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Britain Doesn’t Need More Speeches. It Needs Manufacturing Politicians
Business rates rise, factories pay, and procurement drifts overseas. In the West Midlands, the cost of making things is still going up, and no…
4 hrs ago
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Mike Olley
2
GRIT SPECIAL: Built Elsewhere, Finished Here, Britain’s Ambulance Shame and the Road Back
Britain still builds world-class ambulances, just not from the ground up. The skills remain, but the foundations have slipped away.
Apr 7
3
Marmalade, Paddington, and a Political Own Goal in the West Midlands
Marmalade isn’t being banned, but in a Leave-leaning West Midlands even small signals of EU drift carry weight.
Apr 6
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Mike Olley
2
Birmingham Weekly Digest: Power, Property and a System Under Strain
30,000 readers this week, and a city revealing how it really works: fractured politics, misaligned infrastructure, concentrated housing, and authority…
Apr 4
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Mike Olley
2
EXCLUSIVE: They Knew About Birmingham’s HMO Crisis… And Let It Grow
Years of warnings, thousands of inspections, and still the same pattern. What has actually changed?
Apr 3
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Mike Olley
1
1
Birmingham in Limbo: The Leader Who Lost the Vote but Won’t Leave the Office
A majority of councillors voted no confidence in Cllr John Cotton, yet he remains in office. As legal ambiguity collides with political reality…
Apr 2
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Mike Olley
1
EXCLUSIVE: The housing map Birmingham was never meant to see
A council dataset reveals thousands of HMOs, concentrated under a handful of providers. This is the first part of what it shows.
Apr 1
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Mike Olley
3
March 2026
New Stations, Old Mistakes: The West Midlands Still Isn’t Building the Network It Needs
New stations are coming, but the network still misses where people live, and delivery too often damages local business.
Mar 31
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Mike Olley
1
EXCLUSIVE: My Full Birmingham 2026 Election Prediction, 101 Seats, One City, No Clear Winner
An exclusive ward by ward projection of Birmingham’s 2026 local elections. Reform rises, Labour weakens, and across 101 seats the numbers point to one…
Mar 30
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Mike Olley
A Week in Plain Sight: Power, Systems, and the Things That Actually Work
From quiet honours removals to a vote of no confidence in Birmingham, this was a week that revealed how Britain really functions, not in theory, but in…
Mar 28
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Mike Olley
Druids Heath and Ladywood: When the Market Decides Who Gets a Home
Several weeks ago Birmingham’s biggest housing regeneration scheme fell over because the numbers were missing. Now the numbers are on the table, and…
Mar 27
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Mike Olley
1
Lee Marsham Steps Away, The Councillor Who Understood What Actually Matters
From damp-ridden homes to planning battles, Nechells loses a sharp, grounded voice who knew local politics is not about noise, but outcomes.
Mar 26
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Mike Olley
4
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