How is this possible?

[Cisse]

I just learned that Birmingham, the town has gone bankrupt. I first visited England and Birmingham in 2007 and I have visited there almost yearly since. I have seen the town taking a turn to the worse but it was quite a shock to learn this news. 

I also found out that a lot of cities are doing really poorly for example Scarborough. Without going too much in politics so that the moderators don't have to close the thread could you folks enlighten me a little on this subject. Thanks.

[Stive Pesley]

10 minutes ago, Cisse said:

I just learned that Birmingham, the town has gone bankrupt. I first visited England and Birmingham in 2007 and I have visited there almost yearly since. I have seen the town taking a turn to the worse but it was quite a shock to learn this news. 

I also found out that a lot of cities are doing really poorly for example Scarborough. Without going too much in politics so that the moderators don't have to close the thread could you folks enlighten me a little on this subject. Thanks.

In an attempt to remove all bias (and it should also be noted that both Labour-controlled and Conservative-controlled have gone bankrupt recently - I asked ChatGPT to summarise the main reasons 😂

Quote

 

Austerity Measures: In recent years, local councils in the UK, like many other public institutions, have faced austerity measures, which involve reductions in government spending. This can put pressure on councils to deliver services with limited resources.

Decreased Funding: Reductions in central government funding can significantly impact local councils. If they rely heavily on government grants, cuts in these grants can lead to financial strain.

Increased Demand for Services: Rising demand for certain services, such as social care, can put a strain on local council budgets. An aging population and increased demand for specific services might require additional resources.

Economic Challenges: Economic downturns can impact local councils by reducing tax revenues and increasing demand for support services, putting pressure on their budgets.

Pensions and Debt: Some councils may face financial difficulties due to pension obligations or high levels of debt. Managing these financial commitments can be challenging, particularly if there are unexpected costs or economic challenges.

Mismanagement: In some cases, mismanagement or poor financial planning can contribute to financial difficulties for local councils.

 

 

Edited January 14 by Stive Pesley

[cstand]

26 minutes ago, Cisse said:

I just learned that Birmingham, the town has gone bankrupt. I first visited England and Birmingham in 2007 and I have visited there almost yearly since. I have seen the town taking a turn to the worse but it was quite a shock to learn this news. 

I also found out that a lot of cities are doing really poorly for example Scarborough. Without going too much in politics so that the moderators don't have to close the thread could you folks enlighten me a little on this subject. Thanks.

As per most other western countries we are living above our means, record amounts of public debt and money printing just keeps kicking the can further down the road.

No political party has the balls to implement the obvious solutions, it’s only a matter of time until we end up like Argentina. 

Invest in gold, enjoy yourself and hope for the best

 

[uttoxram75]

1 hour ago, Cisse said:

I just learned that Birmingham, the town has gone bankrupt. I first visited England and Birmingham in 2007 and I have visited there almost yearly since. I have seen the town taking a turn to the worse but it was quite a shock to learn this news. 

I also found out that a lot of cities are doing really poorly for example Scarborough. Without going too much in politics so that the moderators don't have to close the thread could you folks enlighten me a little on this subject. Thanks.

Last week we have just given £2.5b to Ukraine, we are massively increasing our military base in Oman and have more billionaires than we've ever had so its not all bad.

[Tamworthram]

1 hour ago, Cisse said:

I just learned that Birmingham, the town has gone bankrupt. I first visited England and Birmingham in 2007 and I have visited there almost yearly since. I have seen the town taking a turn to the worse but it was quite a shock to learn this news. 

I also found out that a lot of cities are doing really poorly for example Scarborough. Without going too much in politics so that the moderators don't have to close the thread could you folks enlighten me a little on this subject. Thanks.

Firstly, sorry to be a pedant but Birmingham is a city not a town. The second largest (or third behind Manchester depending on how you measure it) in England. Secondly, and this is coming from someone living relatively close to Birmingham and having worked in the city centre for many years, why would you keep visiting Brum? 😀

I haven’t dug too deeply into the issue but I imagine it’s either a case of financial mismanagement or under funding of local authorities depending perhaps on your political persuasion. I don’t want to go down the political route either so I won’t speculate on which is the most likely cause - probably a combination of both.

It also seems the council have been hit with a massive bill (something like £760m) to settle historic equal pay cases.

[ram59]

Birmingham's problems are largely down to their own making, fortunately for me, I live just over the border in Solihull.

There have been 2 big financial disasters for Birmingham council, first they lost a £760m equal pay case TWELVE YEARS ago, but have ignored it and taken no action until they have been forced to address the situation. Then during this time they have installed  an IT system which should have cost £19m, but ended up costing £100m. The incompetence of the council has been bordering criminal, especially when you take into consideration all of the usual reckless spending that goes on with most councils.

[Cisse]

48 minutes ago, Tamworthram said:

Firstly, sorry to be a pedant but Birmingham is a city not a town. The second largest (or third behind Manchester depending on how you measure it) in England. Secondly, and this is coming from someone living relatively close to Birmingham and having worked in the city centre for many years, why would you keep visiting Brum? 😀

I haven’t dug too deeply into the issue but I imagine it’s either a case of financial mismanagement or under funding of local authorities depending perhaps on your political persuasion. I don’t want to go down the political route either so I won’t speculate on which is the most likely cause - probably a combination of both.

It also seems the council have been hit with a massive bill (something like £760m) to settle historic equal pay cases.

Firstly forgive me, my English is far from perfect. 🙈 I should have used the word city. I know Birmingham is the second largest city in UK. 

Secondly the first time I visited England I stayed in Birmingham for a week in the Irish quarters and absolutely loved it. Me and my mate fell in love this Irish pub called The White Swan in Digbeth. The owners and the customers made us very welcome. I understood that there is not many tourists around there. I know that the the Irish quarters are gone as is The White Swanwhich we visited until the end.😭

After my first visit I have stayed in Derby, London or Belper (Thank you Sage). However I always go shopping in Birmingham on a rainy day while in Derby. It has become one of my favorite places in UK. I have seen how many stores and restaurants have vanished from Birmingham, and unfortunately from Derby too which makes me sad. However the idea of a city to go bankrupt is just plain crazy.

It makes me sad, mad and scared of the future.

 

[Grumpy Git]

A 40% cut in the government grant in real terms since 2010 for ALL local authorities. Also not allowed to increase council tax by more than 5% per year. It's (going to be) a national scandal.

But like Utch says, we've got more billionaires than ever.

Currently, the country has a record number of people buying a Porsche..........

.............. and a record number of food banks.

Edited January 14 by Grumpy Git

[ariotofmyown]

14 hours ago, Cisse said:

I just learned that Birmingham, the town has gone bankrupt. I first visited England and Birmingham in 2007 and I have visited there almost yearly since. I have seen the town taking a turn to the worse but it was quite a shock to learn this news. 

I also found out that a lot of cities are doing really poorly for example Scarborough. Without going too much in politics so that the moderators don't have to close the thread could you folks enlighten me a little on this subject. Thanks.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/jan/14/englands-councils-bankrupt-westminster

This sums it up

[ariotofmyown]

13 hours ago, cstand said:

As per most other western countries we are living above our means, record amounts of public debt and money printing just keeps kicking the can further down the road.

No political party has the balls to implement the obvious solutions, it’s only a matter of time until we end up like Argentina. 

Invest in gold, enjoy yourself and hope for the best

 

It's difficult to know how we get out of this mess really. The country needs loads of money spending on it, but there isn't really any money. Our growth and productivity doesn't really seem to have recovered, but our costs have gone up. Taxes, at least for normal people, are as high as ever, so we can't really raise money that well. It's difficult to bring in cheaper workers from abroad now, that's if they even want to come. It's harder for small businesses to trade now too.

All I can think of is that a smallish number of huge companies are taking all the income, often not taxed properly due to their global setup. When we had more, smaller companies, they would then pay a fair share of tax on profits.

Or perhaps the West's wealth was really just based on exploiting poorer countries, who now are richer and powerful and unwilling to continue in this role anymore. 

Who knows how we start to address this? Some intelligent, focused leadership might help.

[Stive Pesley]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-67707156

[Wolfie]

28 minutes ago, Stive Pesley said:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-67707156

It's all very murky isn't it.

Not to get political but the government reduces council funding and then loans them billions instead for them to invest in commercial ventures. I can see that it definitely has benefits (if things go well) because on the govt's finances, it'll be listed as an asset rather than as increased government spending liability and the councils have (hopefully appreciating) commercial assets they earn an income from.

Sounds like a win-win. Until you realise that those making the investment decisions at the council probably don't have the skills to make those judgements.

[EtoileSportiveDeDerby]

On 14/01/2024 at 20:40, Stive Pesley said:

In an attempt to remove all bias (and it should also be noted that both Labour-controlled and Conservative-controlled have gone bankrupt recently - I asked ChatGPT to summarise the main reasons 😂

 

"Computer says no"

Money

[Stive Pesley]

3 hours ago, Wolfie said:

Until you realise that those making the investment decisions at the council probably don't have the skills to make those judgements.

I hesitated from saying earlier, as it's a bit of a sweeping generalisation but my experiences of people who work for the council are that they either...ahem...not exactly our brightest and best OR they are consultants brought in on stupid money by the former to fill gaps in the idiot matrix. A recipe for disaster 

[Wolfie]

8 minutes ago, Stive Pesley said:

I hesitated from saying earlier, as it's a bit of a sweeping generalisation but my experiences of people who work for the council are that they either...ahem...not exactly our brightest and best OR they are consultants brought in on stupid money by the former to fill gaps in the idiot matrix. A recipe for disaster 

It's public sector procurement from central government right down to local councils that's just awful - as demonstrated by the post office / Fujitsu scandal as well. 

 

[TimRam]

Once a person gets to a certain "level" in society ie more power than you or I, all common sense seems to go out of the window. They seem to be blinded by all the £ that is available.

[Gaspode]

1 hour ago, Wolfie said:

It's public sector procurement from central government right down to local councils that's just awful - as demonstrated by the post office / Fujitsu scandal as well. 

 

It's not just procurement - it's the management structure and the way things are done in the whole public sector....

Too many managers unwilling to make decisions (including way too many contract staff in senior positions who have no 'skin in the game'); lack of accountability; far too much "we've always done it that way" or "we're a special case" when changes are suggested; poor processes that encourage money to be wasted (fixed budgets every year for various departments with no clear plan regarding how the money will be spent - "we'd better spend it all before the end of the year or we'll get less next time"); ingrained laziness ands no management oversight to encourage things to change; etc, etc.....

Over the past 30+ years I've worked with both local and central government, the Royal Mail, and the NHS - there are the same issues apparent in all of them.....

[Tamworthram]

2 hours ago, Stive Pesley said:

I hesitated from saying earlier, as it's a bit of a sweeping generalisation but my experiences of people who work for the council are that they either...ahem...not exactly our brightest and best OR they are consultants brought in on stupid money by the former to fill gaps in the idiot matrix. A recipe for disaster 

Just a bit of a generalisation. I’ll mention it my father in law who was treasurer and then Chief Executive the council before he retired many years ago. I’m sure it will go down well. 😀

I worked for Staffordshire CC as a contractor/consultant for about 9 months - I can’t argue with your second statement. 😀

[Tyler Durden]

On 14/01/2024 at 20:29, Cisse said:

I just learned that Birmingham, the town has gone bankrupt. I first visited England and Birmingham in 2007 and I have visited there almost yearly since. I have seen the town taking a turn to the worse but it was quite a shock to learn this news. 

I also found out that a lot of cities are doing really poorly for example Scarborough. Without going too much in politics so that the moderators don't have to close the thread could you folks enlighten me a little on this subject. Thanks.

In Birminghams case it's possible after they had to shell out over a billion pounds to female council workers whom historically were unfairly underpaid relative to their male counterparts. 

As Birmingham council made no provision for this huge compensation claim which ultimately was their own fault then this effectively left them borassic. 

[Gee SCREAMER !!]

Sure I read that bankrupt in terms of a council is 300 million income disposable.  I'd like to be that bankrupt.