{"id":486557,"date":"2025-10-09T20:37:20","date_gmt":"2025-10-09T20:37:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/486557\/"},"modified":"2025-10-09T20:37:20","modified_gmt":"2025-10-09T20:37:20","slug":"ed-davey-says-birmingham-lib-dems-will-stand-up-to-reform-at-election","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/486557\/","title":{"rendered":"Ed Davey says Birmingham Lib Dems ‘will stand up to Reform’ at election"},"content":{"rendered":"

All Birmingham City Council seats will be up for grabs during the local elections next May<\/p>\n

Alexander Brock<\/strong> Local Democracy Reporter<\/p>\n

17:48, 09 Oct 2025<\/p>\n

\"LeaderLeader of the Liberal Democrats Ed Davey(Image: Jack Taylor\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

The Liberal Democrats will \u2018stand up to Reform and provide hope\u2019 in Birmingham<\/a>, the party\u2019s leader is expected to say today.<\/p>\n

Sir Ed Davey is set to make a speech at the Chamber of Commerce in Brum on Thursday evening to outline how the party intends to make gains in the all-out council elections next year.<\/p>\n

The city council<\/a> is currently run by the Labour Party<\/a> but the Lib Dems<\/a> are optimistic they can increase their number of councillors, which currently stands at 12.<\/p>\n

READ MORE: <\/strong>Birmingham bins strike has cost crisis-hit council at least \u00a314m<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Both parties will be competing for seats in a political battleground where the Conservatives<\/a>, independent candidates, Green Party<\/a>, Your Party, Reform<\/a> and more are expected to be a presence.<\/p>\n

The election will also be set against a backdrop of the council\u2019s financial woes, which saw the authority declare itself effectively bankrupt in September 2023.<\/p>\n

Amid this turbulence, the Lib Dems said that Mr Davey will discuss how the party offers an alternative for voters \u201ctired of the exhausted two-party system and eager to see progressive policies put into action\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cA proud Midlander, Ed will champion the Midlands as the powerhouse of British industry and exports, warning that local communities and businesses have been failed for too long,\u201d the party said.<\/p>\n

In particular, the Lib Dems argued that people were being \u201csqueezed by the Conservatives\u2019 cost of living crisis\u201d and \u201cpunished by Labour\u2019s damaging National Insurance hike\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"BirminghamBirmingham Council House in Victoria Square(Image: Nick Wilkinson\/Birmingham Live)<\/p>\n

\u201cEd will also highlight the need to combat the politics of fear being spread by Reform and Nigel Farage\u2019s Trump-inspired vision for Britain, arguing that the Liberal Democrats<\/a> offer a positive, unifying alternative built on hope, fairness and opportunity,\u201d it added.<\/p>\n

Mr Davey is expected to say later: \u201cWe are on the rise in Birmingham and I have no doubt that next May we can win seats from both Labour and the Conservatives, just as we\u2019ve been doing across Britain.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Liberal Democrats in Birmingham are working hard to provide an alternative vision to the division and opportunism of Reform.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople are rightly fed up with Labour, so it falls to us to stand up to Reform next May.\u201d<\/p>\n

Roger Harmer, leader of the Liberal Democrat group at the council, added: \u201cWhen the Liberal Democrats took Hull City Council, we set about turning that city around, restoring competence, confidence, pride and ambition.<\/p>\n

READ MORE: <\/strong>Birmingham Council \u2018confident\u2019 of tackling equal pay woes amid \u2018insolvency risk\u2019<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re determined to bring that same approach to Birmingham in May 2026.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur aim is to defeat Labour, stop Reform and bring renewal to the city after the May elections.\u201d<\/p>\n

What other parties have said<\/strong><\/p>\n

Coun John Cotton, leader of Labour-run Birmingham City Council<\/a>, said earlier this year: \u201cGoing into the elections next May, I\u2019m really excited to be working alongside such a diverse, talented and energetic team of local people who will be fighting every day for their communities.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know the last few years haven\u2019t been easy. After 14 years of Conservative government failure, the city has faced huge financial challenges.<\/p>\n

\u201cTough decisions have had to be made, but Labour is investing in Birmingham\u2019s renewal and fixing the foundations.\u201d<\/p>\n

But on the second anniversary of Birmingham Council declaring itself effectively bankrupt, the Local Conservatives argued that the city \u201ccannot afford another year of Labour\u2019s failure\u201d and there was an alternative to slashing services.<\/p>\n

\u201cResidents are still footing the bill for Labour\u2019s financial incompetence,\u201d Coun Robert Alden, leader of the opposition, said last month.<\/p>\n

\"BirminghamBirmingham Council leader John Cotton\/Conservative group leader Robert Alden(Image: Jacob King\/PA Wire\/Alexander Brock)<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s time for change, it\u2019s time to restore financial credibility, and it\u2019s time for Conservatives to take control so we can deliver a city that works again for its residents.\u201d<\/p>\n

Several issues contributed to the council\u2019s financial crisis, including the equal pay debacle, inadequate budget setting, poor service management, demand led pressures and the disastrous implementation of a new IT system.<\/p>\n

The fallout from the financial crisis has seen local Labour politicians also highlight funding cuts from the previous Conservative government.<\/p>\n

Reform previously said it is preparing to fight for every seat in the Birmingham and Black Country local elections next year, with the party pledging last year to slash \u201cwasteful\u201d spending and introduce \u201cstrict limits on immigration\u201d.<\/p>\n

West Midlands director Pete Durnell told Birmingham Live that the party would be seeking to show it would represent people of all backgrounds and faiths amid claims it promotes division.<\/p>\n

\"ZackZack Polanski(Image: 2025 PA Media, All Rights Reserved)<\/p>\n

The Green Party has said it wants to challenge cuts and defend services locally while its leader Zack Polanski also said that leadership with \u201ccourage and compassion\u201d can give Britain hope.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur borders are being used as a distraction,\u201d he said this week. \u201cIf the government taxed the super-rich and the extreme wealth properly, we could rebuild our NHS<\/a>, invest in green jobs and give everyone the security they deserve.<\/p>\n

Your Party, launched this year by Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana, meanwhile says it is opposed to \u201cneoliberalism, austerity and demonisation of refugees and marginalised communities\u201d.<\/p>\n

Following a recent launch event in Birmingham, Mr Corbyn said: \u201cWe are a mass movement for real change \u2013 and we are not going away.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"All Birmingham City Council seats will be up for grabs during the local elections next May Alexander Brock…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":486558,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7820],"tags":[855,984,748,527,393,4884,14144,528,11518,285,386,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-486557","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-birmingham","8":"tag-birmingham","9":"tag-birmingham-city-council","10":"tag-britain","11":"tag-conservative-party","12":"tag-england","13":"tag-great-britain","14":"tag-green-party","15":"tag-labour-party","16":"tag-liberal-democrats","17":"tag-politics","18":"tag-reform-uk","19":"tag-uk","20":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115346135675135585","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/486557","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=486557"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/486557\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/486558"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=486557"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=486557"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=486557"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}