{"id":779000,"date":"2026-02-21T08:44:21","date_gmt":"2026-02-21T08:44:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/779000\/"},"modified":"2026-02-21T08:44:21","modified_gmt":"2026-02-21T08:44:21","slug":"birmingham-independents-fighting-for-political-shake-up-after-damaging-crisis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/779000\/","title":{"rendered":"Birmingham independents fighting for political ‘shake-up’ after ‘damaging’ crisis"},"content":{"rendered":"

An all-out Birmingham Council election will be held in May following a turbulent period for the city<\/p>\n

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

08:00, 21 Feb 2026<\/p>\n

\"James<\/p>\n

James Cross, independent candidate in the upcoming Birmingham Council elections, outside the former Harborne Day Centre(Image: Alexander Brock)<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a sorry sight,\u201d resident James Cross tells me as we greet each other outside the former Harborne<\/a> Day Centre.<\/p>\n

The building used to be a lifeline for many families, providing care and support for vulnerable adults \u2013 but it\u2019s now vacant, hidden away behind locked gates with windows covered up.<\/p>\n

It was one of four centres which closed under a cloud of controversy last year after Birmingham City Council<\/a> declared itself effectively bankrupt and made an unprecedented wave of cuts to services.<\/p>\n

READ MORE: <\/strong>Rachel Reeves says Labour is ‘backing Birmingham’ ahead of local elections<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

For James Cross, whose family member attended Harborne before being moved to another centre, the closure spurred him to get involved in politics and run as an independent in the upcoming local elections in May.<\/p>\n

All 101 council seats across Birmingham<\/a> will be contested, which means the election will decide which party or coalition runs the council during the next four years at least.<\/p>\n

Birmingham Labour<\/a> will be hoping to keep control of the council but will face opposition from parties such as Conservatives<\/a>, Liberal Democrats<\/a>, Green Party<\/a> and Reform UK, as well as independents.<\/p>\n

Mr Cross is one of the many independent candidates across the country who argue that residents have lost faith in the main political parties.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve always been interested in politics but I\u2019ve never been involved in any political party or that type of thing,\u201d he tells me during my visit to the Harborne area.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A protest outside Harborne Day Centre on November 6, 2024(Image: James Cross)<\/p>\n

\u201cBut obviously I\u2019ve seen the level of cuts being made across the city and I know how damaging they are.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve seen the importance of adult day services and how much they\u2019re needed \u2013 they\u2019ve gone from nine down to five day centres now.\u201d<\/p>\n

On how turmoil within the city council has affected Harborne residents, he says: \u201cYou learn people don\u2019t like vulnerable people being targeted, which is exactly what we think happened [with the day centre].<\/p>\n

\u201cThe bins dispute has been going on for over a year too, that\u2019s a key issue.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a sorry state of affairs because people have become accustomed to it now.<\/p>\n

READ MORE: <\/strong>Birmingham City Council elections – all you need to know about critical May vote<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s people I know that have been walking a mile and a half on the day of the tip truck with their wheelie bin just to get it emptied.\u201d<\/p>\n

He goes on to argue that the future of Harborne Library remains uncertain too, saying: \u201cIt\u2019s short-term thinking all the time \u2013 we\u2019re failing future generations.\u201d<\/p>\n

Asked if there is an appetite for independent candidates among frustrated voters, Mr Cross says: \u201cI think now is the perfect time for independents really because I think national politics is in the gutter.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople have lost confidence in the current Labour government, the Conservatives aren\u2019t anywhere to be seen really.<\/p>\n

\u201cObviously Reform are trying to build a presence across the country but again, we\u2019re standing on the basis of \u2018look at the people who have been fighting for Harborne and trying to save public services\u2019.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The former Harborne Day Centre in February 2026(Image: Alexander Brock)<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re working for the people of Harborne and wanting to improve the lives of people here.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we need fresh people in the council,\u201d he continues. \u201cWe\u2019re very used to having the same people with the same policies, the same agenda.<\/p>\n

\u201cI do think now it\u2019s time to shake it up a bit and have different voices with different thoughts, ideas and suggestions \u2013 rather than the same people over and over again.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll have to wait and see what happens in May but I can\u2019t see any political party having an overall majority.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018City\u2019s social fabric under threat\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

Four years ago, Birmingham Labour\u2019s candidates confidently won the two seats in Harborne in the 2022 local elections.<\/p>\n

But one of those candidates \u2013 Councillor Martin Brooks \u2013 has since quit Labour and is now campaigning as an independent in the ward alongside James Cross.<\/p>\n

He had been at odds with his former party before his departure late 2024, having grown frustrated with the council\u2019s plans for libraries and day centres while also criticising issues such as the Oracle and equal pay debacles.<\/p>\n

He is one of a number of former Birmingham Labour councillors who have become independent recently, with the party\u2019s majority on the council having now fallen to just over 50.<\/p>\n

Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Coun Brooks accused the council\u2019s Labour administration of \u201cgross incompetence\u201d and argued cuts were threatening the \u201csocial fabric\u201d of the city.<\/p>\n

\"Campaigner<\/p>\n

Campaigner James Cross and independent councillor Martin Brooks outside the Kenrick Centre in Harborne, Birmingham<\/p>\n

\u201cI was particularly concerned about the closure of Harborne Day Centre,\u201d he said about his exit from the Labour.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt affects the users, carers and families but the people in Harborne have a social conscious and were angry to see this kind of facility taken off the most vulnerable.\u201d<\/p>\n

Looking ahead to the elections, he said: \u201cI\u2019d like to see more community-based independents in the city and a council that better represents communities in the city.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut it\u2019s quite difficult for many independents to get going \u2013 the existing parties got electoral data and the party infrastructure.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that\u2019s a bit of a problem.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Birmingham<\/p>\n

Birmingham City Council election results for Harborne in 2022<\/p>\n

Coun Brooks was confident however that the independents could see victory in Harborne, adding there was a \u201clot of interest\u201d from residents in the campaigning work that he and James Cross have been doing.<\/p>\n

He also suggested the city council being left with no party having overall control is a real possibility and that there may be a need for more \u201cconsensus\u201d across political groupings.<\/p>\n

It was Birmingham specific issues such as the equal pay and Oracle debacles that contributed to the council\u2019s \u2018bankruptcy\u2019 while Labour councillors have also pointed the finger at funding cuts during the previous Conservative government.<\/p>\n

On the closure of the adult day centres in particular, Labour councillor Rob Pocock, who is overseeing the council\u2019s transformation, said in 2024: \u201cWe need to save on costs and the remaining centres need to be fully utilised.<\/p>\n

\u201cCitizens using our centres have said they want to have a wider variety of activities outside the day centres and this is what we are also developing, as part of a more modern 21st century service\u201d.<\/p>\n

He said at the time that anyone wanting to use a council day centre would still be able to and that no staff were being made redundant.<\/p>\n

\u2018Residents understand tough decisions\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

Asked about the upcoming local elections, Labour council leader John Cotton recently said: \u201cI\u2019m having lots of conversations on doorsteps in my own patch and across the city.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd I think people do understand that we\u2019ve had to do some difficult things to turn the council around and they understand that if you\u2019re in power, you sometimes have to take tough decisions.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou take those decisions because you know it\u2019s the right thing to do for the long-term stability of the council.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are now in a position where we\u2019re able to say having done that hard work, we\u2019re now able to look to the future and look at how we collaborate with a Labour Mayor and Labour government that\u2019s committed to turning around the legacy of austerity.<\/p>\n

\u201cGreat days ahead if we seize them and work together at all levels of government.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Birmingham<\/p>\n

Birmingham Council leader John Cotton(Image: Nick Wilkinson\/Birmingham Live)<\/p>\n

The bins strike dispute between the council and Unite has seen striking workers claim they face a pay cut of \u00a38,000 \u2013 the council disputes this figure and say a fair offer had been made.<\/p>\n

A full list of candidates standing in Harborne is set to be published in April and will be covered in full by the Local Democracy Reporting Service.<\/p>\n

The Conservatives have confirmed their candidates in this particular ward are Hugo Rasenberg and Amaar Shahzada.<\/p>\n

The Tories<\/a>, along with Labour, Liberal Democrats, Green Party, Reform UK and others, are expected to contest seats across Birmingham alongside independents.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"An all-out Birmingham Council election will be held in May following a turbulent period for the city Alexander…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":779001,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[7820],"tags":[855,984,748,527,393,4884,14144,17757,528,11518,37800,10751,285,386,16,15],"class_list":["post-779000","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-birmingham","tag-birmingham","tag-birmingham-city-council","tag-britain","tag-conservative-party","tag-england","tag-great-britain","tag-green-party","tag-harborne","tag-labour-party","tag-liberal-democrats","tag-local-democracy-reporting-service","tag-local-elections","tag-politics","tag-reform-uk","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/116107743861477101","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/779000","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=779000"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/779000\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/779001"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=779000"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=779000"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=779000"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}