ANOTHER Birmingham Sh*tshow ...

It is said that politics in the UK is becoming increasingly polarised yet it was an unholy alliance between Labour and the Tories that led to multi-millions being recklessly squandered on the z-list Colonial (sorry, "Commonwealth" [sic]) Games in 2022. Labour in Birmingham and the poverty ghetto of Sandwell enthusiastically hurled nearly £800m of taxpayers' money at the circus. Birmingham City Council has since gone into the local government equivalent of bankruptcy, and deeply-corrupt Sandwell recently declared a "£20m black-hole" in its finances.

The former Tory Mayor of the West Midlands, Andy Street, cannot see a bandwagon passing without jumping on it and he, and his besotted local Conservative rimmers, started a BS campaign of epic proportions to big-up the egg and spoon race event. The Tories claim to be the Party of "law'n'order" (with many exclusions such as compliance with Covid Regulations) but cheered as £97m of OUR money was blown on policing and security alone. 

Incredibly, Brummies are now even more sick and indolent than Scousers (!) with a quarter of the population on out of work benefits. We are in "Great Depression" territory. The hard-working folk in our conurbation have sweated and grafted in the recent heatwave so as to pay more and more taxes to the economically inactive, yet the politicians are happy to take workers' money and waste it on fripperies. Just imagine if the incredible sums spent on the Games had been spent on economically useful infrastructure and job creation ...

The following three images provide a visual metaphor for the BS surrounding the Games and their supposed "legacy" i.e. the most expensive bull in history at New Street Station. Locals will know that an area of central Birmingham is protected against terrorist attack by a "ring of steel" during such events as the annual East European (formerly "German") Market. Part of the infrastructure in the Sh*tty Centre was made into a flower bed on Bennetts Hill.

Picture One - shortly before the Games:

Picture 2 - during the Games (roadworks also gone):

Picture 3 - now - the Games Legacy. The visitors have gone, and so the city can return to toilet-status for the locals:

Incidentally, we will shortly be writing about the laughable Colmore BID (Business Improvement District [sic]) - watch this space. The latest accounts for the BID shows that it has somehow amassed an astonishing £1.3m IN CASH! Perhaps its huge cohort of employees can drag themselves away from Pure Bar and get down to the garden centre?

Birmingham's status as Britain's "second city" rests solely on its population size. In terms of economic growth, vibrancy and cultural offerings then many would argue that Manchester has already seized that second spot. Brum may be - or soon will be - the UK's "third city" but it is still numero uno for bullsh*t!

iancrowmultimedia@gmail.com

A Crow Multimedia Blog