Impressive progress in Birmingham

Bob Whitehead

Respect gained another seat in Birmingham thanks to some hard campaigning and the precedent that had been set by Salma Yaqoob’s stunning victory in the same ward of Sparkbrook last year. Forty two per cent for Mohammed Ishtiaq was almost as impressive as the forty nine per cent achieved by Salma.

In the other six wards, Respect polled well with votes ranging from 12% to 28%, but did not quite make the breakthrough in the one or two wards where it had been hoped to add to the seat tally. It lost the recent defector from the Lib Dems in Aston, but came from nowhere to gain 21% in Nechells.

It moved up and overtook the Greens in Moseley and Kings Heath. Strong campaigns were mounted in Springfield and Lozells/East Handsworth. The latter featured Raghib Ahsan, who made the issue of the cut to A&E and children’s services at the nearby City Hospital a feature of his campaign. The day after the petition was handed in, following a high profile independent campaign, health managers withdrew their plans.

Also outside of the mainstream three parties, the Greens stood in all areas and achieved some good votes of up to 14% and the SLP managed 15% in Handsworth Wood.

The BNP stood in every ward, they achieved a lot of high votes of up to 24%, mainly in the outer ring, but did not come close to winning their first seat in the city.

This all leaves the City Council with the Tories having overtaken Labour as the biggest party, and the coalition with the Liberal Democrats is set to continue.

The traditional scene of party placards on lampposts had been banned by the Council, (it is untidy and causes litter!) so the visual evidence of the election was more muted.

This made it harder for a minority party such as Respect that was concentrating its efforts in seven locations. It had to rely instead on door-to-door work, window posters and the occasional rally. One of these, in South Birmingham was spectacularly successful, with 450 present, but the lack of a more obvious public profile hindered its efforts.

Respect’s leaflets were usually quite impressive, although the phrase “We represent the values of old Labour” did creep in. Surely it can do better than that. One of the strengths of Respect is that it has taken a consistently anti-imperialist line. Old Labour was never like that.

So, while its base is quite narrow, Respect still has a fair bit going for it. The problem will be on how to maintain and increase its momentum in the coming year.

That is a big discussion, but it must involve establishing strong campaigning branches on the ground that do not just focus on the inner ring areas.

The role of the Respect “group” on the Council will be vital, and mechanisms have to be put in place to ensure a regular dialogue between the two Councillors and the wider membership.

There are plenty of issues for them to raise; City Academies and the privatisation agenda for education, the appalling housing situation in many parts of the city, and of course the international issues of Iraq, Kashmir, Afghanistan, Palestine and Iran.

There was less of a feeding frenzy on asylum seekers and other good publicity for the BNP than last year, although the regular diet of Islamophobia/terrorism must have given them some support. Good work was done by UAF, but until Respect can present itself as a radical alternative at a citywide level the tide of New Labour racism and disdain towards the working class will give the far right plenty of space.

They may not have achieved their breakthrough, but their support remains at a worryingly high level.

Across the West Midlands it was heartening to see that the BNP did not gain one single extra Councillor. In Sandwell, for example, they did not build on their current crop of four. This defeat was helped by mass leafleting by Searchlight and UAF, where hundreds of people turned out to ensure that every household in the borough received an antifascist leaflet.

In Walsall, a Democratic Labour candidate overturned Labour in Blakenhall, standing on a “true Labour/pro working class” platform.