including an unsheathed three foot sword. It's generally held that the Sikhs are peace loving upholders of peace and justice following the teachings of their founder Guru Nanak.

A few years ago I and a Sikh friend went to the aid of two prominent Sikhs who were beaten in a local Gurdwara in Handsworth. I heard that some unsavoury characters were terrorising people here and in a Smethwick Gurdwara. We called a meeting with the police and asked them to follow the assaults up. My friend knew a lot more about the individuals concerned and said they were running their campaign across the country. It was said that drugs were involved. The police I have to say were very hesitant to take action.

On Sunday the man who entered the park openly brandishing the sword was arrested, bu amazingly was soon released!. The original incident sparked a number of others which continued on the streets after the park was closed early.

I was looking forward to attending a celebration of Anglo-Sikh relations this Saturday but due to the tensions which have arisen within the Sikh Community this has been put off following advice from the police. The organisers, who have put in much hard work for this, have readily acceded in the circumstances.

Continue reading "Violence in the park"

Posted by John Tyrrell at 4:10 PM April 25, 2007

Bye bye New Labour

I've decided. I'm leaving New Labour. No longer will I have to worry about the paid officers who now dominate the party, paid they think to keep the lowly members in order. I've been a member of a vibrant branch of good comrades with progressive views. Ward boundary changes put paid to all that and I still believe that it was politically motivated. There can be no other explanation for the boundary being driven right through the heart of the ward, Rookery Road. Rick Hatcher was a member who left some time ago now. Rick is well respected for his writings on education with trenchant criticism of New Labour and elitist academies arguing that all schools should be good.. Simon Warren is another well know name who has gone. He research and co-authored a well-respected report on black children's education. Then there was Raghib Ahsan who fought a heroic battle against racism in the Labour Party. This has still to run its course since Raghib came out on top, but it is being challenged and with end up in the House of Lords. Raghib is a candidate in the local election standing for Respect which now has two councillors in Birmingham. I wish him well. There were many other notable people, some who had been members for half a century. They left without comment. Not a care in the world. New Labour you can't touch it, yet again and again there are disastrous consequences for the arrogance of those holding power in its name.

I'm not advocating a return to the past, but I first became involved in Labour Party politics in the 1960's and worked in Cheltenham. In one area I knocked on the door answered by a lady who left the politics to her husband. "I don't believe in those suffragettes" she says. That was 1964. I went to a meeting in Bristol where Harold Wilson was speaking. None of the stage managed presentations there. Wilson was heckled and expected to be. Walter Wolfgang wouldn't have had any trouble here. Anyway I've left - and I feel an enormous weight lifted off my shoulders.

Here's my letter of resignation:

Continue reading "Bye bye New Labour"

Posted by John Tyrrell at 7:09 PM April 1, 2007 | Comments (3)

Letters to the W.M. Labour Party - ignored

These letters were sent as e-mails to the Regional Office of the West Midlands Labour Party. Like others commenting on their strange behaviour they were ignored!

4/2/2007
Keith, You'll find the majority of members very unhappy with the imposition of a
candidate. There is no need, so why do outsiders want to interfere with the
ward? A pro forma. Yes. The Regional Office should have put out a simple yes/no
reply slip. You didn't so we did. Paulette is a good candidate, but she will not
gain support by acting this way. I am aware there is one person who felt misled
by being approached, but I'm not aware of any others. Most people want to see
democracy at work within the Labour Party.

I understand that it was decided to count all members of the Ward not just those
eligible to vote. That's a nonsense. I think there are things here which can be
challenged.

No meeting in January. Not only do we have an imposition, we are not even told
what is happening. We don't get a chance to choose delegates for the Birmingham
Labour Party which some of us campaigned for. Maybe it's time to go back to the
press! Tariq told me he cancelled because he wasn't getting support to deliver
agendas. I was told I was to blame for not supplying the minutes, which is
untrue. They went to the secretary, who never turns up at meetings.

I understand under current legislation I can ask for a membership list. If that
is so I'd like it.

Sincerely, John

23/2/2007
Keith,

I don't know if you have got the message yet that members of this ward are
extremely angry at the discourteous way they are treated. A decision was taken
but no notification, or even ratification requested. Members are beneath
contempt in the view of the Regional Office. I was unable to attend this
evenings meeting since I was working. I now hear that it was an "informal
meeting". The calling notice said nothing about that. At an earlier meeting it
was announced by the MP that it was the first proper meeting after being set up
buy the Constituency. I took minutes in the absence (again) of the secretary.

I think people made it abundantly clear that an imposed candidate will not get
support in a campaign. The view is "let the Birmingham Labour Party fight the
campaign" if they wish to decide who represents the ward.

The Region decided 20% of the membership could call for a selection. Again a
decision was made that a proportion wasn't eligible even though vaild signatures
were presented. This would not stand up in a court of law.

If you don't do something about the matter now there will be significant action.
Members are furious: many more than those who showed their feelings at tonight's
meeting. I think our MP got the message at least.

Fraternally,

John

Posted by John Tyrrell at 11:56 AM April 1, 2007

No discipline for officers in Mikey Powell case

No discipline for officers in Mikey Powell case
Family's comments to follow...

Source: IPCC

The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) has confirmed that none of the West Midlands police officers acquitted of criminal offences following the death of Michael Powell, 38, in police custody on 7 September 2003 are to face disciplinary charges. The IPCC has criticised important aspects of the police handling of the incident leading to Powell's death, which started when Mrs Clarissa Powell, his mother, called for police assistance at her home, and urged the force to ensure that key lessons are fully implemented.

Ten officers faced a range of charges covering dangerous driving, assault and misconduct in a public office at Leicester Crown Court last July and in August all ten were acquitted. The majority of charges were dismissed as 'no case to answer' on the direction of the judge when he disallowed crucial prosecution evidence of the transcript from the custody CCTV audio as being unsafe to rely upon because of its extremely poor quality.

Commenting on his decision IPCC Commissioner for the West Midlands region John Crawley said; "This has been a very lengthy and deeply painful experience for all involved. Having had responsibility for this case for some three years now, with extensive contact with the family of Michael Powell, I am only too well aware of the gravity of the matters at stake, the suffering of Michael's family and the dignified endurance and unfailing courtesy of the family as a too lengthy process has unfolded. Their sense of loss is as acute today as the day Michael died.

"I am also conscious that for the officers involved, all of them suspended for a very long time, followed by a lengthy criminal trial, this has been a deeply traumatic time. "The evidence for any misconduct (discipline) hearing would be essentially the same as that considered at the trial, and I have examined the findings and outcome of the trial very carefully indeed. I am satisfied that in this particular case - and given the weaknesses in the evidence against the officers that the rigour of the criminal process exposed - their acquittals should suffice in terms of the formal accountability properly expected from these police officers.

"I am confident that the leadership of the force is committed to learning and change from the important lessons that this case has identified. Central to this is the challenge of demonstrating real progress in better management of serious incidents where mental ill health is likely to be a key factor. The force has done much over the last two years to improve its formal policies and procedures; now it needs to be able to highlight the better results on the ground, including improved training of officers.

"This case also demonstrates - and it is by no means an isolated example in this regard - that there is also much scope for improved supervision of front line officers by their supervisors when they are involved in an escalating incident to ensure that all sources of available information - including crucially from family members - are identified and the right questions asked before critical decisions are taken.

"Finally, I cannot stress too highly the importance the IPCC attaches to proper investment in high quality CCTV systems in all police custody suites - an essential protection for officers as well as detainees, as this case has so unhappily revealed.

We live in a time when CCTV is very widely deployed - and assumed to be - as a crucial source of evidence and protection in public open spaces. We still have too many custody suites, where people are detained, where there is no - or seriously inadequate - CCTV; the public will not understand why this continues to be the case. The IPCC is committed to pursuing this issue to achieve national standards of coverage and quality."

-ends-

Continue reading "No discipline for officers in Mikey Powell case"

Posted by John Tyrrell at 9:52 AM March 31, 2007

So what's the point in being a member of the Labour Party?

It's the paid officers who now decide who will be a candidate at local and national elections. And look at the crap they've served up! Sandwell Ward used to be a place where you could have lively debate, have speakers, affiliate to radical organisations and invite dynamic speakers. Now we've had our balls cut off. Meetings are now informal until after the elections. So what's the point? Paid officers presumable are paid by our subscriptions, so that's all right then, we can pay our money over - now £36 per annum and keep quiet.

I was watching Question Time on Iraq last night and Des Browne was the government spokesperson. John Bolton was on line from America and the two did a double act. A far right - as far as you can get - mouthpiece of the discredited Bush administration and his poodle. Tony Benn spoke eloquently and passionately but all Bolton could do was dismiss his arguments with "Mr Benn is not worth replying to."

Posted by John Tyrrell at 2:58 PM March 23, 2007

The Officers of The Birmingham Labour Party have nothing to add to the statement.

Keith Hanson kindly sent me this exchange (not) explaining why the Labour candidate for Handsworth Wood is being imposed. Members were sent a letter by Keith saying that if 20% wanted a selection then that would happen. Around 80 out of 130 eligible said they did. Now the Birmingham Labour Party, no doubt egged on by Keith, says they can't do what the members asked. The argument is becoming complicated and taking on an ethnic dimension. It is really quite simple: that party members do not expect there to be impositions unless there is an urgent need to do so. The sitting councillor has been in place for three years and has been quite happy to go on without ward meetings over this period. Formerly councillors reported back to members at monthly meetings.Handsworth Wood Ward members were told by Keith, who was present at the last meeting (I wasn't) that all ward meetings were informal until after the May elections, so it is impossible to conduct business like introducing resolutions etc! There's democracy for you: Here we go....

"The Officers of The Birmingham Labour Party have nothing to add to the statement."

Keith Hanson,
Regional Officer,
West MIdlands Region,
Labour Party.

Continue reading "The Officers of The Birmingham Labour Party have nothing to add to the statement."

Posted by John Tyrrell at 12:28 PM March 22, 2007

Birmingham Stop the War Coalition

Press Release: For immediate release 0030 hrs Tuesday 27th February
STANDING ROOM ONLY AS GEORGE GALLOWAY MP LAYS INTO BUSH AND BLAIR’S WAR CRIMES

There was standing room only at the Birmingham Stop the War Coalition AGM with George Galloway MP on Monday night (26/02/07). The meeting elected a broad range of people from Roger McKenzie of Midlands TUC to former Labour Councillor John Tyrrell and RESPECT Councillor Salma Yaqoob to help lead Birmingham’s large anti-war movement.

George Galloway gave a powerful analysis on the disasters that are the wars on Iraq and Afghanistan. This is what Galloway cited as the main points from the meeting:

"The world's mightiest superpower, poodle in tow, is being humbled by the weight of populations that refuse to be occupied. But rather than remove our sons and daughters from the death and destruction of war, Blair chooses to take our youth, conscripted by high unemployment and low wages, and shift them from one illegal, immoral, unwinnable conflict in Iraq to another illegal, immoral, unwinnable conflict in Afghanistan.

“Bush and Blair know they are beaten. Yet just like the Vietnam war, when the US chose to spread the killing to Cambodia before eventually scrambling defeated off embassy roofs, so today they stoke up the flames of fury by preparing for aerial war in Iran. But I warn them this: the brutal flames of war will not just be felt in Tehran. The safest option for all is that our troops leave Iraq and Afghanistan now in order to let the people of these countries decide their futures.

“I, and everyone at the impressively large meeting of Birmingham Stop the War Coalition call on the vocal majority that is against the war to continue winning the arguments. We demand that all Birmingham MPs and Councillors oppose existing and further wars. For some, we will have to find their backbone by hounding them into representing the views of their voters rather than their careers. The size of our movement gives us the chance, and responsibility, of preventing greater carnage committed in our name."

Continue reading "Birmingham Stop the War Coalition"

Posted by John Tyrrell at 8:57 AM February 28, 2007

Candidates from nowhere: the Ladywood honey pot

One thing about New Labour is that it will pluck prospective candidates from anywhere. excepting, that is, anyone who might have a whiff of adherence to Labour tradition and its founding values. Well, you might say, we live in a different world where things have changed. Too right they have. We find ourselves bottom of the pile in such fundamental matters as looking after and rearing our young. Mr Reid trumpets "two new prisons", a symbol of failure if ever there was one. The two are not unconnected. If we can't even look after our children what hope is there? Under New Labour baby went out with the bath water.

Now that Clare Short has decided to abandon Ladywood the line up of prospectives to plug the gap looks formidable. There's a former Conservative candidate and whole range of hopeful City Councillors some of whom have only recently waltzed onto the scene who should have a health warning attached.

Continue reading "Candidates from nowhere: the Ladywood honey pot"

Posted by John Tyrrell at 10:24 AM February 17, 2007

Robocop comes to town

Last night (14/2/2007) Ray Mallon aka Robocop, aka Elected Mayor of Middlesbrough,came to say what a good job he was doing as mayor. He was a salesman he said without the self interest of "two-bit" politicians so he was able to put Middlebrough's case without fear or favour. Corruption had been the name of the game before he came on the scene and he was there to see it stamped out. Opposing the idea of the elected mayor, Khalid Mahmood asserted that a considerable number of elected mayors in the U.S. were either in jail or under investigation. Ray made it clear that he was above suspicion.

Just as a taste what life might be like if your are on the Cabinet under Ray, Stewart Stacey sitting next to me got a lashing from him. "It's very rude to be reading the Evening Mail while I'm talking" he barked. Stewart pointed out that far from ignoring him he was writing notes about what was being said!

I asked how such matters as the Unicef' report on the state of British children would be addressed by going further down the route of individualism. This has been one of the things cited as a reason for the state of affairs. I also ventured that I was glad he wasn't Birmingham's elected mayor. Mr Mallon pointed out that I didn't know him and the the press had played up the idea of "zero tolerance" without looking at other aspects of his leadership. Chris Game, sitting next to Khalid Mahmood, so I thought he was opposing, thought my view "simplistic". He pointed to elected mayors in places like Holland with the highest standard of child care in the report. To me the consequence of tackling crime head on had lead to overcrowded jails filled with people many of whom have a mental illness. There has been a high suicide rate not least among vulnerable women. Ray pointed out that he visited primary schools regularly.

Continue reading "Robocop comes to town"

Posted by John Tyrrell at 4:04 PM February 15, 2007

Backing away from sustainability

As Cabinet Member for Transportation in Birmingham from 2003-4 I was challenged to introduce charging for entering the city centre. I resisted because of the poor provision of public transport in Birmingham and the region, not because I am opposed to doing something drastic to combat congestion and pollution. I did support the development of the Midlands Metro, bus lanes, park and ride, cycling routes and any way to improve the quality of transport and the environment. Clearly though a sustainable future requires something much more fundamental than tinkering at the edges. Even so I was branded by the motoring lobby as anti-car. Some of these people are fanatical in their insistence on living for the present, damn the consequences of continued gridlock now and much worse for our children in the future. Anyone who dare support improvement for the public transport system can depend on them for venting their wrath. They must be pleased with the current post holder who succeeded me, "Gridlock" Gregory, who has done is best to put to reverse what was done by the Labour Council and the Passenger Transport Authority. Bus usage continues to decline apace and there are no alternatives while Metro developments are in limbo.

The strong lobby of motorists opposing road charges threatens the agenda to seriously combat the effects of pollution on the climate, which we're are continually told are potentially catastrophic.

Continue reading "Backing away from sustainability"

Posted by John Tyrrell at 9:48 AM February 13, 2007

Stop the War meeting in Handsworth

Last night (31/1/2007) we held a meeting organised by the Stop the War Campaign in Birmingham and which I was invited to chair. Forty to fifty people came along to the newly built Laurel Road Centre, once the local HQ of the Sandwell Ward Labour Party. Those who came together were at one times comrades in the Labour Party but now had gone to the four winds. Respect, Socialist Labour, Socialist Alliance as well as Labour and probably others - it would be a considerable force if all came together.

Walter Wolfgang from Labour's National Executive was the main speaker. It's not too usual to see someone with universal respect within Labour these days. Phil Murphy, now Honary Alderman, and my former comrade as Sandwell Ward Councillor kicked off with a philosophical and historical perspective citing Marx's comment on the failure to learn from history with Iraq the new Vietnam. Helen Salmon represented the Stop the War Campaign in place of another indisposed speaker. Yet another contributor was missing only to turn up at the end of the proceedings. Asad Baig had been giving an interview to the BBC on the day's events in Birmingham telling us that a ninth person had been arrested on the motorway. Asad is a resident of Alum Rock and a leading figure in resitance to terror raids. He asked those present for solidarity with Moslems who badly need moral support given the attention anyone who wears a beard or Islamic dress gets.

Walter Wolfgang addressed Iraq and Trident. While there are many reasons for not having a new generation of nuclear weapons he was deeply concerned at their proliferation and saw the need for Hans Blix' proposal for a global summit. He saw the situation as more dangerous than it was during the cold war when at least both sides recognised each others position. Now the situation could easily run out of control. Another generation of nuclear weapons wil do nothing to ease the situation, rather it will encourage others to act in the same way.

Walter Wolfgang said that the continuing presence of foreigners in Iraq made the chance of anyone making a compromise to scale down violence wa less likely. There were in the order of 650,000 Iraqis dead, but there were no official body counts which was itself scandalous.

Continue reading "Stop the War meeting in Handsworth"

Posted by John Tyrrell at 8:43 PM February 1, 2007

Black Patch Park

Black Patch Park is another example of green space up for grabs for development. It is within Sandwell Metropolitan District an the border with Birmingham's Soho Ward. As this name implies it is an area of historic significance including Matthew Boulton's foundry.

The name Black Patch has associations with the travelling community. I am a governor at nearby Foundry School where I also taught. Many children who came there were the children of travellers.

Sandwell Council sees the area ripe for development since the Metro between Wolverhampton and Birmingham runs nearby. The tram line runs along the route of the former railway so at present it is away from the main centre, the Soho and Holyhead Roads, since using the existing infrastructure reduced costs considerably.

Continue reading "Black Patch Park"

Posted by John Tyrrell at 9:22 AM January 25, 2007

Victoria Jubilee Allotments, Handsworth: Update

Simon Baddeley sent me a report of his recent visit to this site for which he and others campaigned to save the allotments. It has links to some excellent photographs, an important addition to local archives.

Dear John

The Evening Mail decided there was a story here and sent a photographer
called Fin round to go with me on to the VJA site. With permission from the
site manager we got access beyond the houses to the green space reserved as
a result of the Section 106A with the developer. See the plan.

I was agreeably surprised to see that the playing field area has already been
levelled off and grassed and looks like a good big area in the heart of
Handsworth well able to support two soccer pitches and a cricket pitch and
the planned sports pavilion. The grass looks green and healthy. The
allotment site is lying fallow all ready to be laid out according to the
detailed plan and slopes gently down towards the park with the houses not
too obtrusive to the east behind a retained hedgerow and built on lowered
ground so that from the allotments you see top windows and roofs. This will
provide security without having houses overhanging the plots or playing
fields. It seems clear to me that a lot of thought has gone into the lay
out of the site and I find the new houses attractive of not adventurous.
They don’t look like ticky tack for a start and they vary in size and style
though in a Victorian and Edwardian vernacular.

The reason I say I was agreeably surprised was that I didn’t expect the
land, currently surrounded by a high steel fence (but accessed with
permission from the site manager), to have been graded out to this extent
already. The playing fields look as if all they need are goal posts, or a
wicket, and the markings on the ground. I realise it’s more complex than
that and there will be issues of access. There must be paths and the
changing facility and no doubt other things like lighting and so on. The
same goes for the allotments. You could actually start a plot there now if
you were allowed, but also there need to be paths, access from park or road
and the promised gardeners store room and some parking spaces. This takes
time but at least the ground is prepared and reserved.

So when does it begin. The area badly needs playing fields and there is
enthusiasm for allotments – in this case – in a really wonderful site. OK
it’s gradually north sloping but I know from past experience how much sun
gets to this area and it’s secured to the west by the railway, to the east
by the new houses and its overlooked from the playing fields and the park
which gives the allotment site itself lovely prospects. There’s loads of
hedgerow and shrubbery on the west and south edges. Please let’s get digging
ASAP – on the largest new allotment site to be made available since WW2 and
its so close to the centre of Birmingham.

Best

Simon

Simon Baddeley
Handsworth Allotments Information Group

Continue reading "Victoria Jubilee Allotments, Handsworth: Update"

Posted by John Tyrrell at 9:36 AM January 24, 2007

Hospital proposals in Birmingham

City Road Hospital in Birmingham and Sandwell Hospital have already joined together within the Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospital Trust, Now there are radical plans to rationalise services in the mid term with plans to build a new hospital on a new site in Sandwell between the two in the longer term. The Trust has embarked on a series of consultation meetings, although the impression left is that decisions have already been made.

The Birmingham Evening Mail set up a meeting at the Afro-Caribbean Millenium Centre last night (16/1/2007) with the difference that there were two panels with opposing views. About 200 people attended and most were unconvinced by the Chief Executive's explanation. It appears that this is a top down exercise.

Some of those who worked at the hospitals, particularly the nearby City Hospital in Dudley Road, were critical of services which had already been cut. Facilities for children and young people have disappeared. Recent job losses have left people demoralised. Having waited in A and E for four hours for a young person to be admitted I had to wonder what was going on, particularly when the sign board was saying that waiting was due to a shortage of staff. The presentation announced the building of new up-to-date facilities (no dissent on that) but there appeared to be uncertainty of what could be provided given the budget available.

Continue reading "Hospital proposals in Birmingham"

Posted by John Tyrrell at 7:10 PM January 17, 2007

An Eid Party

Last night I attended an Eid Party at the Fulham Road Mosque in the Sparkhill district of Birmingham. I met old friends, including a respected teacher who was a former colleague. Lord Ahmed was the Guest of Honour. At the last celebration Lynne Jones M.P. and Roger Godsiff M.P. attended. Last night the newly appointed Bishop of Birmingham was unable to attend but sent his representative. The main thrust of the evening was interfaith dialogue between Muslims and Christians. A local head teacher brought some children from a local primary school who sang some devotional songs.

One speaker happened to mention that Channel 4 had been around and the Fulham Road Mosque was to be one of the subjects of its Dispatches programme on Monday evening (15/1/2006). I don't know everyone there, but I did speak to some who were members of the Mosque. One was a businessman who had been working in the area for many years and declared that all he was interested in was being able to practice the faith that helped his everyday life.

So was this a hotbed of "terrorism" to which I had come? The term, although quite unspecific in its meaning, can be turned to mean virtually anything that journalists or politicians want it to mean. It has a purpose of inducing an irrational fear of a supposed threat. Al Qaeda undoubtedly exists, but whether it did as a significant force before it was constructed for political reasons is very doubtful. Now there is a danger of it becoming a synonym for a group of people who are extremely vulnerable in our society.

While Bush and Blair are said to be isolated, they still wield power. Substantial power judging by the fact that Bush is able to dictate the sending of extra troops to Iraq, to threaten Iran and at the same time bomb Somalia. Oxfam claim that many tribespeople have lost their lives. There is yet to be evidence presented that the al Qaeda people targeted were killed.

Continue reading "An Eid Party"

Posted by John Tyrrell at 11:11 AM January 14, 2007

Labour: the Leadership

John MacDonnell finally managed to get to Birmingham yesterday (4/1/2007) when he spoke at a meeting organised by BTUC. He appealed for a party which was a coalition of more than one faction, a situation which had come about under New Labour engineered by Blair, Mandelson and Brown and underlined in John Reid's speech. John Smith had put into practice appointing a Cabinet from a wide coalition. (I believe though that he didn't have too much time for the likes of Mandelson).

As with us in Birmingham, John MacDonnell worked tirelessly against the Thatcher Tory government, but it wasn't to see endless privatisation or reckless foreign policy. He acknowledged Blair was now saying we needed a broad coalition, but that was far from what he was practising. He saw an irony in the misadventure of Iraq, which was likely to be Blair's legacy, instead of recognising the effort he had made in Northern Ireland to bring about a settlement there.

Questions were asked about Labour Party membership, which has declined sharply. Instead of branches functioning with members providing resolutions to conference, they were lectured on what to do and say. At party conference members were given texts to read out - they acted in a way that "even Stalin would have been embarrassed!"

Continue reading "Labour: the Leadership"

Posted by John Tyrrell at 9:52 AM January 5, 2007

Seasons Greetings from Handsworth

If recently Handsworth, Birmingham UK, has been associated with unrest and intercommunal strife, perhaps the following link will restore a balanced view. Simon Baddeley sent me Christmas greetings with this link.

St Mary's Church can still be seen in a nidyllic setting from the recently restored Handsworth Park. Simon has written histories of both, and he frequently gives on site tours for those interested. The associations with Boulton and Watt are part of our nation's history which had a profound influence worldwide.

Two people at least have proudly taken Handsworth into their titles as peers of the realm: the former Conservative MP for Handsworth, Sir Edward (Lord) Boyle and now Bill (Lord) Morris, just one of the many famous people who had their origins here.

Continue reading "Seasons Greetings from Handsworth"

Posted by John Tyrrell at 9:09 AM December 17, 2006

Children in Care

As an advocate for children and young people in care I'm deeply troubled by the way professionals gang up, which can push vulnerable people over the edge. Instead of solving problems they contribute to them.

One young person I visited in a young offender's institution. While there she gave birth to her second daughter. She worked hard and got early release with excellent comments on her parenting and on her education. Social care and health weren't prepared for this to happen, even suggesting that she remained in prison! This really amazed a number of us, including senior staff at the institution. While there she had no money to buy clothes and either wore her outsize maternity dress or borrowed from someone else.

Nevertheless a place was found at a mother and baby institution where she could be assessed with her child. An institution it was and in the circumstances it was amazing she stayed as long as she did. When the inevitable happened and she was booted out, she was sent on her own late one night to a strange bed and breakfast hotel while her baby was taken into care. Since I was there I took her instead of having to get a taxi. I just wondered what harm was being done to this young person.

A flat was found supposedly sharing with another young person who had offended. In practice she was never there. She appeared one day with a boy friend and they left the place for this young woman to clean and tidy when they left.

This was her second child taken into care. It happened to her first child. That child died in care. No one told her and she found out by chance when it was mentioned in court. Hurriedly she was taken to see the body of the girl which had severe burn marks on the legs. There were no condolences. Now the second child is in care the professionals are running around the baby with little or no support for the mother. Another statistic of a family being broken up needlessly.

Her solicitor is working hard for a foster care placement for mother and child. The successes she has worked for go for nought and continually obstacles are thrown down in front of her to trip up and fall over. The city's solicitor has to be seen to be believed. She seems to be rooting for the young person to fail and get the child placed for adoption. Grandmother was in care, mother and now the next generation. Who is working to break the cycle? She has had so many social workers, and she just doesn't get on with the present one who has been absent from so many key meetings.

Posted by John Tyrrell at 9:30 PM December 16, 2006

On the treadmill

They say we need to save the planet. To reverse global warning we cut down on carbon emissions. More people want to fly so more planes are being built and airports expanded.

Here in the Midlands, with Birmingham at the centre of things, a group of people are busily lobbying parliament for a replacement to New Street Station. The new 125 mph service to London Euston is to be expanded, but "meltdown" is expected in 8 or 9 years time.

So there is success in getting people onto trains, but there isn't the infrastructure to cope. The huge cost of the West Coast mainline seems already obsolete. If we want to get to the continent Eurostar starts in London. That need to reach out and joining with other cities: Birmingham, Manchester, Glasgow for a start.

In Germant the tragic crash of the magnetic levitation trial reminds us of that technology which I thought was once being developed in the U.K. Hydrogen fuels. Where are they? I saw it being developed in Italy around Venice but it all seems out of view. We are on a treadmill to destruction which we are unable - an unwilling to get off. The problem is that the Haves consume a growing amount which, we're told, will need three planets to sustain. The Havenots want to catch up so China and India are polluting their atmosphere more and more to do so. Instead of jumping to new available technologies they are using those that so damaged the west. Birmingham has lost MG/Rover to China and are building cars to block and pollute their cities.

Continue reading "On the treadmill"

Posted by John Tyrrell at 10:42 AM November 24, 2006

Twinning Birmingham with Ramallah

A group of Palestians are visiting Birmingham and on the agenda is twinning Birmingham with Ramallah. Birmingham City Council has continued to ignore the plan. When seven City Councillors visited Ramallah in 2004, five of us in the Cabinet, we were told firmly that our trip was not recognised. What would the press make of it? In the event we issued a press statement which was ignored. We were welcomed by both Palestinians and Israelis - by Yasser Arafat in Ramallah and by the Labour group on Tel Aviv Council (including Yael Dayan, daughter of the famous eye-patch wearing General. She was a member of the Green Party, rather more radical than most Labour members, advocating Israel return to the 1967 borders.)

The press were interested in me because I was Cabinet Member for Transportation when Birmingham's road froze over. I spoke from Jerusalem to them a number of times. Yasser Arafat told us that it was good that we had come, and some young Palestinians offered to come to Birmingham to help deal with the ice.

I have been invited to meetings in Sparkhill and Handsworth areas of Birmingham. I shall report on the Handsworth meeting (see below).

Posted by John Tyrrell at 8:56 PM November 22, 2006

Deputy leadership contest comes to Birmingham

Last night (10/11/2006) we had the Perry Barr Constituency AGM which takes place rather less than annually it seems. Anyway we didn't have to elect any officers because that had already been taken care of. If I'd read the letter more carefully I would have ssen that nominations were to be sent in writing well beforehand, so there was a good opportunity for the unelected paid officers to make the necessary arrangements.

We had new rules for the operation of constituencies on our chairs. I made the point that since we hadn't had a chance to read/debate the rules I would abstain. The chair said it was vital that they were agreed so that we could proceed with business. Dutifully most put up their hands irrespective and we got on with the appointed business.

The proceedings were out of the way in no time which left time between the arrival of the guest speaker, none other than Harriet Harman, with Khalid Mahmood, MP for Perry Barr. This left Neena Gill, MEP to fill the gap with an account of what her work entails. Other than by chance this gave us a rare opportunity to get any information about what our elected representatives get up to. This is evidently democracy and transparency in action.

Khalid Mahmood foolowed up with his report which consisted of a similarly glowing response to Harriet's tribute to his greatness. We had a written report and a very glossy document including mnay photographs of him in company with a variety of people. The one article which caught my eye was about improvements to the (dire) public transport system. This simply stated that he had opposed the "ridiculously expensive" tram. I asked him what his highly secret plan for transform transport was when we were facing crisis with "Gridlock" Gregory, the current Cabinet Member responsibility for Transportation having not a clue what to do either.

Harriet began with an effusive tribute to Khalid other than which I have great difficulty in remembering what was said. She promised that since there were no local elections in London she would be lending a hand in Perry Barr at the next local elections in May 2007. Mick Archer, a comrade who has managed somehow to remain in Labour, reminded those present the reason why Harriet was here and asked what she had done to stand out against discredited policy. The reply was exemplary, a perfect answer saying the necessity for Labour to stand together in the light of the re-emerging Tory threat. No outrage at what has recently happened in Gaza, the increasing violence in Iraq or explanation why Britain was apparently high on the agenda from a terrorist threat, a clarficaton of which the large Muslim presence would have doubtlessly appreciated. Oh yes I do remember what she said about the need for democracy and transparency which wasn't always apparent in the Labour Party, but of which Perry Barr was a shining example.

There followed a meal at Azim's in Lozells which I'm afraid I missed, retiring to a pub in West Bromwich which was a bit cheaper than the £15 asked for the privilege of attending among such distinguished company. While I agree with Harriet about the desirability of a woman high in the Labour leadership I'm afraid she didn't convince me.

The main topic of conversation in West Bromwich was when we would return to a democratic structure and processes where members determined the egenda. We have witnessed those brought in throughly discrediting the party. Six were kicked out in Aston, others were brought in without the necessary requirements of current membership, or very short times (only months) in tthe party. There was a feeling of total frustration of what was going on. Harriet Harman had spoken of the loss of 200,000 members and the need to rebuild the party. The obvious question is why anyone should want to come back in if their contribution counted for so little and there was so little opportunity to debate and discuss issues? The former Sandwell Ward had monthly meetings but with boundary changes things fell apart and the new Handsworth Wood hardly meets. When it does the officers coan't be bothered to inform members about when it meets. We noted that at the AGM there were delegates selected somehow from the ward. When and where remains a mystery.

Continue reading "Deputy leadership contest comes to Birmingham"

Posted by John Tyrrell at 12:32 PM November 11, 2006

Promoting Gridlock in Birmingham

In a presentation at the Transport Summit in March this year (2006), Cllr Len Gregory introduced a taskforce on Congestion in Birmingham. The presentation consisted of just six slides. The final slide entitled "ACTION" merely says "must be value for money". A case of fiddling while Birmingham grinds to a halt. Seems as if the Councillor is a bit short on ideas and is even less inclined to reduce car journeys into Birmingham in case "they migrate to Solihull or Merry Hill". Meanwhile Birmingham Metro has been stopped in its tracks.

The following was published in the Birmingham Post today following an earlier article on congestion:

Continue reading "Promoting Gridlock in Birmingham"

Posted by John Tyrrell at 5:57 PM October 5, 2006

Gurdev Manku is set up

Friday 15th September and we're called to Oldbury to hear an appeal by Gurdev Manku as to why he was excluded from the Labour Party panel of candidates. Bill Challis and I accompany him to give evidence on his behalf of his unstinting work for Labour over nearly 20 years as a Birmingham City Councillor. Here he held high office, including Chair of the Transportation Committee. Gurdev has been given a piece of paper giving one reason why the panel turned him down. He had failed to canvass or leaflet in Soho during the 2006 local election campaign. It was explained that Soho never canvasses either on the doorstep or by telephone. The councillors and officers feel it not necessary since it is thought to be safe for Labour.

At the hearing the case against was made by the chair of the interviewing panel which had turned him down. He laboured the point about Gurdev's alleged crime. The ppeals panel read out a letter from the Chair of Ladywood Constituency who confirmed SOHO DON'T CANVASS. Nevertheless hsi accuser felt he should have used his own knowledge and experience to conduct a campaign. The pertinent question was asked " who runs campaigns?" "The candidate and agent came the reply". Gurdev pointed out thathe had regulalrly tried to persuade Soho to campaign, but to no avail. Usually he was busy in his own (the former Sandwell) ward in any case.

Obviously the prosecution felt they were cutting no ice with the appeals panel, so he then began to make two further allegations, the first of which claimed that Gurdev had been involved in a brawl. Was he a fit candidate? Our breath was taken away. Gurdev involved in violence? He's the most unlikely person you could think of to behave in even a mildly threatening manner. The only incident I could call to mind having worked closely with Gurdev and Phil Murphy as close comrades on the City Council. Shortly after 9/11 Gurdev was waiting for a bus ib Cape Hill, Smethwick, when a passerby asked menacingly if he was a Muslim. challenged the questioner. Dharm Singh kept him engaged in a debate while Councillor Chaman Lal called the police on his mobile phone. After a while and before the arrival of the police, the man suddenly took off punching Gurdev in the mouth as passed by. At this point Gurdev was standing by himself at the bus stop not wishing to be involved. I next saw Gurdev at the A & E Department of Birmingham's City Hospital at 1 o'clock in the morning. We spent the rest of the night waiting there only to be sent across to Selly Oak Hospital the next day to try to secure Gurdev's loosened teeth.

Where had the information come from? The accuser said he must of heard it at the meeting he chaired, but there was no statement among the papers or reference to it thta the appeals panel could see. They ruled it out of order and forbade reference to it.

Next point. Gurdev had not been able to give an account of the executive/scrutiny functions following the "modernisation" programme of local government. Agai this had not been included on the feedback information. Indeed there did not appear to be a question asking about it. Gurdev confirmed that he had not spoken about it at the interview. Once again the appeals panel overruled the accusation.

Continue reading "Gurdev Manku is set up"

Posted by John Tyrrell at 2:17 PM September 16, 2006

Benjamin Zephaniah on his cousin, Mikey Powell

The failure to come up with any explanation of why Mikey Powell died in police custody and the subsequent failure to bring anyone to book has been commented on in a Guardian article by the poet Benjamin Zephaniah.

So another death has occurred with no accountability, no one takes responsibility. As with Charles de Menezes the police will be back at work as normal without key questions being answered. Thornhill Road Police Station in Handsworth was supposed to be at the forefront of community policing, yet over the years there have been chilling stories of deeply racist views and actions - such as pinning up jokey pictures and comments on members of the black and Asian community they are meant to serve. On the day the march in tribute to MIkey ended up at Thornhill Road the station resembled a fortress. Benjamin Zephaniah talks about the differnce between a police service and police force. On an earlier occasion when Mikey was ill the police calmed him down. This time they killed him. Quite a difference.

Continue reading "Benjamin Zephaniah on his cousin, Mikey Powell"

Posted by John Tyrrell at 11:11 AM August 5, 2006 | Comments (1)

Core Cities and regional titles

Letter to the Birmingham Post, 9/7/2006

Dear Editor,

I was present at the Core Cities Conference when it was held in Newcastle-upon-Tyne in 2003-4 as Cabinet Member for Transportation and Street Services. I felt at the time that there was good will towards Birmingham and that people were naturally drawn to it as the hub of the region.

Birmingham is at the centre of the region - and, as I ar