Birmingham gets a bad rep, with everything from its accent to its knife crime statistics being used in evidence against it. Sparkhill has now come under fire.
But the city’s bad reputation seems mostly to stem from word of mouth from everywhere in the UK that isn’t Birmingham.
Sparkhill and Paul Scully
Take the Conservative MP for Sutton and Cheam (and former Minister for London), Paul Scully, for example. Last month, he was interviewed on BBC Radio London and said: “… if you look at parts of Birmingham, Sparkhill, where there are no-go areas, mainly because of doctrine, people using, abusing in many ways, their religion because it’s not the doctrine of this land”.
It is worth noting that Scully was commenting on his fellow MP Lee Anderson’s remarks that Islamists had “got control” of London mayor, Sadiq Khan. It is also worth noting that 84% of the population of Sparkhill is Muslim. It is difficult not to conclude that Scully’s remarks suggest – whether inadvertently or not – that the Muslims in Sparkhill have made it a no-go area.
Sparkhill citizens’ backlash
The backlash was loud and immediate. The community of Sparkhill rushed to defend their home, and were soon joined by mayor Andy Street who wrote on X: “The idea that Birmingham has a ‘no-go’ zone is news to me, and I suspect [to] the good people of Sparkhill.”
Labour MP Jess Phillips also jumped to the region’s defence: “As one of the MPs for Sparkhill, I am expecting an apology for this utter drivel. My kids hang out in Sparkhill day and night, never had a moment’s worry.”
The day after his radio interview, Scully issued an apology and a lengthy explanation.
A week later, he publicly announced his intention to stand down as an MP at the next election. He says he made that decision some time ago but the timing of his public announcement must surely have been influenced by the row.
Sparking debate
Those living in Birmingham also have a lot to say regarding these comments but have not had their voices heard, since they are not MPs or mayors. So I went to talk to them.
Almost everyone disagreed that Sparkhill is a ‘no-go area’ and made it clear that there are dangerous places everywhere in the world. The blame should not be shunted on to one specific neighbourhood.
Sparkhill local Aaron said: “Sparkhill is nice place to visit man, it’s very safe.” Jakob agreed: “I think Sparkhill is safe, my mother goes there to do shopping and everything.” His opinion was echoed by others like Hamza who said: “It’s not as bad as people make it, every area has some bad in it.”
Dylan, who lives in Birmingham city centre, offered a different view: “Sparkhill is not the best area, I wouldn’t say that is a nice place at all.” But he added: “Is anywhere safe these days though? Times changed, people changed and I think cost of living has had a big effect.”
Some locals got emotional as they felt offended by Scully’s comments. Hamza continued: “MPs will be MPs, it makes my heart shatter. Tell them to focus more on providing financial help to people, rather than talking down on cities for no reason.”
Backing the argument
There was no reason or research to back the MP’s comments. In fact, there is evidence that Sparkhill is not one of the worst areas in Birmingham in terms of crime.
Research collected by the Churchill Support Services through West Midlands Police data shows that in terms of highest crime rates, Sparkhill does not break into the top 15 areas of Birmingham. Aston, Bordesley Green and the city centre rank in the top three.
Data collected from West Midlands Police over the past six months also show that crime rates in the city have been dropping slowly. There were 28,000 reported crimes in December 2023, compared to 30,000 in October.
When I asked people if they think London is safer than Birmingham, most responded by saying they do not live in London so they do not feel like they can comment on the subject.
Here’s Dylan again: “You can’t say one city or one area is safer than another because I’m from Birmingham so I don’t know what happens in London.”
Many felt that Scully’s comments were opinion-based, rather than factual. Sahil said: “It’s like saying south London is this or that but we’ve never been there, you got to go there yourself to know how it is.”
Everyone is welcome
Birmingham people are proud of their home. So where do they think visitors should go?
Dylan said: “It has a great shopping centre and great restaurants so what more could anyone ask for?” Alicia supported that comment by saying: “I’d tell them to come to Birmingham city centre, see the world’s biggest Primark”, whilst Hamza said: “I’d tell people to go to Solihull or Sutton, it’s slightly nicer.”
Paul Scully may feel that Birmingham is not a good place to visit. High profile comments like his do nothing to help the reputation of the city. But when I talk to local people, a completely different picture emerges.
Local college student Josh summed it up perfectly: “In my opinion, everywhere is fine for me, there is nowhere I wouldn’t go in Birmingham and anyone can go and everyone is welcome.”
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