In light of the ongoing financial and governance crisis at Birmingham City Council, Birmingham Local Conservatives are calling for any party not prepared to do the hard work required to fix the Council to stand aside for those who are.
Every component of the current crisis - Equal Pay, Oracle, undelivered savings, industrial disputes, reliance on reserves, unlawful or incompetent decisions – mistakes Labour made which were foreseeable, avoidable, and repeatedly warned about by an experienced team of Local Conservatives.
Even with commissioners in place, major risks remain unresolved in 2026:
- Equal Pay still threatens insolvency
- Strikes are paralysing transformation
- Oracle reimplementation is high‑risk
- Savings remain uncertain
- Asset sales are unsustainable
- Culture change is incomplete
- Intervention will last at least until 2028
Birmingham’s financial crisis was not caused by external pressures; it was caused by a decade of mismanagement by the Labour administration. It was Local Conservatives who were at the forefront of highlighting these failures, and Local Conservatives who have a clean plan to fix them.
Cllr Robert Alden (Con, Erdington), Leader of the Opposition and Birmingham Local Conservatives, said:
Given Labour’s bankruptcy, the year‑long bin strike, the Equal Pay crisis still needing to be resolved, and much more, any party that is not prepared to do the difficult work to turn Birmingham City Council around should not be fielding candidates in the elections.
He added:
Quite simply, Birmingham cannot afford another lost four years. The hard work of turning around the broken Council needs to begin on day one. Local Conservatives have a plan to balance the books, end the strike, and clean up the city, and that’s why we are standing in these elections in May. Together, we can unleash Birmingham’s full potential.
The call comes only days after Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said he wished the party “hadn't bothered” to take minority control of Worcestershire County Council.
Nigel Farage said:
Worcestershire, I have to say, we took minority control of a virtually bankrupt council — I wish we hadn't bothered.
(Source: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c93wv0ylq9yo)
Cllr Ewan Mackay (Con, Sutton Roughley), Deputy Leader of the Opposition and Birmingham Local Conservatives, said:
For the last decade, the ruling Labour group have blamed all the mess they have created on central government instead of taking ownership and responsibility. This failure to lead is how Brummies are left facing the second year of Labour’s bin strike, (the third in a decade), a £600 bankruptcy Council Tax increase, and fortnightly bin collections under Labour. Birmingham cannot afford another four years like this.
As Labour’s own Campaign Improvement Board said:
Budget cuts and the size of the city are used as reasons to explain the situation; however, this does not hold up to scrutiny. Other large local authorities with similar levels of deprivation and inequality have also suffered large, in some cases greater, cuts without the same issues with basic services, and Birmingham’s size gives real opportunities for economies of scale in universal services.
Former Reform councillor in Worcestershire, Cllr David Taylor, who resigned from Reform over their Council Tax increases, said on the BBC in February:
All of the Reform councillors should have come to this with their eyes open.
Cllr Ewan Mackay went on to add:
With less than eight weeks to go, Reform UK haven’t even been able to announce a single council candidate for May’s elections. Birmingham City Council is in crisis; it is no time for novices with no local government experience.
Cllr Robert Alden concluded:
Birmingham needs stable, disciplined, and united leadership. The Conservative group offers exactly that: a cohesive team committed to financial responsibility, transparency, and the shared goal of restoring the city’s stability. With 234 years of combined experience in local government, a wealth of business and commercial knowledge, and a team of dedicated community activists waiting in the wings, Local Conservatives have a very strong field of candidates for May’s elections and stand ready to turn around the failing Council. Only a vote for Local Conservatives in May is a vote to clean up the council.
