Recently, Birmingham was again hit by heavy rain after storm Claudia left many streets flooded. Once again, the decisions of Birmingham City Council over the last decade have made the impact of the weather far worse.
Over recent years, Labour has cut back street cleaning across Birmingham and scrapped the dedicated leaf litter removal crews, leaving our roads, pavements, and street drains choked. When the rain came, the drains that should have carried water away were too often completely blocked, and the water had nowhere to go.
Transport across the City became increasingly fraught with vehicles abandoned, underpasses closing, and general travel chaos ensuing.
Sadly, this isn’t surprising. Birmingham Local Conservatives warned them their savings were a false economy and would lead to this mess.
Blocked drains cause surface water to build rapidly, turning roads into streams and putting homes and businesses at risk. And when streets aren't cleared, this is exactly what happens.
Normally, many residents do their bit by sweeping leaves away from the kerb and clearing drains outside their homes. But this year, even that has become harder due to Labour also cancelling green waste collections. This means the people who wanted to help simply couldn’t easily dispose of the leaf litter they cleared.
Residents were left with a choice:
- Try to clear leaves, but have nowhere to put them
or - Watch as the drains clog and the roads flood.
This is what happens when a council fails to manage its finances and chooses to cut front-line services instead of modernising back-office operations. These aren’t abstract budget lines; these are services people rely on every day to keep their communities safe and functioning.
With proper clearing of leaf litter, regular drain clearances, and uninterrupted green waste collections, much of this chaos would have been avoided.
Instead, residents were left to deal with:
- Flooded roads
- Overflowing gutters
- Blocked drains
- Damage to cars and homes
- Disruption to public transport
- Unsafe conditions for pedestrians and cyclists
And all during a period when council tax has gone up by some 19% over two years as part of Labour's double whammy of higher taxes for fewer services.
This is Labour’s Birmingham. But there is a better way, a better choice.
The Conservative Group has been absolutely clear:
We would reverse Labour’s cuts to street cleaning, clear leaf litter and restore the basics.
These are the services that make a city safe, clean, and liveable. Restoring these services will help us begin to restore Birmingham's reputation.
Birmingham Deserves Better Than This
No resident should have to accept avoidable flooding as the new normal.
No family should see their road underwater because their council cut frontline services.
No city should pay more and receive less.