Birmingham Council is on its 136th day of the bin strikes, so far costing the council £8 million. It also has £3.9 billion in debt -declaring itself effectively bankrupt in September 2023 by issuing a Section 114 notice. No concern to asylum seekers…
As part of Guido’s Asylum Freebiegate series it can be revealed that at the same time the council is offering up to 25% discounts for asylum seekers for leisure activities in its jurisdiction through a ‘Passport for Leisure Scheme’. Freebies include:
The scheme can only be accessed by:
Birmingham taxpayers have waited 20 weeks to have their bins collected. They may wonder why their council continues to spend cash on trampolining for asylum seekers…
UPDATE: Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said:
“This is a bankrupt Labour council, in the middle of a bin strike, racking up billions in debt, hiking council tax by 21 per cent, and their priority is trampolining perks for illegal immigrants.
It is a slap in the face to hard-pressed taxpayers that are being forced by a Labour council to subsidise perks for illegal immigrants crossing the channel who then claim asylum. Families are struggling to make ends meet thanks to Labour’s tax rises and working families in Birmingham can’t even get their bins collected, yet Birmingham Council can still find money for freebies for illegal immigrants.”
Speaking at his speech on how to achieve “progressive capitalism” Wes Streeting fired a dig and Andy Burnham:
“Bond markets are not bond villains and fiscal rules matter.”