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The people speak

Government ministers will no doubt attempt to rubbish the result yesterday of a national ballot on the question of whether Britain should hold a referendum before signing the Lisbon Treaty. Read

Big City Plan: Listen to public opinion

Professor Michael Parkinson, in his Birmingham city centre masterplan scoping report, urged us to think big when considering expansion of the central shopping and business districts over the next 20 years. Read

Up the garden path

There is no doubting the strength of feeling in Birmingham against what has been called garden grabbing - the dash to cram as many new flats and houses as possible into the back gardens of large Victorian and Edwardian homes in the city's finest suburbs. Read

£300m payout leaves Blackpool as real winner

In some ways the real winner from the Government's casino announcement yesterday was Blackpool, which is to receive almost £300 million as compensation for not being allowed to build a massive regional casino. Read

Both sides have done well to talk their way this far

Both sides in the Birmingham City Council pay and grading dispute have reason to feel cautiously optimistic about the suspension of today's 24-hour strike and agreement to conduct two weeks of intensive negotiations. Read

Metro decision is long overdue

The growing sense of frustration among supporters of the proposed Midland Metro tram extension through Birmingham city centre is understandable. It is looking increasingly likely, as each year passes, that this is a major spending programme the Government has hung out to dry. Read

Businesses have nothing to fear over agency staff

Spare a thought for Wolverhampton MP Pat McFadden, the Employment Minister representing the Government in today's debate about agency workers. Read

Fort Dunlop's ticket to ride

A study which is looking at re-opening former railway stations and allowing passenger trains to use freight lines shows why Birmingham's dash for jobs and houses must be accompanied by improved public transport. Read

Probationary citizens are not radical solution

Immigrants tend, as a rule, to be a good source of income for the British Treasury. Read

Council's own goal over pay

The calculation by Birmingham City Council of the number of employees whose salaries will be cut by the single status pay and grading review has always been something of a moveable feast. Read

A tale of two cities in a city

It is easy to generalise about the relationship between poverty and mortality rates in inner city areas, but the latest figures depicting life expectancy in Birmingham are undeniably gloomy. Read

Convictions show turning a blind eye is a mistake

We will never know how close the fanatical members of a Birmingham-based terror cell came to carrying out their gruesome plot to kidnap and film the beheading of a British soldier. Read

City will benefit from Sir Richard's vision

Historians of the future will look upon the likes of Sir Richard Knowles as one of the great fathers of modern Birmingham. Read

Defining beauty in Birmingham

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and it is true that the Selfridges store in Birmingham is not to everyone's taste. The same goes for Spaghetti Junction, which although it remains a remarkable feat of engineering tends to conjure up a picture of traffic hell rather than graceful design. Read

Fixing the West Coast misery line will take time

Whatever improvements Network Rail and Virgin Trains make to the West Coast Main Line, it will take the route a long time to live down the "misery line" label. Read

This week's bad idea

Children growing up at the raw end of life in, say, inner city Birmingham, will probably not be over-appreciative of the latest Government wheeze to introduce them to five hours of "high quality" culture each week. Read

Why this quango state has to be dismantled

Who runs Britain? The question is not as simple as it seems, and some of our greatest academics, journalists and politicians have dedicated themselves to finding out the answer. Read

New Street success can pave the way

Government approval for the refurbishment of New Street Station brings to an end a campaign unique in Birmingham and the West Midlands. Read

A long way to go but an important step for region

Today's announcement that the long-awaited rebuild of New Street station will go ahead is a massive victory for Birmingham and the entire West Midlands region. Read

Decay is a crime against society

Conservation groups are sometimes rightly criticised for wanting to save everything whether it is worth keeping or not, but the Birmingham Victorian Society has a point when it describes as a "crime" the decay of once imposing 19th century houses along the Hagley Road. Read

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