𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Hope you all had an enjoyable Easter weekend. I managed to prise myself away from Westminster, spending a wonderful few days in Naples. The fiery southern Italian city is my kind of place. It’s chaotic, has a stirring spirit, a gorgeous setting and the food is fantastically cheap. It does, however, suffer from a major litter problem with rubbish strewn along many of its labyrinthine streets. The decades-old issue partly stems from the Camorra, Naples’ powerful mafia.

But the main cause is government failure, exacerbated by the stark North-South divide in Italy. There’s no mafia in Birmingham, as far as I can tell, but there is a major waste problem which has been caused by local government failure.

England’s supposed second city has never looked, felt or indeed smelt worse. Piles of rubbish line the streets, cat-sized rats have allegedly taken over and the uncollected bins emit a potent odour. It acts as a metaphor for Labour’s legacy in Birmingham after 14 years in power.

The local elections in May are rapidly approaching, and all 101 council seats are up for grabs. Nigel Farage’s Reform UK hopes to plunder many of them. Bin strikes aside, Birmingham City Council has faced significant financial hardship over the years, most notably declaring effective bankruptcy in 2023.

Subsequently, residents’ council tax bills have risen at an alarming rate – 17.5% over the past two years.

Farage turned his sights on London this week, getting a very warm welcome during a campaign day in Bexley, down in the capital’s South East corner. Old and young folk greeted the “legend” like a rock star during a walkabout reminiscent of Boris Johnson in his pomp.

Asked why he appeals to younger voters so much Farage said his stint in the ‘Im a Celebrity’ jungle helped before adding that people see him as the “naughty uncle”.

If 2025 was all about the rise of Reform, this year has been the turn of the Greens. Zack Polanski launched his party’s local election campaign on Thursday with one veteran hack describing it as “open, friendly and welcoming” but with a distinct vibe of “1990s rave” about it.

Speaking of raves, the mad house returns next week. MPs will trudge back into Westminster on Monday with the war in Iran and its economic impact in the forefront of their thoughts.