Media Watch - April 29
Top Birmingham City Council Stories
Row over travellers’ new camp (Birmingham Mail) A second permanent campsite for travellers in Birmingham has been earmarked for Shard End, prompting protests from residents.
Julie is backing bid for culture crown (Birmingham Mail) Midland actress Julie Walters is the latest celebrity to back Birmingham’s UK City of Culture bid.
Plan for dedicated pensioners’ haven (Birmingham Mail) Birmingham’s second dedicated village for pensioners is on the starting blocks.
Dog cruelty man in 10-year animal ban (Birmingham Mail) A Birmingham man neglected his dog so much the animal had to be put down, a court was told. /?p=9458
Council faces £3bn bill for back-pay (Birmingham Post) Lawyers at Birmingham City Council are studying in detail a damning 169-page employment tribunal judgement to see whether there are any grounds for appealing against a potentially cataclysmic equal pay ruling.
City couple set up new firm after debt free scheme halted (Birmingham Post) A Birmingham business which promised to make people debt-free for as little as £1 has launched a new service hours after it was banned from ‘buying’debt. Birmingham City Council trading standards secured an interim Enforcement Order against debt sale firm Momentum Netword Limited.
Local coalitions lead the way as Birmingham prepares for leaders' debates (Times) In Birmingham, a city still rocking on its recessionary heels, voters do not seem interested in the merits of different electoral systems or the constitutional niceties of hung Parliaments. Labour says that the Lib-Con administration in Birmingham has announced plans to cut 2,000 public sector jobs, while closing old people's homes and renegotiating the contracts of 45,000 often low-paid council workers.
On equal pay, sisters with solicitors must do it for themselves (Guardian) Editorial comment claims that the news about Birmingham city council is in its way as big a deal, and it alleges as cataclysmically bankrupting, as Greece. Unlike Greece, it says it has a massive, Erin Brockovich feelgood factor and we’d be talking about it much more if it weren’t for bigot-gate.
Equal pay: today Birmingham, tomorrow the world (Guardian) Blog states that the tribunal decision in favour of thousands of female council workers is an historic victory for a ‘long-overlooked injustice.’
Birmingham council women win up to £600m payout for discrimination (Times) About 5,000 women council workers have won a sex discrimination case that could cost taxpayers £600 million in payouts.
Regional Headlines
Final General Election debate to be held at the University of Birmingham.
Bus driver sacked for reading while driving (BBC)
The National Express West Midlands driver was filmed last week steering the number 61 bus in Birmingham with his elbows while holding a small book.
Arrest over Birmingham petrol station attack
A man has been arrested following an assault outside a Birmingham petrol station which left a man critically ill.
National Headlines:
Widespread election coverage.
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Gordon Brown ‘bigot’ row overshadows last TV debate
Gordon Brown’s preparations for the final TV debate have been over-shadowed by negative headlines after he called a pensioner he had met “bigoted”.
House price inflation hits 10.5%, says the Nationwide
The annual rate of UK house price inflation has hit double figures for the first time since June 2007, according to the Nationwide.
Stalking helpline for UK victims set to be launched
A UK-wide helpline for victims of stalking is being launched later today.
