With 101 candidates contesting the Birmingham City Council elections, the Local Conservatives are determined to reclaim leadership by winning a majority of 51 seats. If a majority isn’t secured, they aim to be the largest party to influence future coalition talks.
Challenging them are numerous competitors, including the Green Party, Labour, Liberal Democrats, Reform, plus smaller groups like the Workers' Party, Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition, Your Party, and over 70 independents.
Robert Alden, leader of Local Conservatives and an Erdington councillor with 20 years' experience, presents the party’s case directly to voters.
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“Labour has mismanaged Birmingham City Council for 14 years, pushing the city toward bankruptcy and leaving residents to suffer the consequences.
“For over 16 months, rubbish piles have accumulated in our streets due to a prolonged bin strike, with up to 25,000 tonnes of waste left uncollected.
“In 2023 alone, Labour repaired less than one mile of road citywide, while residents faced rising taxes and declining services.
“Council Tax has doubled since Labour assumed control in 2012, yet basic services are worsening. Birmingham residents pay more and get less.”
Alden emphasizes that Local Conservative councillors have actively worked to expose Labour’s failings, such as the flawed Oracle IT rollout and costly equal pay liabilities that contributed to the council’s financial crisis.
Their comprehensive plan focuses on “cleaning up Birmingham” across multiple fronts:
Reviving Waste Services: Restoring weekly bin collections by scrapping Labour’s proposed fortnightly schedule, deploying dedicated cleanup crews, installing 3,000 new street bins, and ending the detrimental bin strike.
Road Repairs: Utilizing a £200 million ringfenced highways reserve effectively to quickly fix potholes and improve road conditions, preventing escalating repair costs and vehicle damage.
Housing Reform: Ending Labour’s expansion of badly managed exempt accommodation and HMOs by purchasing and converting them into family homes, tightening council housing eligibility to residents with at least ten years’ local connections, and safeguarding the city’s architectural heritage in future developments.
Green Spaces Protection: Abandoning proposed parking fees in parks, halting further green belt loss, encouraging brownfield site redevelopment, mandating green space in new projects, and engaging the community in planting one million daffodils over four years.
Neighborhood Safety: Increasing enforcement and deploying ANPR technology to combat noise, littering, uninsured vehicles, and unlicensed drivers; installing CCTV in all council tower blocks for enhanced resident security.
Financial Responsibility: Balancing the budget by fixing broken IT and accounting systems, resolving equal pay liabilities, reducing unchecked delegated spending on major projects, and cutting consultant and agency costs.
Beyond maintenance and repairs, Alden highlights plans to celebrate Birmingham’s rich heritage. Upcoming festivals will honor historical milestones such as the 1,100th anniversary of King Athelstan and the 500th anniversary of Sutton Coldfield’s Royal Charter. The council will support cultural events, keep libraries operational with extended hours, and increase access to museums.
Under Conservative leadership, Birmingham was once voted the cleanest city in Britain. Their pledge is to restore that status, transform council governance, and bring pride back to the city.
“This election, don’t just hope for a cleaner Birmingham — vote for it.
Vote Local Conservative on May 7.”