I was brought up in Birmingham and this city means everything to me.

Full statement

It has all the cultural wisdom and insight you could wish for but the Council has yet to embrace and harness it. We need to respect residents’ experience, knowledge and ideas about making the local area cleaner, safer, healthier, welcoming and more inspiring. By working respectfully alongside residents, we can help create places and environments where everyone thrives.
Talking to the residents of Bournbrook and Selly Park is a thought-provoking and eye-opening experience. People tell you about things like flooding, bad landlords and road safety. They explain how their area has changed over the years and share their hopes and ideas for a better, healthier future.

Again and again, voters tell you that politicians have promised much but let them down. People are weary of vested interests and political squabbling. Birmingham is in trouble: residents have endured bin strikes, public service cuts, health-wrecking pollution and years of neglect. Solving these issues is urgent. We all pay our Council Tax and it isn’t too much to ask that all the basics work properly.

As a Green party member, I know that social and environmental justice go hand in hand. The poorest residents of the city suffer the most from pollution and speeding. Like many others, I’m desperate for this city to recycle our waste and stop burning our rubbish. As a cyclist, too, I share many residents’ desire for safe, healthy travel routes.

So the last thing we need is another generation of unimaginative and unresponsive politicians who forget to listen to the people they were elected to serve. Elected councillors must bring emotional intelligence and integrity to their roles and they have a responsibility to ensure that politicians work together for the common good. Council plans and policies must genuinely represent residents’ needs and wishes so that meaningful and sustainable improvements are delivered for everyone.

I’m always learning new things about Birmingham’s amazing global history. People tell me all sorts of things I never learned at school. In my podcast - Only in Birmingham - I recently explored the Bull Ring market, which is set to be destroyed in 2028. For centuries the market has been a cultural meeting place selling global foods. It offers culinary knowledge, affordable food, minimal packaging and reduced food waste. For the stall-holders, trading in the Bull Ring market puts food on the table. As a public historian who has taught in schools and universities for 30 years, I know that understanding the past is key to making informed decisions about the future. It saddens me to see these kinds of decisions being taken without much concern for the fact that this 850 year-old market was the reason Birmingham developed as a city in the first place.

Finally, amid the rise of Reform, we need elected representatives who understand the pleasure of connecting with our neighbours across faiths and cultures. We need to defend Birmingham’s traditions of equity and anti-racism by standing up for each other with affection and integrity. As an elected representative, I know I will not fail to promote curiosity and connection over fear and prejudice.