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<\/p>\nMuhammad Ismael migrated to the UK from Pakistan about a year ago, expecting a better quality of life \u2013 but what he found in Birmingham came as a shock.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wanted to experience what looked like a first-world country,\u201d the 30-year-old NHS worker said. \u201cBut after coming to Birmingham and seeing the bin strike, I don\u2019t think this is part of Britain.\u201d<\/p>\n
Having previously supported Labour, he doesn\u2019t think he\u2019ll vote for the party in the local elections. \u201cI have seen so much rubbish everywhere,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
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PROPERTY<\/p>\n
New Renters\u2019 Rights Act will affect 13.3 million people<\/p>\n
![\"Nottingham,](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/SEI_154447636.jpg\")
Caption: Nottingham, UK \u2013 March 26, 2014: Several property agency signs posted outside terraced houses in Beeston in the East Midlands city of Nottingham, England.
Photographer: georgeclerk
Provider: Getty Images
Source: iStock Unreleased
Copyright: George Clerk www.georgeclerk.com<\/p>\n
The Renters\u2019 Rights Act 2025 will introduce new rules for private landlords and give tenants new rights from 1 May, 2026.<\/p>\n
The Government said the new legislation will will improve the current system for both the 11 million private renters and 2.3 million landlords in England.<\/p>\n
What will the new legislation mean for renters?<\/p>\n
The Act will give renters much greater security and stability so they can stay in their homes for longer, build lives in their communities, and avoid the risk of homelessness, the Government said.<\/p>\n
![\"STOKE-ON-TRENT](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/SEI_195963186.jpg\")
Caption: STOKE-ON-TRENT \u2013 JUNE 16: Various property signs are seen outside a block of terraced houses advertising homes for sale, let or sold on June 16, 2020 in Stoke-on-Trent. The British government have relaxed coronavirus lockdown laws significantly from Monday June 15, allowing zoos, safari parks and non-essential shops to open to visitors. Places of worship will allow individual prayers and protective facemasks become mandatory on London Transport. (Photo by Nathan Stirk\/Getty Images)
Photographer: Nathan Stirk
Provider: Getty Images
Source: Getty Images Europe
Copyright: Nathan Stirk Photography<\/p>\n
\t NEWS<\/p>\n 7 min read<\/p>\n The measures to protect tenants<\/p>\n The new rules apply automatically, regardless of whether or not an individual\u2019s tenancy agreement is updated in writing by their landlord.<\/p>\n After 1 May, 2026, it will not be possible for assured tenancy agreements to have a fixed term or a set end date. All tenancies will become rolling tenancies.<\/p>\n Landlords will no longer be able to use rent review clauses for new rent increases.<\/p>\n Renters have the right to request to keep a pet. <\/p>\n Rent can only be raised once a year, and no higher than open market rent.<\/p>\n Landlords will need a legal reason to evict tenants.<\/p>\n Renters will be able to end their tenancy at any point as long as they give at least two months\u2019 notice in writing.<\/p>\n news<\/p>\n The King\u2019s four spiky warnings to Donald Trump<\/p>\n The King <\/a>has issued a poignant appeal to Donald Trump to end the war in Iran and attempted to heal the rift between the US President and Sir Keir Starmer.<\/p>\n Charles said the strength of the relationship between the UK and the US was that it was \u201cborn out of dispute but no less strong for it\u201d and that \u201cwe can perhaps agree that we do not always agree\u201d.<\/p>\n \nPeacemaker King\n<\/p>\n He also made it clear \u2013 in the most diplomatic way possible \u2013 that he would like to see Trump\u00a0end the conflict<\/a>\u00a0in\u00a0Iran<\/a>\u00a0once and for all.<\/p>\n The monarch said: \u201cIt is why it is my hope \u2013 my prayer \u2013 that, in these turbulent times, working together and with our international partners, we can stem the beating of ploughshares into swords.\u201d<\/p>\n Starmer-Trump reconciliation<\/p>\n Quoting Starmer, the King said: \u201cOurs is an indispensable partnership. We must not disregard everything that has sustained us for the last 80 years. Instead, we must build on it.\u201d<\/p>\n \t OPINION<\/p>\n 5 min read<\/p>\n Epstein survivors<\/p>\n Charles did not directly refer to Epstein survivors, but he did make a veiled reference.\u00a0<\/p>\n The monarch said: \u201cIn both of our countries, it is the very fact of our vibrant, diverse and free societies that gives our\u00a0collective strength, including to support victims of some of the ills that, so tragically, exist in both our societies today.\u201d<\/p>\n \t Analysis<\/p>\n 4 min read<\/p>\n \t Analysis<\/p>\n 5 min read<\/p>\n Antidote to \u2018drill baby drill\u2019?<\/p>\n The King praised the \u201cgenerations of Americans \u2026 indigenous, political and civic leaders, people in rural communities\u2026[who] have all helped to protect and nurture what president Theodore Roosevelt called \u2018the glorious heritage\u2019\u00a0\u00a0of this land\u2019s extraordinary natural splendour, on which so much of its prosperity has always depended\u201d.<\/p>\n The hotspots where it\u2019s most difficult to sell your home<\/p>\n The average\u00a0length of time to\u00a0sell\u00a0a\u00a0home\u00a0is just a day longer than a year ago despite \nA closer look at the figures\n<\/p>\n 33 days<\/p>\n Across the UK, the average time to\u00a0sell\u00a0a\u00a0home\u00a0is 33 days, just one day longer than last year.<\/p>\n 6 days<\/p>\n The London area stands out as being particularly affected by recent events, with the average\u00a0home\u00a0there taking six days longer to\u00a0sell\u00a0than a year ago, the report found.<\/p>\n The locations on the list of hotspots<\/p>\n Here is how long on average it takes to sell a home, according to Zoopla analysis of the seven weeks to 17 April, 2025 and the seven weeks to 17 April, 2026:<\/p>\n Scotland \u2013 15, 15<\/p>\n North East \u2013 28, 28<\/p>\n Yorkshire and the Humber \u2013 31, 31<\/p>\n North West \u2013 28, 31<\/p>\n Wales \u2013 34, 34<\/p>\n West Midlands \u2013 33, 34<\/p>\n South West \u2013 36, 35<\/p>\n East Midlands \u2013 37, 37<\/p>\n East of England \u2013 35, 38<\/p>\n South East \u2013 37, 39<\/p>\n London \u2013 35, 41<\/p>\n Mortgage rates are drifting lower and there is greater choice of homes for sale<\/p>\n The best-value\u00a0homes\u00a0are moving quickly, particularly in northern cities and Scotland, whereas the room for negotiation is greater across southern regions,\u201d Richard Donnell, executive director of Zoopla said.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t Labour took control of Birmingham City Council in 2012, but its 14-year hold on the UK\u2019s largest local authority could come to an end when voters head to the polls on 7 May.<\/p>\n Since Labour was last elected five years ago, the council has declared bankruptcy<\/a>, raised council taxes<\/a> by 24 per cent over three years, and overseen a 16-month long bin strike<\/a> that led to giant rats<\/a> roaming the streets.<\/p>\n On Monday, the Labour administration said it had the framework of a deal that could end the strike and would move ahead with it if it is still in power after the election. Opposition parties called it an \u201celection stunt\u201d and accused Labour of playing \u201cpolitical games\u201d.<\/p>\n Dire polls for Labour<\/p>\n Polls indicate Labour will lose control of Birmingham City Council, with support surging for rivals including Reform UK, the Green Party and independents. No party is likely to win the 51 seats needed for a majority, raising the prospect of potential coalitions and fragmented leadership.<\/p>\n Pollcheck, a polling analyst, expects Labour\u2019s seats to plunge from 65 to 10, leaving the Conservatives as the biggest party with 23 seats. Reform would come in second with 20 seats, followed by independents (19), the Greens (16) and Lib Dems (13).<\/p>\n A poll by More in Common and ITV News expects Labour\u2019s seats to halve to 32, with Reform in second place at 26, and the Conservatives on 25. The Lib Dems are forecast to win 10 seats, the Greens 7 and independents 1, the survey found.<\/p>\n Rats and potholes \u2018everywhere\u2019<\/p>\n Labour\u2019s political rivals in the city believe a catalogue of failures is leaving the door open for them to take power.<\/p>\n Roger Harmer, leader of the Lib Dems in Birmingham, said there is disappointment with Labour both at a national and local level. <\/p>\n \u201cIn Birmingham, it\u2019s focused on a council that has failed demonstrably, that has seen the city turned into one of the dirtiest in the country,\u201d he said. \u201cIt won awards as the cleanest city in the UK in 2007 and now it\u2019s at the other end of the extreme. <\/p>\n \u201c[The council] has put people\u2019s council tax up because they went bankrupt, it still doesn\u2019t have a functioning IT system \u2013 all these things combined mean that people are just fed up with them.\u201d<\/p>\n Matt Bennett, a Conservative councillor, said the local authority \u201ccompletely mishandled\u201d equal pay claims that were brought by female staff who said they were not able to earn the same as male colleagues and have cost taxpayers up to \u00a3760m. A new council IT system has cost about \u00a3144m \u2013 more than seven times earlier estimates.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019ve wasted money, and as a result, they\u2019ve had to go back to hard-working Brummies and ask for more money in council tax,\u201d Bennett said. \u201cPeople are angry about that.\u201d<\/p>\n Bennett said it\u2019s \u201cbeggars belief\u201d that the bin strike has still not been resolved. \u201cWe still have piles of rubbish in the streets, we still have rats everywhere, and we don\u2019t have a recycling service,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Julien Pritchard, leader of the Green councillors, said waste collections have been \u201chit and miss\u201d, with poorer areas worst affected by \u201cpatchy\u201d services. A lack of bulky waste collections means people can\u2019t get rid of bigger items, which has fuelled a rise in fly-tipping, he added.<\/p>\n \u2018Labour have let people down\u2019<\/p>\n Poppy Bunn, 19, said she plans to vote Green, because the party is \u201cfor the people\u201d. She said her area used to support Labour but the Green Party has gained traction because a lot of people have been \u201clet down\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cOn a lot of the streets, there\u2019s rats and foxes that have torn apart a lot of rubbish,\u201d she said. \u201cIn the area that I live, there\u2019s people who can\u2019t access the tips themselves to take their own rubbish away, so they have to live with filth all around them.\u201d<\/p>\n Bunn, an actor, said \u201cit\u2019s become a privilege to have a basic quality of life now, which is not what Labour said they had stood for\u201d.<\/p>\n Shafaq Hussain, chair of the End the Bin Strike campaign group and a Your Party candidate, said people with respiratory issues and asthma \u201ccouldn\u2019t breathe\u201d because of \u201cmountains\u201d of rubbish stacked outside their homes. Fly-tipping has blighted local parks, he added.<\/p>\n He recalls a 67-year-old disabled woman contacting him about mice \u201cchewing away her wardrobes every night\u201d, saying she couldn\u2019t sleep.<\/p>\n The number of fly-tipping reports almost doubled in the months after strikes began last January, with the council saying it handed out more than 2,000 fixed penalty notices in the year to October 2025.<\/p>\n Swathes of disillusioned voters appear to be turning away from Labour, with a number saying they are leaning towards Reform.<\/p>\n Emma, 45, said she would like to vote for Restore Britain \u2013 the party launched by former Reform MP Rupert Lowe in February \u2013 but, since they aren\u2019t fielding any candidates yet, she thinks she will have to settle for Reform.<\/p>\n Emma, a hairdresser, said she has nothing against legal migration, but believes illegal migration is \u201cpushing all the resources locally\u201d, including hospitals, \u201cto the brink\u201d. \u201cThat\u2019s pushing people\u2019s taxes up, because we\u2019re having to pay for everybody coming into the country,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n She said there are \u201crats everywhere\u201d but does not know if choosing any particular party would resolve the bin strike.<\/p>\n Raj Brahmbhatt, a 24-year-old student, said he plans to vote Reform and supports changes to the immigration system. \u201cThe good people \u2013 the people who are contributing \u2013 need to come here, but not the other way round,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Critics say Reform is campaigning on national issues like immigration that have little to do with what councillors can achieve at a local level. Many Reform candidates in Birmingham appear to be \u201cpaper\u201d candidates \u2013 meaning they are not doing any campaigning. <\/p>\n The i Paper researched all of Reform\u2019s candidates in Birmingham and found no record of campaigning activity by at least two-thirds of them.<\/p>\n Reform was the only party to refuse requests by The i Paper for an interview with any of their candidates in Birmingham. However, a party source claimed candidates have knocked on more than 39,000 doors since the campaign began and hand-delivered more than 350,000 leaflets and letters.<\/p>\n Paul Smith, an independent candidate who previously spent months campaigning for Reform, said the party doesn\u2019t want any councillors going \u201crogue\u201d and causing problems. <\/p>\n \u201cThey feel that if they put a Reform rosette on a donkey, they\u2019ll get them through,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd that\u2019s evident in a lot of wards\u2026 because the data says they\u2019ve got a very good chance.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cLook at their literature: it\u2019s all about Nigel Farage, it\u2019s all about the wider party,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n Swathes of independent candidates<\/p>\n Smith said independents like him are a mix of community activists, people sidelined by the major parties, and Palestinian supporters who disagree with Labour\u2019s policy on Gaza.<\/p>\n Lawyer Akhmed Yakoob has formed an electoral pact with George Galloway\u2019s Workers Party to field about 70 prospective councillors across the city under the Independent Candidates Alliance. At the 2024 general election, Yakoob came close to beating Labour\u2019s Shabana Mahmood in the Birmingham Ladywood seat, campaigning primarily against Labour\u2019s stance on Gaza. <\/p>\n Your Party, founded by former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, has five candidates and is backing a long list of independents.<\/p>\n Council leader accepts strikes \u2018frustrating\u2019<\/p>\n Along with many voters who spoke to The i Paper, Ian Rogers, 64, said there have been too many \u201cbroken promises\u201d from Labour. <\/p>\n \u201cPretty much everything that they said they were going to do they haven\u2019t done,\u201d he said. \u201cThe whole green agenda seems to have been forgotten all about \u2013 that\u2019s the main thing for me, really.\u201d<\/p>\n Rogers, a lecturer, said he is likely to vote Green, believing the party has \u201cgood ideas\u201d, and are \u201cforward looking\u201d.<\/p>\n Labour\u2019s council leader, John Cotton, blamed its troubles on a lack of funding from the previous Conservative central government and the previous Conservative-Lib Dem coalition\u2019s failure to resolve equal pay issues at a local level.<\/p>\n \u201cThere was a wider context of austerity that ripped the guts out of local governments up and down the country,\u201d he said. \u201cCouncils like Birmingham \u2013 big metropolitan areas \u2013 were unfairly funded at the expense of other places. In Birmingham\u2019s case, that cost us \u00a31bn.\u201d<\/p>\n He said the waste dispute has been \u201cvery frustrating\u201d but the council needed to \u201cmodernise\u201d the service and make sure an agreement did not create further equal pay issues. Cotton said council tax rises above the usual 4.99 per cent cap will not be needed again.<\/p>\n Gurdial Singh Atwal, a Labour councillor, admitted the party has made mistakes and said it will probably lose control of the council. <\/p>\n Atwal is keen to steer the conversation away from the party, saying he is \u201cproud\u201d of the work he has done locally. Councillors like him may well scrape by in areas where support for Labour remains high.<\/p>\n Madeline Hempstead, a 28-year-old who is unemployed, said the bin strike has been \u201cinconvenient\u201d but she is still likely to vote Labour, believing the party\u2019s views are closest to her own.<\/p>\n \u201cI am not happy with anyone,\u201d she said. \u201cI am voting for the lesser of all the evils.\u201d<\/p>\n Video production by Scarlett Milburn-Smith, Ed Campbell and Cormac O\u2019Brien<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Muhammad Ismael migrated to the UK from Pakistan about a year ago, expecting a better quality of life…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":24804,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[991,13,2119,10695,3801],"class_list":{"0":"post-24803","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-britain","8":"tag-birmingham","9":"tag-britain","10":"tag-council-tax","11":"tag-rubbish","12":"tag-strikes"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@UnitedKingdom\/116487692152446734","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24803","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24803"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24803\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24804"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24803"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24803"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24803"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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\n\t<\/a><\/p>\n![\"US](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/SEI_295036723.jpg\")
US Vice President JD Vance and House Speaker Mike Johnson applaud as Britain\u2019s King Charles III addresses a Joint Meeting of Congress in the House Chamber at the US Capitol on 28 April, 2026 (Photo: Henry Nicholls\/POOL)<\/p>\n![\"Jane](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/SEI_118912110.jpg\")
Caption: Jane Merrick journalist at the i newspaper, on July 30th, 2019, in London, United Kingdom.
Photographer: Micha Theiner
Copyright: ?? 2019 Micha Theiner<\/p>\n![\"US](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/SEI_295037229.jpg\")
King Charles delivers a speech to a Joint Meeting of Congress in the House Chamber at the US Capitol (Photo: AFP)<\/p>\n![\"Britain's](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/SEI_295037220.jpg\")
Caption: Britain\u2019s King Charles addresses a joint meeting of Congress, next to U.S. Vice President JD Vance and U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), in the House Chamber of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., U.S., April 28, 2026. REUTERS\/Kylie Cooper\/Pool
Photographer: Kylie Cooper
Provider: REUTERS
Source: REUTERS<\/p>\n![\"Britain's](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/SEI_295040503.jpg\")
King Charles III addresses a joint meeting of Congress (Photo: Kylie Cooper\/AP)<\/p>\n
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\n\t<\/a><\/p>\n
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\n\t<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Members](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/SEI_295036558.jpg\")
Caption: Members of Congress applaud as Britain\u2019s King Charles III arrives to speak to a Joint Meeting of Congress in the House Chamber at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on April 28, 2026. (Photo by ROBERTO SCHMIDT \/ AFP via Getty Images)
Photographer: ROBERTO SCHMIDT
Provider: AFP via Getty Images
Source: AFP
Copyright: AFP or licensors<\/p>\n![\"WASHINGTON,](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1777461012_180_SEI_295047405.jpg\")
Caption: WASHINGTON, DC \u2013 APRIL 28: Britain\u2019s King Charles III addresses a Joint Meeting of Congress at the U.S. Capitol during day two of the State Visit of King Charles III and Queen Camilla to the United States of America on April 28, 2026 in Washington, DC. In his first visit to the U.S. as the British monarch, King Charles III is addressing Congress as part of a multi-day trip to the nation\u2019s capital, New York City, and Virginia celebrating the United States of America\u2019s 250th anniversary of its independence. (Photo by Henry Nicholls \u2013 Pool via Samir Hussein\/WireImage)
Photographer: Pool#SH
Provider: WireImage
Source: WireImage<\/p>\n
higher mortgages,
although in London\u00a0homes\u00a0are taking nearly a week longer
to be snapped up typically, according to a property website.<\/p>\n![\"Estate](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/SEI_291625140_67ff98.jpg\")
Caption: Estate agents \u2018for sale\u2019 and \u2018let\u2019 signs outside residential properties in Guildford, UK, on Monday, July 28, 2025. The number of UK home loans given the green light rose to a three-month high in June, as the housing market continued to shake off the impact of April\u2019s tax hike.??Photographer: Jason Alden\/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Photographer: Bloomberg
Provider: Bloomberg via Getty Images
Source: Bloomberg
Copyright: ? 2025 Bloomberg Finance LP<\/p>\n![\"LONDON,](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/SEI_294187654_b9b84b.jpg\")
Caption: LONDON, ENGLAND \u2013 OCTOBER 30: People lok at houses for sale in an estate agents window in Mayfair on October 30, 2025 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by John Keeble\/Getty Images)
Photographer: John Keeble
Provider: Getty Images
Source: Getty Images Europe
Copyright: 2025 John Keeble
What do experts say?<\/p>\n<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/SEI_294910891_34623c.jpg\")
Muhammad Ismael migrated from Pakistan (Photo: Scarlett Milburn-Smith\/The i Paper)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/SEI_294911218_30b115.jpg\")
Roger Harmer is the leader of the Lib Dems in Birmingham and has confirmed there with Labour (Photo: Scarlett Milburn-Smith\/The i Paper)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/SEI_244649314.jpg\")
Uncollected rubbish pictured last year during the strike (Photo: Scarlett Milburn-Smith\/The i Paper)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/SEI_294910854_c8cce6.jpg\")
Poppy Bunn says she will vote Green in the upcoming election (Photo: Scarlett Milburn-Smith\/The i Paper)<\/p>\n![\"Bin](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/SEI_238749737.jpg\")
Fly-tipping is a big local issue with one woman complaining of rats nibbling at her wardrobe (Photo: Andrew Fox\/The i Paper)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/SEI_294910848_1e41a8.jpg\")
Raj Brahmbhatt supports Reform\u2019s immigration changes (Photo: Scarlett Milburn-Smith\/The i Paper)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/SEI_245933190.jpg\")
Rat infestations have grown in the city (Photo: Will Timms)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/SEI_294911162_26804e.jpg\")
Paul Smith (left) being interviewed by The i Paper (Photo: Scarlett Milburn-Smith\/The i Paper)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/SEI_294910988_e905ab.jpg\")
Ian Rogers believes in Green\u2019s ideas and will be voting for them this election (Photo: Scarlett Milburn-Smith\/The i Paper)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/SEI_294911147_edac72.jpg\")
John Cotton says \u2018councils are unfairly funded\u2019 (Photo: Scarlett Milburn-Smith\/The i Paper)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/SEI_294910859_8c26cf.jpg\")
Madeline Hempstead speaks of the inconvenience of the bin strikes (Photo: Scarlett Milburn-Smith\/The i Paper)<\/p>\n