News that matters, campaigns that count for Birmingham, the Black Country and beyond http://www.thestirrer.co.uk/thestirrer.xml news The Stirrer en-gb Fri, 2 May 2008 21:54:26 +0100 editor@thestirrer.com(Editor) Fri, 2 May 2008 21:48:37 +0100 general webmaster@thestirrer.co.uk(Webmaster) FeedForAll v2.0 (2.0.2.9) http://www.feedforall.com Local Council elections…a promotion party…a trip to Lasan…and 100,000 visits to this website. Stirrer editor Adrian Goldberg sums up another hectic seven days http://www.thestirrer.co.uk/stirrers-blog-0305081.html A85EED0B-1D6A-41BC-A7C4-5640575ABA80 Fri, 2 May 2008 21:48:37 +0100 The Stirrer is delighted to bring readers an exclusive clip of Birmingham MP John Hemming, whose debut single is released as a download next week. The track, “Bring The Sunshine In”, is aimed at highlighting miscarriages of justice against mothers and fathers. http://www.thestirrer.co.uk/john-hemming-the-musical-0305081.html 6C7BB3A5-849B-498D-8E90-E798E224D139 Fri, 2 May 2008 21:48:12 +0100 Now that Scotland and Wales have progressive, devolved governments, should England have one too wonders Barbara Panvel. http://www.thestirrer.co.uk/devolution-for-england-0305081.html ECBE94CE-FD1B-4510-AF41-BF1CA2459EE0 Fri, 2 May 2008 21:47:40 +0100 Callum’s Blues Blog Blues have a six-pointer againt Fulham, then a home match against Blackburn to save their Premiership skins. Callum O' Connell isn't putting his house on it. http://www.thestirrer.co.uk/keep-right-on-0305081.html BA0DE64C-E2C2-44B5-9B79-CA85A77DB6E1 Fri, 2 May 2008 21:47:15 +0100 Workers at Solihull’s Fujitsu telecom factory where 140 jobs are threatened aren’t going down without a fight. Abigail Lawrence Jones of the Communications Workers Union explains why the plant - recently praised by Gordon Brown - must be saved. http://www.thestirrer.co.uk/fujitsu-workers-0305081.html 457DF20E-6A82-4C99-995E-73CF835C2954 Fri, 2 May 2008 21:46:19 +0100 As Villa head into the final furlong with Europe on their minds, Dave Woodhall makes a surprising plea – for higher ticket prices http://www.thestirrer.co.uk/the-price-is-wrong-0305081.html 3088EB35-A7FB-4D0A-A414-314056296D5C Fri, 2 May 2008 21:45:35 +0100 Election 08 Voters in Wolverhampton delivered a massive snub to Gordon Brown by voting out the city’s Labour administration. Four cabinet members and the Mayor all lost their seats. http://www.thestirrer.co.uk/labour-topped-wolverhampton-0205081.html 6B09B54C-87AE-4668-A17E-928CFE2461A7 Fri, 2 May 2008 13:32:53 +0100 Election 08 The Conservatives held on to both Dudley and Walsall Councils – which in the light of national trends is no surprise. In Dudley they gained four seats, while in Walsall there was no movement. http://www.thestirrer.co.uk/tories-hold-dudley-walsall-0205081.html A78AB049-C521-4DBF-8429-5F1FFE84C2FE Fri, 2 May 2008 12:16:24 +0100 Election 08 - Sandwell Sandwell’s opposition Conservatives maintained their recent progress in the borough – but Labour were able to claim it was a successful night after losing only three seats overall. http://www.thestirrer.co.uk/honours-even-as-tories-gain-0205081.html 5E196D1E-7281-4C48-8402-F930C83387EA Fri, 2 May 2008 11:10:22 +0100 Election 08 - Birmingham Mike Whitby hailed the dawn of “urban Conservatism” as the Conservatives snatched six seats from Labour in Birmingham – including traditional working class heartlands like Stockland Green and Weoley. http://www.thestirrer.co.uk/labour-gets-the-blues-0205081.html 4E40ADF6-268C-42C0-8208-EC91B1D0E7BB Fri, 2 May 2008 11:09:40 +0100 BNP leader Nick Griffin “gatecrashed” the 40th anniversary of Enoch Powell’s infamous “Rivers of Blood” speech yesterday by watching a bizarre re-enactment at the city’s Burlington Hotel – the same venue which hosted the original meeting in 1968. http://www.thestirrer.co.uk/bnp-gatecrashers-2104081.html 9EFAA6BE-AF25-40C3-A3BD-D69BBC42B321 Mon, 21 Apr 2008 07:51:51 +0100 Police have arrested a 20-year old man on suspicion of murder following yesterday’s Second City derby between Villa and Blues. A 26-year old male pedestrian was knocked down outside the ground at 3pm around an hour after the final whistle. He later died in hospital. http://www.thestirrer.co.uk/second-city-murder-2104081.html 56231CF1-D912-4CDC-82EF-408CE79D27EE Mon, 21 Apr 2008 07:51:14 +0100 Northfield MP Richard Burden insists the battle to bring car production back to Longbridge isn’t over yet – despite the withdrawal of car body manufacturer Stadco from the former Rover works. A crunch meeting on Wednesday will provide a much clearer vision of the way ahead. http://www.thestirrer.co.uk/not-over-for-rover-2104081.html 9796F2A0-CE67-4314-AB04-CAF681377B18 Mon, 21 Apr 2008 07:50:43 +0100 Lynn Truss, step aside. Ros Dodd is gunning for your title as Britain’s number one literary pedant. http://www.thestirrer.co.uk/whatever-happened-2104081.html C80648E5-3961-4038-A008-7BA40B339F02 Mon, 21 Apr 2008 07:48:52 +0100 Over 50 campaigners from the Black Country and Birmingham are one week into the 36 day rolling fast to highlight the plight of 36 different countries which are in urgent need of speeder debt cancellation writes Audrey Miller. http://www.thestirrer.co.uk/join-up-fast-for-debt-campaign-2104081.html 82799718-3657-43FC-9C5E-64D811B842D7 Mon, 21 Apr 2008 07:48:09 +0100 Wolves season isn’t technically dead, but it’s certainly on life support. Brendan King reflects on another home draw for a team which, ultimately, just isn’t good enough. http://www.thestirrer.co.uk/collective-conservatism-2104081.html 9F63D68E-EADD-4BE9-9A63-2492FF6459CB Mon, 21 Apr 2008 07:47:37 +0100 With the local elections coming, you might find yourself meeting strangers in the street. Weird people who you think you vaguely remember having met once before. Yes, says Brendan Hawthorne, it's your local councillor. http://www.thestirrer.co.uk/collective-conservatism-2104081.html B8FCAB69-40AB-440B-9A0A-1D470F709380 Mon, 21 Apr 2008 07:45:12 +0100 Amid all the doom and gloom about falling house prices, is there a good news story? Maybe. This week Shelter revealed how the years of propertyboom had penalised thousands of hard-working families in the West Midlands. http://www.thestirrer.co.uk/housing-crisis-1904081.html 857E0EA7-33B8-48F8-B39A-B66B5F45CA3C Sat, 19 Apr 2008 16:49:51 +0100 A Walsall language school exposed by The Stirrer for falsely claiming accreditation from a number of awarding bodies has now cut off its phone lines. As revealed in yesterday’s Birmingham Mail, it failed to re-open after Easter. more http://www.thestirrer.co.uk/bad-language-walsall-1904081.html C4ED4F34-7D3A-42CB-B1F0-F3FA68C175E7 Sat, 19 Apr 2008 16:49:33 +0100 Blundering Council officials allowed two thirds of a popular Birmingham allotment to be taken out of commission. Now, as Mark Jackson reports, the Golf Club which owns the land is coming back for the rest. http://www.thestirrer.co.uk/golf-clubs-allotment-1904081.html C16A49BA-D7F8-4D4C-B8B8-7E58CE7FA153 Sat, 19 Apr 2008 16:49:16 +0100 Why aren’t local elections held every four years wonders Mick Temple. It would create a sense of occasion, and might wake the voters from their slumbers. http://www.thestirrer.co.uk/wake-me-up-1904081.html 62870F77-A5EB-48C4-BE88-07EC69AC9007 Sat, 19 Apr 2008 16:49:02 +0100 It’s been claimed that only 17% of children’s television shown in this country is home made. Lynn Hawthorne wonders if we’re just jaywalking up the wrong Sesame Street. http://www.thestirrer.co.uk/wombling-along-1904081.html CB3FCA28-31D1-4E61-85F4-9475E2C1EC20 Sat, 19 Apr 2008 16:48:38 +0100 Sick of so-called local radio that plays the same Top 40 garbage as every other station? Matthew Revell is proud to declare that in Wolverhampton, at least, there is an alternative http://www.thestirrer.co.uk/radio-out-of-tune-1904081.html 83F989CB-9AEC-4AE2-A015-48D227F0C2F0 Sat, 19 Apr 2008 16:47:56 +0100 Birmingham Councillor Salma Yaqoob has called for the scrapping of more relaxed rules designed to make postal voting easier. She warns that the current system leads to "blackmail" and undermines the the democratic principles of a secret ballot http://www.thestirrer.co.uk/scrap-postal-voting-yaqoob-1804081.html 8E11532C-2E0F-4E40-BB11-B1643D19C7C2 Fri, 18 Apr 2008 10:33:23 +0100 Birmingham MP John Hemming has called for an enquiry after details of postal voting applications made by party colleague Ayoub Khan were leaked to the Labour party. The City Council insists it's a cock up not a conspiracy http://www.thestirrer.co.uk/council-claims-cockup-1804081.html 34D86DD1-EF62-41F3-843B-D3EF8A46476F Fri, 18 Apr 2008 10:33:12 +0100 Laurence Inman knows what it takes to run a marathon. He’s actually completed one – in a respectable four hours too. So he’s got some idea of what it must have taken for Blind Dave Heeley to run seven in a week, while travelling around the world. http://www.thestirrer.co.uk/not-so-much-marathon-man-1804081.html 2D61388E-43E2-4BFE-B16B-EE5697433FC2 Fri, 18 Apr 2008 10:32:51 +0100 Birmingham's Single Status boss Alan Rudge has claimed the unions "don't want to settle" in the pay dispute which threatens to bring the city to a standstill. In this open letter, issued in a bid to head off next week's two day strike, Rudge argues that the dispute is politically motivated. http://www.thestirrer.co.uk/rudge-claims-1804081.html 245335F4-595A-4EFB-B20F-92981E08FD26 Fri, 18 Apr 2008 10:32:36 +0100 Union leaders representing Birmingham Council staff have denied claims that they ever agreed to management's revised pay offer - contradicting claims made Alan Rudge, the city's Single Status boss. http://www.thestirrer.co.uk/deal-never-agreed-1804081.html 53F5B7E9-5603-4C30-9246-07864DA872EC Fri, 18 Apr 2008 10:32:20 +0100 After a six-goal swatting of Derby last weekend, Dave Woodhall expects a rather tighter affair on Sunday when Villa play a team in blue. http://www.thestirrer.co.uk/when-sunday-comes-1804081.html CC393030-B27C-4EBB-A965-ACFFFAF91717 Fri, 18 Apr 2008 10:31:59 +0100 Martin Longley checks out the Big Apple form of the Dave Douglas Quintet who appear at the CBSO Centre tonight. While's he at it, he gives Ravi Coltrane, Carla Bley and a host of others the once over. http://www.thestirrer.co.uk/jazz-sounds-new-york-1804081.html B0F95947-357D-447A-AF53-055EB15D470B Fri, 18 Apr 2008 10:31:40 +0100