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We must work together to spread our regeneration

Twenty years ago, Birmingham-based professionals would take clients out to Stratford-upon-Avon if they wanted to secure the deal or get the contract signed. Read

Eco-town schemes may give planners a real headache

Developers behind plans to build a 5,000-home settlement on the outskirts of Lichfield could be forgiven for thinking they had won the lottery when the 700-acre site was nominated by the Government as one of 10 possible locations for an eco-town. By a strange coincidence, the proposals worked up over several years by the Curborough Consortium bear a remarkable similarity to the density and scale of the type of environmentally-friendly scheme Ministers are currently considering. Read

Society is paying for undermining the family

The idea that parents of young criminals should be forced to share responsibility for their child's actions will strike a chord with many people. Read

Statement of intent

There can be little doubt that the dates for a two-day strike planned by Birmingham City Council unions have been chosen with a view to making a political statement. A week before the local authority elections and coinciding with a one-day stoppage by the National Union of Teachers, the decision to opt for April 23 and 24 smacks of an attempt to embarrass the council leadership and of course to wreak maximum damage to public services. Read

Not up to Whitby to take lead over Aston Shenanigans

Birmingham City Council leader Mike Whitby clearly finds himself in a difficult position with regard to the Aston election court judgment. Accusations of misconduct, levelled largely against Labour in the past, now sit fairly and squarely with his Liberal Democrat coalition partners - an embarrassing turn of events, to say the least. Read

More imagination needed to tackle our emissions

The leadership of Birmingham City Council has been caught out over what it likes to present as a cutting edge attitude to environmental matters, and not for the first time either. Last month the local authority was red-faced after a claim to be hosting the world's first climate change conference turned out to be untrue. Today, the sleight of hand behind a boast to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 60 per cent is exposed as a brag too far. Read

£500m revival sees new chapter start for Longbridge

It cannot quite be described as a magnificent achievement, but three years after the closure of MG Rover the picture at Longbridge is looking brighter than anyone would have dared hope. Car production is about to start again, thanks to investment by Chinese companies SAIC and NAC, although this will be no more than a niche operation initially, while plans are advanced for a £500 million regeneration of the surrounding area. Read

Lib Dems must do the right thing

The 24-hours Birmingham Liberal Democrats have had to examine in detail the Aston election court judgement does not appear to have been well used. Read

Lib Dems should suspend Khan to protect democracy

For the second time in three years the integrity of the political process in Birmingham has been lambasted by a judge. Read

Time we had proper debate on immigration

Gordon Brown has dismissed a House of Lords report suggesting mass immigration has little or no economic benefit to Britain. Read

Let's hope Brown's luck over economy keeps going

The Prime Minister set out to reassure the nation that Britain's economy is not in crisis, in his interview with The Birmingham Post today. Read

Change of mood in the polls

The conventional wisdom is that Gordon Brown has had a terrible time since deciding not to hold an election last autumn. Read

Time for unions to take new pay deal to members

More than two weeks have passed since union officials representing 20,000 Birmingham City Council employees agreed to put a revised management offer in the long-running pay and grading dispute to their members. Read

MoD's stance is ridiculous and it affects two lives

The way Britain treats its armed forces is in the spotlight as never before. Read

Teachers must leave political opinions at home

Barely a day goes by without new concerns being raised about the pressures faced by British teachers. Read

Societies must be engineered from the bottom up

Bridging the gap between rich and poor is one of the great challenges for decision makers, and in Solihull the challenge will take all the skill and determination of more than just the political elite. Read

Free embryo vote would give Brown respect

Every now and then a law comes along which is of such importance it launches a debate that is heard in arenas far wider than Parliament. Read

Statesman-like McCain enjoying his free ride

While Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama continue to battle for the Democratic nomination, Republican candidate John McCain is free to travel the world looking presidential. Read

Seeing red on green cars

When details of a row between Cabinet Ministers leak into the public domain, you know it was pretty serious. Read

Birmingham library must go

There is no doubting the sincerity of campaigners who want to preserve Birmingham's Central Library. Understandably, there is a certain amount of anger and bewilderment that a 34-year-old building has been permitted to deteriorate to the extent that the cost of repairs, modernisation and enlargement is in excess of £100 million. Read

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