Cllr Robert Alden is Leader of the Conservative Group on Birmingham City Council.
It is a pleasure to welcome Conservatives from across the country back to Birmingham this year for the latest Party Conference.
As you visit Birmingham this year, you arrive only weeks after a Town Council by-election victory in Sutton Vesey Ward saw the Conservatives gain the seat from Labour with a majority of 278. Since May 2026, we secured a 2.3 per cent swing from Labour to the Conservatives and a 9.1 per cent swing from Reform to the Conservatives.
On Sutton Coldfield Town Council, under Cllr Simon Ward’s excellent leadership, the Conservatives now have 20 of the 24 Town Councillors.
On Birmingham City Council, we have 16 Conservative Councillors; more than Manchester, Liverpool, Sheffield, Nottingham, Newcastle upon Tyne and Leeds have combined.
In May’s all-out elections, a failing and unpopular Labour Council, which had bankrupted the city and left Birmingham in the middle of an almost two-year bin strike, was rightly kicked out of office. But those seats did not go to one party. Birmingham now has eight political parties, as well as non-aligned independents, with no single party anywhere near overall control. This has left a minority administration of Green, Liberal Democrat and Independent Councillors running the Council. The Conservative Group are putting all our extensive experience and knowledge to good use, holding the new Administration to account and continuing our strong track record of working hard all year round for residents.
Last week at the Labour Party Conference, we were told that the Labour Government is looking to take the country back to the 1970s. Last time I checked, that ended in trade union clashes, strikes, bankruptcy and a bailout by the IMF.
But you don’t need to go back to the late 1970s to see the impact of Labour. You arrive at this year’s Conservative Party Conference with Birmingham still in the grip of the third bin strike in the last decade.
Twelve years of Labour rule, up to May’s elections, saw the Council effectively bankrupt, Council assets flogged off, external commissioners brought in and a city badly failed.
At various points over the last two years, more than 20,000 tonnes of rubbish have been left uncollected on our streets.
So be in no doubt: Labour’s record here in Birmingham provides a warning of what strikes, bankruptcy and failure can mean for communities.
One only has to look at what has happened in Birmingham to understand the arguments now being made nationally. The outcome of our elections also demonstrates the fragmented political landscape we now face.
That, however, is for another day. For now, please enjoy your time in our amazing city and region. Take time to support our incredible hospitality industry over the next few days, enjoy cultural attractions such as Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, or visit award-winning green spaces such as Cannon Hill Park.
The Midlands is the heart of England, once the workshop of the world, but now too often treated by the Labour Government as the drive-through counties: recognised only as the area they pass through on their way to the North.
Conservatives have long argued that our national economic engine works best when it is driven by a thriving Midlands, and that unlocking our regional economy is essential to delivering growth and prosperity across the country.
Enjoy your visit to Birmingham. Enjoy our food and drink. Then, before you leave, visit the Bullring and buy a new pair of leafleting shoes.
Whether the election is this winter or in 2029, the Conservative family now has plenty of work ahead. The stakes are high, and the arguments made here in Birmingham this week will form an important part of the national political debate in the years ahead. We owe it to the country to do all we can to win that argument, put Kemi into number 10, and protect residents from the crippling impact of a left-wing Labour government.