A general view of Council House in Birmingham, September 19, 2023
PROTESTERS and trade unionists gathered outside Birmingham Council House today to rally against cuts to services in the city as councillors met to sign off on a devastating budget.
The council plans to cut £367 million over the next two years, sacrificing services affecting children, families, libraries, youth, roads, parks and the arts.
At least 600 jobs are expected to be axed in the process.
Liverpool Trades Council has unveiled a ‘People’s Budget’ to fight £56m cuts and council tax rises. DEAN YOUNG reports
LOTTE COLLETT welcomes the arrival of a new party for the left, a vehicle for councils to finally fight for progressive policies on housing, green spaces and public facilities, rather than administering cuts and misery from central government
![Strike Map activists visit striking refuse workers in Birmingham, April 29, 2025 [Pic: Strike Map]](https://msd11.gn.apc.org/sites/default/files/styles/desktop/public/2025-05/DSC_0753.JPG.webp?itok=cGpyAgb0)
As Birmingham’s refuse workers fight brutal pay cuts, Strike Map rallies mass solidarity, with unions, activists, and workers converging to defy scab labour and police intimidation. The message to Labour? Back workers or face rebellion, writes HENRY FOWLER and ROBERT POOLE