Interview

August 8, 2026August 9, 2026

FEATURE: “It was just a car crash. And our local councillors, I’ll be honest, they didn’t stand a chance.”

(l-r) Paulette Hamilton and Keir Starmer at Tia’s Hair Salon on York Rd, Erdington – on the campaign trail for the 2022 Parliamentary by-election / Erdington Local archives

The recent Local Elections in May saw Labour lose six local councillors across the Erdington constituency and get propelled out of power across the wider city – with many blaming a toxic national brand and blind hate for anyone wearing a red rosette.

The once safe labour seat was now, on a local level, overwhelmingly represented by Reform UK. And on the doorsteps, it seems the public ire was aimed at one politician – Sir Keir Starmer.

Erdington Local sat down with Paulette Hamilton MP to ask just how bad it has become for Labour and why she was so publicly vocal about the need for change at the top.

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Words by Ed King

Paulette Hamilton MP looks tired, sounds tired, and is hastily eating lunch on the go as we sit down to discuss the thrashing the Labour candidates in her constituency took at the recent Local Election – which saw several longstanding Labour seats go over to the new kids on the block.

An hour behind schedule, she’s been at “big roundtable in [Birmingham] City Centre looking at supported exempt accommodation” – an issue that often dominates both public and political discourse in the city – and is “not in Parliament today because I am, as I’ve always said, I’m more interested in the local things.”

Breakdown of Birmingham City Council seats won in May ’26 Local Election

And it would be pertinent to be present in Erdington right now, for a Labour MP. In May, mirroring results from across the country, Reform UK smashed down Erdington’s red wall to take all the ward seats in Oscott, Kingstanding, Pype Hayes, and Perry Common, and one in Stockland Green. A tough night for Erdington Constituency Labour Party (CLP), no doubt.

And in her own patch, this Labour MP now has only two of her own party as elected officials: Cllr Ray Goodwin on Castle Vale and Cllr Mick Brown in Gravelly Hill. Both whom carried themselves through with fiercely fought for local support, winning despite of their national party.

“I’m a bit of a hands-on MP,” begins Paulette Hamilton, explaining her own experiences on the campaign trail, in both the recent Local Elections and the last General Election. “I don’t just send people out to do things I won’t do myself. And I’ll start by prefacing everything I’m going to say. I really like Sir Keir Starmer.”

You can sense what’s coming. But the rumbling beneath the surface back in 2024 seems to have erupted into something much more unpleasant in 2026.

Local election count at Utilita Arena / Photograph by Ed King

“We noticed it during the General Election” continues Hamilton. “People were saying, yes, they would give us a chance, but they don’t like our leader. And what we were finding [during the campaign for the Local Elections] was in areas like Castle Vale, Kingstanding, in Erdington, and other places, people started talking about national issues at the door.

“So at the door, we were getting national issues, not local ones. And it all ended with – we don’t like your leader. Some people were literally slamming the door in my face.

“In Oscott [the Labour candidates] had a really difficult time. It was all about immigration. They don’t want the boat people, the black people. I had people at doors. saying to me, are you black? Where are you from?”

Paulette Hamilton became Birmingham’s first ever Black MP, coming comfortably first across the finish line in the 2022 by-election, triggered by the untimely death of Jack Dromey MP.

“Where is your mum from? Where is your grandmother from?” continues Hamilton, describing the racism she experienced ahead of the May elections. “And when I said the Caribbean [they said] well, you’re not British then.

“You’re not white. You’re not white. You’re not… your family history doesn’t come from England, Scotland, Ireland or Wales. And this is what your party is about.”

Abhorrent, no question. But how different was this to campaigning for the Parliamentary seat in 2022 or 2024, when it was about national issues?

“Much more hostile, but it was definitely on national issues. Don’t get me wrong, [people] talked about the bin strike, which was relatable. They talked about Birmingham being bankrupt. But you’d have expected to hear far more of that, considering it was [a Local Election].

“And everything was being blamed on Labour, even though Labour had only been in power for 18 months. And it was all our fault.”

(l-r) Keir Starmer and Paulette Hamilton at press conference in Erdington during 2022 by-election / Erdington Local Archives

There is little doubt that the political landscape has changed, with more popularist parties – both left and right leaning – gaining momentum and seats in the House. And with such vitriol for the leader of your party, as Hamilton admits “we were going to lose” at the next General Election.

“If I hadn’t experienced it, I wouldn’t have believed it could have happened,” adds Hamilton, “but I knew the Labour Party was headed in the wrong direction.

“We’d got the policies, we’ve got the people, but unfortunately the public have stopped… had stopped listening to us and we needed a reset.”

And that reset came, eventually, after an increasing number of Labour stalwarts began to come out and call for Keir Starmer to lay out a timeline for his resignation – the message, received sometimes so aggressively on the doorstep, was clear. A change was needed at the top.

(l-r) Keir Starmer and Paulette Hamilton meet CLP members on Erdington High Street during 2022 by-election campaign / Erdington Local archives

Paulette Hamlton took several interviews on high profile national news outlets, being very clear that Sir Keir needed to go. As risky move for a backbencher, but “I just knew that I had got nothing to lose at that point” she explains.

“I was always going out and I was always spouting the party lines,” continues Hamilton. “But it came to a point where I had to look at my constituency… I had got an Asian part of my constituency that had disengaged. They’d just disengaged with Keir Starmer, the Labour Party, the whole lot.

“Black community stayed at home, disengaged, because Derek (Douglas, who lost the race for the Stockland Green Ward by one vote to Reform’s Manni Butt) would have won that seat if the Black community had engaged enough, right?

Cllr Manni Butt at Utilita Arena after winning Stockland Green Ward by one vote / Photograph by Ed king

“White communities split to hell between reform, Labour, Greens, left, right. And then we’d got a leader that was just carrying on and not listening to what was going on out in the country. And I just felt I’m of an age where I can either carry on hoping for some big Cabinet position that was never going to come, or I can be true to what residents are saying to me.”

Backs against the wall, perhaps. And whilst the very public move, and being one of the first to make it, may have garnered Paulette Hamilton “a lot of hugs” from some in Westminster, she hasn’t got “Andy’s (Burnam) number in my phone book or been promised some position”.

“[People in Erdington] need to feel that the voices they are hearing, they can trust,” adds Hamiton. “They need to feel better that they are… They’re getting the change that they were promised. They’re getting the finances in their pocket. They feel better when they wake up compared to when they went to bed. They have seen improvements in the area where they live.”

And now that the King is dead, and the national Labour Party is on the cusp of crowning another, does our battle weary Erdington MP believe the gamble paid off?

“I actually do. And I have… you’ll be the first to know, but I have nominated [Andy Burnham. This man has done 20 odd years in Parliament. He went to Greater Manchester and learned those skills that sometimes parliamentarians haven’t got. And that is local community and what local communities need.

“And when you combine all those skills and plus his personality… He doesn’t forget a name. You know, he really is a people’s person. And I think it shines.”

For more for Paulette Hamilton MP visit www.paulettehamilton.org

May 6, 2026May 6, 2026

LOCAL POLITICS INTERVIEW: Sam Richards – standing as an independent candidate in Stockland Green

Words by Nicola Murray

In the UK, a political shift is underway. The tacit two party system has been eroded, with those who were once seen as outside the race now potentially taking pole position.

Many pundits cite the electorate’s growing lack of faith in Westminster’s traditional leading forces, with large numbers of red or blue rosettes being cast aside in favour for more populist politics.

This loss in trust has also given rise to a swarth of independent candidates – campaigning in local elections for their communities without the clamour of a national party falling from grace.

And they’re gaining seats as well as ground – following the 2024 local elections, the Local Government Association Independent Group declared the “ascent of Independents… in the recent local elections is nothing short of breathtaking.”

Sam Richards, a local campaigner with no formal political background, is standing as an independent candidate for the Stockland Green ward in the upcoming Council elections – where the full 101 local councillor seats will be contested across Birmingham.

Richards, who lives in Stockland Green, has worked with hundreds of families and young people through her community organisation D1C1 – actively campaigning for youth provision in the area and better family support.

Now she is throwing her hat into the ring against two candidates from every major party, one from the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition, and the two sitting councillors – Jane Jones and Amar Khan – who left the Labour Party after being deselected by the National Executive Committee and are, themselves, now standing as independents.

But Richards is resolute, and argues “people, not politics” should shape decision-making at a local level.

Stockland Green sign on Slade Road / Photograph by Ed King

“When the elections came about, I was already in a position of community advocacy and leadership,” she tells, adding that running for local office felt like a “natural extension” to the work she was already doing.

As with D1C2, it was the deprivation in the Stockland Green community that spurred Richards into politics.

“Some of the issues we face in Stockland Green are drug and alcohol abuse,” she tells, “children living below the poverty line, youth crime, unemployment challenges, and general neglect of our area.”

And the key is to get to the heart of the problem early, with Richards “looking at early intervention, and how we can bring more resources, support, and opportunities directly into the community.”

Many argue that being part of a political party would give someone such as Sam Richards a more powerful voice in the Council chamber, as well as a great chance of getting the chance to sit there.

But Richards is clear that her decision to stand as an independent was intentional.

Overflowing bins on Slade Road / Photograph by Ed King

“The only option was to stand as an independent to ensure that politics don’t become a distraction for my core values,” she explains, adding that “not coming in with a set political perspective will help me prioritise the voice of the community.

“When I look at politics from the outside I have seen how policies and political agendas can get in the way.”

The sentiment is rooted in a broader frustration with the current political climate, with many independent candidates standing one a firm and single issue – such as support for Gaza or a subject more directly closer to home.

There’s also the growing disillusionment in the political status quo, and Richards believes that national politics has filtered down to local politics: “I am also finding that there is a lot of distrust at the moment surrounding political parties because there is so much going on at the government level which has left a lot of people very confused and unsure of what to do.”

For Richards, this confusion risks overshadowing urgent local issues.

Stockland Green Primary Care sign / Photograph by Ed King

“We have things to be resolved in our community regardless of the political party in power,” she adds. “That needs to be the priority, not the political agendas.”

This is reflected on the doorstep, with Richards encountering a consistent theme of people switching off from politics altogether.

“I am finding that the political landscape at the moment has deterred a lot of people from wanting to vote,” she tells, whilst encouraging people to believe “there is power in your vote… people need to do their own research into individuals outside of their party affiliations.”

But despite the shift, in both the corridors of power and the minds of those who vote to send people there, standing outside the mainstream party system does come with some practical challenges. Independents lack the built-in support structures and networks that are available to party-backed candidates.

Richards is realistic about this and has plans for how she will navigate those lonely waters if elected.

“With two seats available in Stockland Green, I would work with whoever is elected alongside me,” she explains. “I have no alliances, so I can work with anyone to ensure that the voice of the community is heard.”

But whilst Sam Richards is “happy to work with members of political parties”, and is even “advocating for that partnership”, she draws a clear line when it comes to any formal alignment in the case of a Council led by coalition.

“It wouldn’t work for me,” she said, “I am not looking to be affiliated with a party.”

For more on Sam Richards, click here.

Birmingham voters will head to the polling stations on Thursday 7 May to elect local councillors in all the 69 wards throughout the city.

To find out more about all the candidates standing in Stockland Green, visit: www.erdingtonlocal.com/local-politics-meet-the-candidates-in-stockland-green

October 20, 2024October 20, 2024

FEATURE: “I don’t think there’s enough celebrating the present,” local poet Joe Cook pays homage to Erdington’s modern-day achievements with ‘Odeington’

Words by Ed King / Pics by Grant Archer – with screenshots from the film by Chris Neophytou

‘Odeington’ / Screenshot from film by Chris Neophytou

Erdington born poet and spoken word artist, Joe Cook, has penned an homage to the lives and achievements of people from where calls home.

‘Odeington’ was commissioned as part of the St Barnabas Church bicentennial, to commemorate the cultural legacy of an area that gets more than its fair share Black Sabbath references. But born and raised in Stockland Green, Joe Cook wanted his words to stand testament to the modern day success stories from Kingstanding to Castle Vale.

Erdington Local caught up with the prolific poet, youth worker, and creative, to find out just what drums he thinks the North Birmingham constituency should be banging louder.

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The urban myth suggests if you type ‘Erdington’ into an online search engine you’ll see mainly news story about crime. The reality is you will, from media outlets reporting on crime. Ours included (although I hope we present more balanced content).

But you’ll also see Council information, estate agent postings, links to local facilities and sports clubs, historical features – albeit many about now aging rockers on Erdington High Street, and a range of “top rated holiday rentals” from Air B’n’B.

Desperate to reset the narrative, Stockland Green born and raised poet and spoken word artist, Joe Cook, used a recent commission to celebrate the modern day success stories from across the North Birmingham constituency – arguing when you start to refocus and scratch a more positive surface, there is quite a lot of them. And if you want to get all postcode and territorial about it, more than most.

“What I was really trying to get across, is that a lot of people in Erdington they often talk retrospectively – like, ‘it used to be great, it used to be this,” tells Joe Cook, after giving Erdington Local a sneak peak look and listen to his poem ‘Odeington’ – a portmanteau titled celebration of where he was born and raised.

“[People say] we used to have Mothers,” Erdington’s iconic music club and worldwide musical blue plaque, “and how amazing it was, and a lot of the online groups celebrate things in the past.” You can sense a restrained frustration from a man who used words for a living, “and I don’t think there’s enough celebrating the present.”

Without letting the stray cat out of the coal sack, Cook’s lyrics in ‘Odeington’ challenge the too often held view that Erdington is “all kind of hot spot here, think it’s just gunshot here, police line do not cross here” – delivered in a heartfelt piece to camera filmed underneath the Spaghetti Junction, as part of the accompanying video shot by local artists and filmmaker Chris Neophytou.

“And I just feel like everyone has this… I call them ‘Erdington ex-pats’ in the poem,” continues Cook, “saying ‘oh it used to be like this…’ but there’s still good community stuff happening here.”

Erdington has a vast network of local activists and community groups, again arguably more than other areas of the city, from the award-winning Erdington Litter Busters to the softer touch socially inclusive Erdington Walking Group.

There is also a significant Central and Eastern European support network, a raft of religious and secular ‘warm spaces’, and widespread grassroots mental health support services – growing from the legacy of Highcroft and Northcroft hospitals and the tragedy of the ‘Care in the Community’ programme.

Then you have the musical lineage that spawned from the onetime Erdington High Street music venue, Mothers – with local legends like Black Sabbath, Led Zepplin, and Judas Priest notched on its bedpost. But as Cook’s lyrics warn: “we can’t spend our days spinning soundtracks, throwbacks, staring at blue plaques, we’ve got to welcome the next acts.”

“From a musical perspective there’s good [contemporary] artists that have come out of Erdington and still are doing stuff,” argues Cook, who has long championed local and upcoming artists through his verse and wider creative endeavours.

“That was the kind of tone I was going for; I was trying to celebrate some of the stuff that came out of [Erdington] but not just doing the obvious things.

“I do talk about Mothers, but I also talk about Lady Sanity, Aashley Allen, Reuben Reynolds, and Mist… and Hoodrich [clothing brand], you know, and the guy that founded that was from Erdington.” All now internationally known names who were born from humble beginning across B23 or B24.

Cook is quick to add the B44 born Jilted Royalty clothing line to the list of local luminaries too, whose internationally loved and respected founder, Jay Read, recently passed away.

“He was from Kingstanding,.. and he was a really influential streetwear slash creative guy.” The ‘Odeington’ poet can been seen sporting one of Jilted Royalty’s limited edition t-shirts in the accompanying video.

Outside of music, Joe Cook uses ‘Odeington’ to champion the vibrant local sports community – and if you think that’s a stretch, the hyperbole is anchored by a 1500 capacity. four pitch football football stadium nestled behind a children’s play area on Farnborough Fields, Castle Vale.

“And I talk a little bit about Lean Edwards,” adds Cook, “there’s a lot of people who have come from Erdington or come via Erdington which I think is something really important,” giving the Erdington adopted MMA World Champion his resoundingly deserved dues.

But the starting point for this hand-crafted love letter to Erdington’s contemporaries is altogether more visceral. And as with many wars and marriages, it begins over food.

“My initial inspiration was when I was walking from [Erdington] train station and I could smell jerk chicken,” explains Joe Cook. “Then there’s an Italian [restaurant], then a Romanian, then you go down the road and there’s a Vietnamese… and that was my starting point – we’ve got all these cultures right here, all this cuisine. And that made me start thinking outwards about it.”

But behind the food lies a cultural melting pot which mirrors Cook’s own family experience, after his mother’s family moved to Erdington from the back to backs in Hockley and his dad’s Irish/Maltese family followed from Balsall Heath after emigrating to the UK.

Erdington is a place, like many other industrial or port town and cities, that was carved out of stones from all corners of the world – giving it strong foundations and a rich history, but on occasion rocks to throw.

And when it comes to using his words to celebrate his community, Joe Cook takes his position as local poet as seriously as the youth engagement work he has delivered across the region.

“I think the idea of being a laureate, or in the West African tradition of a griot, or folk music, it’s all about that localisation and communities – and art should try and serve the community as best as possible,” tells Cook, who has previously been shortlisted for Birmingham Laureate, “and these are the best kind of examples of what poetry should be, to me.”

“I think North Birmingham is forgotten about in a lot of ways, economically and whatever, [but] one of the amazing things about Erdington is that people do have each other’s back and do try and help each other.

“We haven’t got this big infrastructure; we haven’t got these big community hubs. But there’s these little pockets of grassroots activities that make a big impact on people’s lives. And that’s what I’d want to shout about more.”

‘Odeington’ – written and performed by Joe Cook, film by Chris Neophytou

For more on Joe Cook visit www.jcrhythmandpoetry.bandcamp.com or follow him on Instagram at www.instagram.com/joecook349

For more from Chris Neophytou visit www.linktr.ee/chris_neophytou

November 9, 2021November 9, 2021

INTERVIEW: Terry Guest – Erdington BID & Town Centre Manager

Words & pics by Ed King

“The main plan and priority have to be now… increased security, we have to emphasise to the police and the Council the importance of providing the necessary security for this High Street and the support for our Warden.”

On Friday 12 November the future of the Erdington Business Improvement District (Erdington BID) will be known, as voting to renew the organisation finishes on Thursday this week.

Over the past month, local shop owners and businesses have been casting paper ballots ‘yes’ or ‘no’ – a vote which if successfully passed will see the Erdington BID in place for another half decade.

Each business that falls within the catchment area – which stretches from Six Ways to Edwards Road, including all shops on Erdington High Street and Sutton New Road – pays 1.75% of their rateable value to finance the BID, which stands as ‘a partnership between the business community and other local stakeholders… helping to sustain Erdington as a vibrant urban village.’

Initially voted in by local businesses in 2007, Erdington BID’s current five year term is set to expire in July 2022.

Terry Guest has been Erdington BID & Town Centre Manager since assuming the roll in 2011. He explained the organisation’s responsibilities:

“It’s twofold these days. One of the things that the BID has always done is put the basics in place – such as security, the Christmas lights, hanging baskets.

“But the BID has also done its own projects, such as the garden area we created next to the library – that was a project that proved very popular.

“One of the things I’m keen to do is to expand that green aspect of the High Street… so that anyone there can actually sit down and relax and have something of a more pleasant view than just concrete.

“There’s that sort of basic thing. But the other side of it now is that the BID has become more of a voice – a voice with the Government and a voice with the Council. And we need that now more than ever.”

Erdington High Street has recently seen applications rejected for two multi-million pounds pots of Government investment, missing out on the Levelling Up Fund in October and the Future High Street Fund back in January.

If successful, each application would have seen over £50m pumped into the High Street from the private and public sector.

Terry added: “We’ve been behind both the Levelling Up Fund and Future High Streets Fund applications, which have failed so far – but we’re not stopping at that. In the future, what the BID is evolving into, and has been for some time, is to be a voice with the Government and the Council.

“Which is important, because we know that both governments and councils recognise BIDs – and that’s becoming a larger part of it, where we have to make our voice be heard and get the best deal for businesses.”

But the fate of the Erdington BID still hangs in the balance, as local businesses ultimately vote and pay for the organisation’s next five years – a levy of around £116,000 per annum. And as in any election there are mandates and manifestos.

“One is policing,” explained Terry. “We’ve been involved very heavily in getting a Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) put in place for the High Street – which, when we’ve got that in, allow us, allows anyone, to contact the police to remove anyone who is causing anti-social behaviour. Drug deals, minor crime, and so on.

“We’ve seen since 2018, when the last PSPO was cancelled, that really the aspect of working with the police is incredibly important. As it is with the Council, such as the state of the roads and pavements, the fly tipping and so on – a big portion of my job (as Town Centre Manager) these days is walking up and down the High Street taking photos of rubbish, then reporting it to the Council.”

Fly tipping and anti-social behaviour are problems raised by people across the constituency. But what can the Erdington BID do to tackle these issues on the High Street?

“What I think the BID has done… and I had evidence about this in an email from Birmingham City Council this morning about the PSPO, is that the BID has been very active in raising these issues and perhaps now getting some results.

“We’ve had a few incidents on the High Street recently which has caused me to react to the slowness of the police and Council to act in this (reinstating the PSPO).

“We are now at the stage where the Council have issued a press release and a notice of public consultation about the PSPO

“So, we’re at that stage, we will go into a public consultation about this. Not quick enough for me, whenever it is.

“I pressed the councillors about this, and I was told it could be pushed towards the end of the year.

“The original promise, by the Council earlier in the year, is that this would be done and dusted by the 30 September. To me it’s three years too late, not three months too late.”

But Erdington BID does more than tackle crime and disorder on the High Street, as the organisation allots £20000 per annum to ‘marketing, events, and promotion’ – including the long standing Christmas lights switch on.

“What we’ve also taken to doing in the last few years is sponsoring other people’s events,” explained Terry.

“So, when Oikos Café have a street event we’ve sponsored that in the past. When St Barnabas Church have their village fayre in the middle of the summer – before lockdown – we sponsored that as well. So, there’s number of ways we can promote ourselves.

“This year we’re not going to have a Christmas lights switch on… I would have had to order the lights a few months ago, when our futures were all in doubt; we didn’t know if we were going to get another lockdown so we had to abandon that.

“But there is a proviso in the business plan that if we have money somewhere that we can’t spend, then we’ll put it somewhere else.

“For instance, it’s about time we had some new litter bins on the High Street – we could perhaps finance that if we haven’t got the event money (for the Christmas lights switch on).”

But the main priority for the Erdington BID, if re-elected this week, remains a firm hand on crime and disorder – seeing anti-social behaviour on the High Street as a systemic problem.

“The ideal is that we want daily police patrols back on the High Street and our Warden in support of those, rather than him being so proactive.

“I’m keen to get the High Street looking greener than it is; I’m keen to get more awareness of the High Steet out to the shoppers.

“But the shoppers need to feel it’s a safe place to walk up and down, or a safe place to sit on a bench and have a cup of coffee and enjoy the scenery.”

For more on the Erdington Business Improvement District visit www.erdingtonhighstreet.co.uk