• MP's pledge for city as jobless queue extends

  By Sutton Coldfield Observer at 09:20 on 18/05/12

  

  THE MP for Erdington has criticised the Government after figures released this week confirmed the number of long-term unemployed was at its worst level since 1996. Jack Dromey MP said the double-dip recession "that was made in Downing Street" had meant there were now eight Brummies seeking each available job, with 887,000 people in the United Kingdom out of work for more than a year. In April there were 1,554,548 people...

• viewfromthehouse

  By Sutton Coldfield Observer at 09:00 on 18/05/12

  

  LAST week, the Government had an opportunity through the Queen's speech to show they had listened to hard working families following the Local Elections and put forward a credible plan for jobs and growth in Britain. Instead, they delivered their plan for the next year without a single mention of jobs, leaving millions out of work, and failed to put forward measures to get our economy going again to take us out of the double-dip...

• Voters reject elected city mayor in favour of status quo

  By Sutton Coldfield Observer at 09:20 on 11/05/12

  

  BIRMINGHAM voters rejected the idea of an elected mayor in a referendum held last Thursday. The vote, on whether or not they wished the city to be governed by an elected mayor was held alongside the city council elections. And the results showed that although 88,085 (42.2 per cent) voters were in favour of the change, 120,611 (57.8 per cent) voted against it. As a result, the city of Birmingham will continue to be governed by the...

• How you voted in the Birmingham City Council elections:

  By Sutton Coldfield Observer at 09:00 on 11/05/12

  

  Erdington: Bob Beauchamp (Con) – 2,300 Elaine Jackson (Lab) – 1,854 David Williams (Green) – 161 Morris Vincent (BNP) – 142 Philip Mills (Lib Dem) – 114 Sutton Trinity: Philip Parkin (Con) – 2,639 Roger Barley (Lab) – 1,541 Ulla Grant – 421 Sally Lippiatt – 415 Four Oaks: Meirion Jenkins (Con) – 3,699 Manish Puri (Lab) – 869 David Ratcliff (Green)...

• viewfromthehouse

  By Walsall Advertiser at 09:20 on 10/05/12

  

  BENEATH the blanket of a dreary bank holiday weekend, democracy has been busy at work right across Europe. Grim election results for the coalition government, the defeat of Nicholas Sarkozy and what seems like post election chaos in Greece. The curse of the Euro has done little to promote harmony and things are beginning to bite in Euro land. Chancellor Merkel is the angel of austerity who believes that the answer to Greece, Spain,...

View more…