Local Elections 2022: What do Labour, Conservatives, Lib Dems and Greens want for Birmingham?
Voters in Birmingham will head to the polls on Thursday.
On 5 May, voters will elect 101 councillors to Birmingham City Council.
At the last election in 2018, Labour won 67 seats, the Conservatives won 25 seats, the Liberal Democrats won eight seats and the Greens won one seat.
Here is what each of the main parties is standing for this time around:
LABOUR
How Labour describe its key policies:
Planting thousands of trees so that at least 25% of Birmingham has tree cover and establishing 400 more green spaces and parks, including a new park in the city centre.
Developing a green, affordable and reliable bus and public transport system and making it easy and safe for people to walk and cycle around Birmingham.
Building two new cycle superhighways, segregated cycle routes on our main commuter corridors.
Bringing all residents within an accessible 30 minute public transport journey of the city centre through bus priority measures, rail improvements and sprint buses.
Support the £2 billion Midlands Rail Hub plan to improve rail services in Birmingham and across the Midlands, and allow more services on the Camp Hill line stopping at Moseley, Kings Heath and Hazelwell.
Cllr Ian Ward, group leader for Labour on Birmingham Council, said: “The golden decade Birmingham is about to enter is based on two things.
"Firstly, we’re hosting the Commonwealth Games, which will be an amazing spectacle for everyone who lives and works in Birmingham.
"It’s the Labour party who bid for a successful games. For every £1 the council spends on the games, the government is investing £3 into our city.
“At the end of this decade, HS2 will be on our doorstep, and that will create tens of thousands of jobs that we are going to need for our growing population."
Mr Ward said: “Our plan is not a four-year plan for a council term. It’s a ten-year long-term vision to make our city great. Politicians are often criticised for short-term thinking. We aren’t.
"We’re going to ensure Birmingham emerges from the fallout of the pandemic with a new deal so Birmingham is cleaner, safer, and better.”
CONSERVATIVES
How the Conservatives describe its key policies:
Retain weekly residual waste collections, collect the bins on time, roll out free bulky and garden waste collection and introduce food recycling.
Invest over £100 million pounds in the suburban areas of Birmingham to level them up and reverse Birmingham Labour’s focus on the City Centre.
Lock all the green spaces in the City into a trust to prevent them from being developed on in the future and roll out a new pocket park for each ward.
Tackle the rise in HMOs and Exempt Accommodation through refusing to work with poor providers and providers who convert family housing, as well as, buying back houses and converting them into family houses.
Cllr Robert Alden, group leader for the Conservatives on Birmingham Council, said: "If it wasn’t for Local Conservative Councillors and Candidates going out and speaking to residents over the last four years then we know Birmingham residents would have been abandoned.
"We know full well in this City that all Birmingham Labour are focussing on the city centre, we saw it in their manifesto launch, when they were in the City Centre talking about how much they’d invested in the City Centre with no plan for anywhere else in Birmingham.
"That’s the real choice that residents face at the local elections, you have a Local Conservative Group here in Birmingham who are focused on helping everyone across our city -levelling up the whole of Birmingham ensuring we get investment to all the communities of Birmingham to help regenerate our communities, get the investment and provide secure jobs.
"And you have a Labour group who have spent 10 years putting up Council tax by 39% when they were elected on a pledge not to put up council tax. Saying they’ll deliver cleaner streets, yet they’ve left half a million missed collections over the last 5 years. And they have a plan to clean up the city.
"But we know they haven’t because they’ve had 10 years to do it yet leave rubbish piled up on our streets still. Back the Local Conservatives on May 5th to deliver clean streets and to level up the whole of Birmingham.”
LIBERAL DEMOCRATS
How the Liberal Democrats describe its key policies:
Liberal Democrats would give Birmingham’s struggling waste collection services 12 months to sort themselves out. If the problems of missed collections and poor recycling rates cannot be resolved, the Lib Dems would bring in partners to provide services in different parts of the city, the manifesto says.
Liberal Democrats call for radical devolution of power and resources to communities in the city, meaning genuine consultation with residents on any proposed changes to their communities.
Prioritising safety around schools, by proposing funding for up to 400 “walking bus conductors” who would be the key to creating safe streets round the city’s schools for children and families.
Liberal Democrats would focus on ensuring streets are kept clean, fly-tippers prosecuted and residents have accessible, free services for waste collection in their streets.
The Liberal Democrats say that under Labour, the Council has failed to listen to the concerns of its residents, spending money on “vanity projects” rather than basic services - and that this must be reversed.
Cllr Jon Hunt, group leader for the Lib Dems on Birmingham Council, said: “People across the city are crying out for change, demanding a new direction for their community. Lib Dems have been demanding better and achieving much from opposition. We need more Lib Dems elected for positive change in Birmingham.
“Birmingham city ward and Sutton Coldfield Parish ward residents and businesses are fed up with a Conservative government that’s given up caring, and a Birmingham Labour-run council that has long stopped listening.
“Liberal Democrats agree with residents that our local areas need more power, more investment, and more care. As we recover from the pandemic, we need investment across our communities, not just spent in one area on vanity projects.
“I’m very proud of this manifesto, and even prouder of the work across our city by hard-working Lib Dems. We want to tackle the cost-of-living crisis, fight against climate change for a secure future, and ensure people finally get a genuine say in their own communities.
“The Conservative party has shown that it can’t lead, and Birmingham Labour doesn’t listen. People want change, people want a brighter future, and that’s what can be had by voting Lib Dem on May 5."
GREEN
How the Green Party describe its key policies:
Green Party councillors are community champions, working hard all year every year, and listening and working with residents and communities.
The Green Party is going from strength to strength. Our first Green Cllr in Birmingham, Julien Pritchard, was elected in 2018. We now have 467 councillors across the country, tripling our representation since 2018. We will see more Green gains this May.
Labour-run Birmingham City Council all too often fails to listen to residents. Green Party councillors will be free to stand up for residents and communities demand better for our communities, whether it's about keeping out streets clean, investing in Green spaces, or tackling the cost of living crisis.
Cllr Julien Pritchard, Green, said: "It's disappointing that so many communities feel forgotten by our Labour council.
"Many residents say they only hear from other parties at election time. The Green Party is different.
"We're a party of natural community champions. We work all year round, actively listening to and working with communities, to find solutions to the problems they face.
"Electing a Green means communities get a councillor who listens and works with them."
Here is a full list of the parties with candidates standing for election to Birmingham City Council
Labour
Conservatives
Liberal Democrats
Green
We Matter Party
Breakthrough Party
Workers Party
Reform UK
Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition