It feels like every time I pick up a paper, someone has decided to use Birmingham as a punchbag, or shorthand for the UK’s woes outside of the capital.
This misrepresents the vibrant city I have called home for the past year and a half.
But as CEO of the NEC Group, owner of the Birmingham NEC and other venues in the city, I would say that - our business is built on the idea of Birmingham as an attractive destination.
But Birmingham doesn’t need me to defend it. In my experience, Brummies are warm, tough, understated grafters who defend themselves and each other.
Have a go at Brum and you will find the steel beneath the surface.
Underlying the quarrel is a more serious point.
It came as the Local Government Association (LGA) sounded the alarm over the £8bn funding gap they see councils in England facing by 2028-29 due to increasing employer National Insurance contributions and other rising costs.
After declaring effective bankruptcy at the end of 2023, Birmingham is at the heart of this debate, which should now be front of mind for Government.
It is hard to deliver a national growth agenda if local economies across the country are retrenching.
Certain media have played into the image of Birmingham as a faded force, down and out with its glory years long behind it. No longer is it the city which powered the country’s industrial revolution through its foundries and steel mills.
There has indeed been huge change over the past 50 years.
Some 41% of Birmingham's population worked in manufacturing in the 1970s, falling by 60% in the 1980s, beginning a challenging period that brought pressure on housing, social unrest, crime and an unemployment rate above 20%.
However, with the new millennium a regenerated and hopeful city began to emerge.
The regional devolution of the early 2010s, supported by a strong mayoralty and a focused strategy led to a city powered by knowledge-based services and hi-tech engineering.
It has become a hub for business and cultural enterprise, as well as host of international business conventions, music, sports and arts.
Today, we are still at the beginning of this renaissance. We have an optimistic and engaged population, world-class infrastructure with an international airport and t...
This misrepresents the vibrant city I have called home for the past year and a half.
But as CEO of the NEC Group, owner of the Birmingham NEC and other venues in the city, I would say that - our business is built on the idea of Birmingham as an attractive destination.
But Birmingham doesn’t need me to defend it. In my experience, Brummies are warm, tough, understated grafters who defend themselves and each other.
Have a go at Brum and you will find the steel beneath the surface.
Underlying the quarrel is a more serious point.
It came as the Local Government Association (LGA) sounded the alarm over the £8bn funding gap they see councils in England facing by 2028-29 due to increasing employer National Insurance contributions and other rising costs.
After declaring effective bankruptcy at the end of 2023, Birmingham is at the heart of this debate, which should now be front of mind for Government.
It is hard to deliver a national growth agenda if local economies across the country are retrenching.
Certain media have played into the image of Birmingham as a faded force, down and out with its glory years long behind it. No longer is it the city which powered the country’s industrial revolution through its foundries and steel mills.
There has indeed been huge change over the past 50 years.
Some 41% of Birmingham's population worked in manufacturing in the 1970s, falling by 60% in the 1980s, beginning a challenging period that brought pressure on housing, social unrest, crime and an unemployment rate above 20%.
However, with the new millennium a regenerated and hopeful city began to emerge.
The regional devolution of the early 2010s, supported by a strong mayoralty and a focused strategy led to a city powered by knowledge-based services and hi-tech engineering.
It has become a hub for business and cultural enterprise, as well as host of international business conventions, music, sports and arts.
Today, we are still at the beginning of this renaissance. We have an optimistic and engaged population, world-class infrastructure with an international airport and t...
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Birmingham Mail (Digital) - 1 Issue, March 22, 2025