Let me start with something completely different.
Finland elected a new president last week. All news is local and in this case the connection is that the soon to be First Lady was born here in Solihull! Suzanne Innes-Stubb is an accomplished international lawyer and her husband, Alexander, won the recent election. Congratulations to him, and to her, on their new roles.
This week, I received an email from a taxi driver about the increasing levels of aggression he and colleagues experience as taxi drivers. I’ve spoken in earlier editions of this message about the need for civility, but I think some of the behaviour that we see and hear about now goes far beyond incivility. Post offices, pharmacies and any customer facing business really are forced to display ‘zero tolerance for abuse’ signs, and this will have been brought about as a result of grim experience. I am not intending to write a rose-tinted ‘things were better in the old days’ missive. Some people blame it on social media, where people can abuse others without consequence, but it’s a big step from an anonymous online platform to doing it to someone’s face: someone who is just trying to do his or her job, or even is volunteering in some capacity or other. We’ll be looking at what we can do to assist that taxi driver and his colleagues, but I’m not sure this is a problem that can be addressed with a campaign or even legislated away. Change will have to come from people themselves, individually and collectively.
Of course, anyone involved in politics now faces this risk and it happens to representatives of all parties, people who are putting themselves out there at a local level to try and better their communities. By abusing them, the only result is to put people off wanting to do their bit. I hope people bear this in mind this year as we come to local elections in May, with a general election coming sometime. Personally, I look forward to the many exchanges of views, the healthy criticism, the support, and the engagement with democracy from people across our wonderful borough as campaigning takes place.
I was very pleased to read the news this week that funding has been granted to develop proposals to open a new railway station in Castle Bromwich. The area hasn’t had a station since the pre-Beeching cuts days in the mid 1960s so this would be a real boon for everyone living in Castle Bromwich and the surrounding areas, providing vital links with neighbouring Birmingham and off towards Leicester and Nottingham in the East Midlands, giving access to jobs and opportunities for residents. I sincerely hope the proposals are successful and welcome this news from the West Midlands Combined Authority and Mayor Andy Street. The Council’s transport strategy, Solihull Connected, outlines our commitment to delivering better connectivity for everyone in Solihull, and particularly to creating and improving links between the north and south of the borough and the north of the borough and Birmingham. We’ll be working hard to ensure this project, and others, bring maximum benefit to local residents.
Last week I attended the Birmingham International Military Tattoo at the NEC. It was a spectacular display, and a particular delight to see our own Shirley Pipe Band performing, with some special guests, for the large crowd. A massed band really is quite a powerful sound, particularly in an indoor arena, and they played beautifully as they always do. There’s a video of their performance available here. We’re very fortunate to have an internationally important venue like the NEC right here in Solihull, and the whole occasion was fantastic, with not just the massed bands but also displays from serving members of the forces and an excellent dance piece by children from all over the country, as well as Solihull groups.
I’ve sung the praises of the Kingshurst Construction Training Hub a few times in recent messages, so I was very pleased to finally get the chance to go and see it for myself this week. I went along with West Midlands Mayor Andy Street and the council’s Deputy Leader Councillor Karen Grinsell, and we heard from trainees and instructors about the excellent training available there. They can focus on groundworks or brickwork, combining practical on-site work experience with time in the classroom. It's a great start towards a career in construction and I’ve no doubt it will see many young people into excellent jobs. You can read about the scheme and my visit here.
Thanks, have a good week everyone,
Councillor Ian Courts