Welcome to Democratise Birmingham (accessed by clicking on the Forward link on our front page), a new space designed to allow for debate, opinion, news and information about the shape and direction of democracy within Britain’s second city, the largest single local authority in Europe.

Birmingham West Midlands

The recent mayoral referendum has sparked interest and discussion from many quarters about how best to refresh and rejuvenate democracy both in Birmingham and the wider West Midlands.

While Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and London have all had power ceded from Westminster, England’s largest cities have so far missed out. Yet things are changing and calls for central government to devolve powers to the English regions are growing. Meanwhile, the desire for change to our tired and often unresponsive systems of local governance will likely become stronger.

This website supports these calls and offers Democratise Birmingham as a platform to help facilitate this ongoing debate. We welcome and value contributions and comment and will provide links to others who do the same. It is a debate that will encompass a wide spectrum of political opinion and one that will take many forms. We hope to be hearing from you.