In August 2022, Birmingham hosted the Commonwealth Games with great fanfare. “A memorable moment” for the city, the British press raved. Twelve months later, the glitter of sports competitions, a kind of Olympic Games organized by this political association made up mainly of former British colonies, has disappeared. The UK’s second largest city filed for bankruptcy on Tuesday 5th September. “As a result, all non-essential spending is suspended.” specifies the weekly The viewer. At the same time, add the Birmingham Post Office, The authorities have opened a voluntary dismissal plan for the 10,600 community workers. “But unions fear a wave of layoffs in the process.”

The financial difficulties faced by this city of more than a million inhabitants are partly due, according to the British press, to the recovery of significant wage inequalities. “Municipal employees felt disadvantaged because, between 2006 and 2012, predominantly female jobs, such as cleaning, did not benefit from the bonuses granted to predominantly male jobs, such as garbage collection,” detailed The Guardian. In 2012, the court “He agreed with them and condemned Birmingham” to correct the shot, track the financial times.

“The city has already paid £1.1bn [1,3 milliard d’euros] in compensation, but public authorities say they cannot take over the rest of the promissory note, valued at 760 million pounds [890 millions d’euros]even resorting to reserves”.

“The Conservatives were quick to point out that Birmingham was Labour-ruled, but this development may actually be symptomatic of deeper malaise and herald further bankruptcies.”, worries the Viewer. Since 2018, ten local authorities find themselves in the same situation as the city of the Midlands, unable to balance their budgets without government intervention. In question, in particular, the drastic drop in endowments since 2010. “These were cut in half, specifies the magazine close to the conservatives in power. At the same time, population growth and the demand for public services are putting enormous pressure on local finances.” Added to the crisis in schools, whose roofs are in danger of collapsing, and the scandal of wastewater being dumped directly into the sea, is the anguish of local communities “seems to reinforce the impression of a nation in decline”.