Birmingham Dispatch

I’m driven down to Wheels park in Bordersley Green in a high-end black 4x4. The trip has been arranged by Knighthead, the American venture capital firm that owns Birmingham City football club. Strings have been pulled to show me around at short notice. Without sounding ungrateful, there's not a whole lot to see. The former go-karting track, which closed its doors in 2021, could double as a set for a zombie movie.

Dear readers — Before we get into today’s excellent story, featuring Shard End-born novelist Keiran Goddard, we need your help. Our near-2,000 paying members include some of the most clued-in people in the city, and we probably don’t ask you for tips enough. Remember, so many of our best stories originated from Dispatch readers, if you ever have a story you think we’d cover well don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Dear readers — welcome to another Monday. On Sunday we enjoyed an influx of new members (an especially warm welcome this afternoon if that’s you) taking us within 150 of the 2000 milestone. It’s good to have you here, and please do capitalise on your newly-acquired commenting privileges by making yourselves known below this briefing. If that isn’t you, there’s still time to amend your ways.

For our mayor, Richard Parker, Tuesday’s announcement that the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) is buying out National Express West Midlands was a huge victory. His number one promise before his election in 2024 was to do an Andy Burnham, and bring the region’s buses back under public control. Now he’s done what no other English mayor has: quasi-nationalised them. Burnham signalled his approval with a dedicated snazzy video on social media, featuring a toy bus.

Dear readers — the fires in Stourbridge this week, which have left 19 homes gutted, drawing comparisons to "Armageddon" and an “apocalypse”, have become a major national story. To most (if not quite all) the culprit seems obvious: our rapidly-changing climate. Which raises the question. Is what we’ve seen in Stourbridge going to repeat and worsen as our summers get hotter? And if so, what are we meant to do about it?

Dear readers — welcome to your Monday Briefing. It’s been a harrowing few days for the region and we hope you are safe and well. Unsurprisingly, the fires that have ripped through our communities are the top story of the day. The blaze was so severe in Stourbridge that the prime minister travelled up from London to show his gratitude to the local fire service — and to announce support to help us get back on our feet.

“When I first came to Birmingham, I was Pakistani. Then I was [politically] black. For the last 10 or 15 years, I have been more aware of being Kashmiri”. Dr Karamat Iqbal is speaking to an audience he expected to be bigger. There was meant to be more of us attending tonight’s free event, a panel discussion on the British Pakistani identity and experience in Britain. Every ticket was booked.

All of 15 seconds elapse between Richard opening the door to his house in Weoley Castle – decorated with a vast England flag hanging from a second floor window – and me running out of questions. I rattle off three and he answers gamely: “Sure mate, as long as it’s quick…Richard…I put it up for the World Cup.” The door closes — not roughly, not rudely, but with a certain finality. What else is there to say?

Dear readers — it’s been a year since The Dispatch broke the story of the flag frenzy that started in Weoley Castle, then spread across the country, prompting many a broadsheet analysis and chin-stroking think-piece in the national papers. The flags are very much still up and, yes, we’re still banging on about them. In today’s story, Jack heads to the place where it all started to find out what happened after the reporters left. But before that, your Brum in Brief.

Dear readers — welcome to your Monday briefing. Our weekends were a hoot: Kate is in the depths of wedding planning and spent Saturday morning selecting wine to serve at the knees up (apparently it's acceptable to drink before 11am if you are preparing for nuptials).