The Crown Inn, Birmingham, is now Grade II Listed! 🎉 Regarded as the birthplace of heavy metal music, it's been recognised for the role it played in the development of the genre and for launching the career of famous Birmingham based band BlackSabbath. 🤘 © Elliott Brown

Lovely piece in ⁦The Guardian⁩ on our ⁦Historic England⁩ listing. It’s beginning to@sink in what we’ve achieved ⁦Karen Newman⁩ ⁦BOM Now we need to get it reopened⁩ Birmingham ‘birthplace of heavy metal’ the Crown secures listed status theguardian.com/culture/2024/m…

This is such an insightful and powerful article by ⁦John Harris⁩ This is a political & societal issue, not a Birmingham issue > Birmingham’s cuts reveal the ugly truth about Britain in 2024: the state is abandoning its people theguardian.com/commentisfree/…

The West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner WestMidsPCC has WON a High Court appeal against Home Office merging the role with Andy Street over lack of proper consultation. Means May PCC election WILL happen as no time for anything else - but will the role stay?

NEW: The Home Office has lost a bid to appeal against a judge’s ruling that blocked plans to transfer policing powers to the West Midlands Mayor. It means an election for PCC in the West Midlands WILL happen on May 2nd. @itvcentral

UPDATE: Councillor Rick Payne has resigned from Birmingham City Council birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-…

Join me and Darling Mummy in a Birmingham restaurant as we rinse Observer expenses! 😍❤️Joe Lycett Observer New Review theguardian.com/culture/2024/a…

I value Brummie art, but who else does? | Stewart Lee theguardian.com/commentisfree/…

So proud to be just a small part of the rebel alliance standing up for Birmingham and our incredible creative communities and institutions. As someone who has zero arts skills (but can do a petition) there are SO many incredibly inspiring Brummies theguardian.com/culture/2024/a…

For the final piece in my The Guardian flooding series, I wrote about Tapton Terrace, a grandmother who lived there her whole life, and the home she died in during storm Babet. These stories will sadly become more common in an era of climate emergency theguardian.com/environment/20…

This is the story of Inga Rublite, who died after being found unconscious under her coat in an A&E waiting room over eight hours after arriving - her friends and family told me she could have been saved if she had been treated sooner theguardian.com/society/2024/a…

This is an unbelievable story by Jessica Murray. Birmingham Council might be slashing their services and hiking their council tax on the basis of imaginary budget projections. theguardian.com/uk-news/2024/m…

Andy Street and Ben Houchen have all but disavowed the Tories in their election campaigns. But it turns out there is one senior Tory they do want to be associated with…. (No, it’s not Sunak) theguardian.com/politics/2024/…

Andy Street expected to be re-elected as Tory West Midlands mayor, Labour source claims - Jessica Murray reports - theguardian.com/politics/live/…

Labour calls victory in new East Mids mayoralty with Claire Ward beating Ben Bradley comfortably. It covers about a dozen key parliamentary battlegrounds incl Mansfield, Bolsover & Bassetlaw, though ofc have to be careful with read across.

Outgoing Nottinghamshire Police & Crime Commissioner Caroline Henry says she’s “absolutely gutted” to have lost but says it wasn’t a surprise She blames national factors and says it’s “only the media” who talk about her speeding offences

Darryn Frost, probation officer and Steve Gallant, who was on ROTL, channel the trauma of Fishmongers’ Hall by creating new housing project for people leaving prison. buff.ly/44wkHcO Jessica Murray on The Guardian

MUST READ: A doorbell video showing a purported Labour member door-knocking in the local elections in #Dudley went viral this week. It was shared by Akhmed Yakoob on his socials, and blew up. It alleged the person in the video said racist terms. THREAD /1

“If I was ever able to meet her mother, I’d probably just give the girl a hug" - the quiet humanity of the couple who laid to rest a baby found dead in 1982, and promised she wouldn’t be forgotten - by Jessica Murray theguardian.com/uk-news/articl…

My election latest, with Jessica Murray theguardian.com/politics/artic…