The chance to curl up in a warm space with a good book and a cuppa? It gets my vote.

Thank you Lord Mayor.

I rise to second the Liberal Democrat amendment. 

It’s been a giddy eighteen months at Birmingham City council since the first and then second section 114 notices were published. 

News of the problems at Birmingham City Council has gone global during that time. In my research, I found that this council’s financial disasters have been published in the biggest news outlets in the world, including Reuters, Le Monde, CNN, Australia Broadcasting Corporation, El Pais, China Today and Al Jazeera as well as UK based BBC and all of the major national news titles. 

It’s quite an achievement, but it’s not a good one. 

In Perry Barr, there’s a lot of anger and frustration about the rising cost of council tax and failing council services. Let’s not forget, that Perry Barr residents have had a lot to deal with in recent years because of the failed Perry Barr village project and the legacy of the Commonwealth Games which saw the park closed off for years. We have always communicated well with our residents, and they are telling us that they are fed up with Labour nationally and locally. 

Residents want to keep their library. They want it to be there for their children and grandchildren. 

And in support of the Tower Hill library in Perry Barr, international author Lee Child has lent his voice to prove how a library can inspire a child to greatness. 

We have gone through a long consultation process, and it’s clear from the public outcry that people want to keep their libraries, and if they are to be saved, they need to be open enough for people to be able to rely on. 

We have seen councillors from all parties putting up campaigns to retain their local libraries, and to make that happen we have come up with some constructive and radical ways of making savings. 

We want to keep these important buildings open for longer and protect them for the future.  

Now, some of our libraries have not been as well attended as others for some time, but the council must not assume that this is down to a lack of need. 

In a city that has serious problems with unemployment and rising youth unemployment, huge numbers of people in temporary accommodation, increasing rates of poverty and an increasing population, having council buildings that people can use to access services is necessary. 

It’s not long ago that we were speaking about warm welcome centres and libraries were key to that. Well, the problem of expensive heating and the cost of living is still there and getting worse. We KNOW that people are struggling and that there is a need to access help and support. I encourage this council therefore to vote for our amendment which will help to keep our libraries open for longer so that they might be rebuilt into centres that can offer help.

Perry Barr was promised a legacy, and the library should be a part of that. It should be there, and open at reliable times so that people of all ages in the community can enjoy it. Our amendment seeks to protect libraries and have them open longer.

The chance to curl up in a warm space with a good book and a cuppa? It gets my vote. I hope it gets yours. 

Thank you Lord Mayor.