Burden, who has held the Northfield seat since 1992, gained 40.3% of the vote. The Conservative’s Keeley Huxtable gained a 33.6% vote share, giving Burden a 2,782 majority in the constituency.

However, Burden’s vote share fell considerably from 2005, with a 10.1% drop in vote share. In comparison, Huxtable and the Tories vote share increased by 3.2%, making significant inroads into what is traditionally a Labour stronghold.

The Liberal Democrats put in a good performance, with candidate Mike Dixon gaining 15.7% of the vote, up 3.3% from 2005. There was also a surge in support for the British National Party and their candidate Les Orton, with 5.5% of the votes and an increase of 2.2% from 2005.

Independent candidate Dick Rodgers ended an eccentric campaign, which included dressing up as Big Ben for a roadside campaign on Election Day, with a loss. His vote share decreased by 0.4%, gaining 305 votes and 0.7% of the vote. Despite this, Rodgers admitted earlier in the day that becoming an MP was not a priority:

“I’m only doing it partly for the actual result because I want to get known more, because I’m campaigning for all sorts of other things. For instance, a bloke in China who’s imprisoned just for asking for multi-party democracy.

I want to campaign for all sorts of things in the public interest and this helps me get known”

The evening was disappointing for the Green Party, gaining just 406 votes (1% vote share) in an area known across Birmingham for its eco-centre. UKIP’s John Borthwick managed to gain a 1% increase on the 2005 vote, with 3.3% of the votes.

The hustings, co-organised by the Northfield Eco Centre, gave voters the oppotunity to question some of their candidates in the lead up to the General Election on May 6th.

Incumbent MP Richard Burden (Labour), Keeley Huxtable (Conservative), Mike Dixon (Liberal Democrats) and Dick Rodgers (The Common Good Party) were the candidates in attendance at the Northfield Baptist Church, with John Borthwick (UKIP), Susan Pearce (Green Party) and Les Orton (BNP) absent.

Climate Change In the United Kingdom

Climate change was one of the main issues at the hustings, with two questions regarding the subject being posed to the candidates throughout the evening.

On the UK’s own carbon emissions and the securing of a safe, environmentally energy supply, all the candidates agreed that more investment and research was required into renewable energy sources. Mr. Rodgers put particular emphasis on tidal energy, encouraging more research into the technology in order to stop potential blackouts across the country by 2016.

The topic of nuclear energy was decidedly more divisive. Richard Burden, Keeley Huxtable and Dick Rodgers all agreed that nuclear power appears to be the most viable option to keep Britain’s power grid running and to cut carbon emissions. However, Mr. Burden expressed his concerns over the long-term effects of nuclear waste,with Mike Dixon echoing the sentiment and ruling out nuclear power altogether.

Mike Dixon and Keeley Huxtable both emphasised the importance of insulation to cutting carbon emissions, with Huxtable outlining the Conservatives plans for a ‘Green Deal’. Under the terms of the Deal, homeowners would be offered a £6,500 loan to install insulation, with the loan paid back over 25 years through savings made on energy bills.

Dick Rodgers placed emphasis on the infrastructure of the country, claiming nationalisation of the UK’s transport infrastructure was the only way to successfully cut emissions. He also claimed that too much focus on making profits hampered the fight against climate change.

Mike Dixon expressed similar doubts about the national energy infrastructure, claiming that Great Britain was too reliant on other countries for energy sources. Dixon also outlined plans to move away from the National Grid to ‘micro power suppliers’  (communities generating their own energy through renewable energy). Keeley Huxtable wants to keep the National Grid, but outlined a plan in which homes and businesses that generated excess energy through solar panels could sell energy back to the National Grid.

Tackling Climate Change In Developing Nations

Northfield residents also expressed concern towards the effects of climate change on developing nations. Mike Dixon of the Liberal Democrats claimed that it needed to be recognised that climate change can’t be changed by one country alone and had to be addressed through all the nations working together, a sentiment echoed by the rest of candidates.

Richard Burden stated that climate change was already in effect in Africa, and that a policy of mediation and adaptation was needed. This involves helping developing nations to adapt to the effects of climate change, as well as allowing nations such as China, India and Brazil to develop in a more eco-friendly manner. He also emphasised the importance of ensuring emissions from developed nations were cut quickly.

The issue of countries such as China and India was also on the mind of the other candidates, with Dick Rodgers stating that countries such as the US needed to reduce emissions before asking growing nations to. He also stated that improved human rights in China were important, as well as addressing China’s ‘mad rush’ of development. Mike Dixon also expressed concerns about China and India, but stated that there was no real answer as of yet.

Keeley Huxtable addressed the issue of aid given to developing nations, claiming that reforms were needed to make sure that aid got through to the right targets instead of the half that currently makes it. She also outlined plans to increase aid to 0.7% of income.

Other issues on the agenda at the Northfield Hustings included cutting local crime, the legality of assisted suicide and the televised debates.

Confusion as to the status of Birmingham’s Recycling Champions continues, with Birmingham City Council remaining silent on the scheme.

The scheme, which seeks out residents for voluntary work spreading the recycling message, has been advertised since 2009. However, the scheme has had little reported success, and the Council is still looking for volunteers.

When questioned on recycling champions, community activist and chair of the Handsworth Central Neighbourhood Forum Waseem Zaffar said he was not aware of the scheme.

No meetings have been scheduled or advertised for the scheme, with little reference on Birmingham City Council’s website apart from the usual advertisement looking for more champions.

A Local Government Chronicle article claims that the scheme was instrumental in having paper in Birmingham transported to a local recycling mill, which created local jobs. However, there appears to be little evidence to connect the move to the recycling champions scheme, with no reports in the local media at the time.

The recycling champions scheme has been running across the country for a number of years, with mixed success. The most successful areas for the scheme have been Cheltenham and Southend, which both hold regular meetings for current and potential recycling champions.

The confusion surrounding Birmingham City Council’s Recycling Champions scheme comes as the successful EcoTeams initiative begins in Birmingham on 20^th March. With 1000 households in Nottingham already having taken part, the EcoTeams initiative could render the Recycling Champions scheme obsolete.

Birmingham Recycled has made multiple attempts to contact the council about recycling champions, but is still awaiting a response.

EcoTeams, which claims to have 30,000 members, is a community-driven initiative, with residents forming groups to help each other lower their carbon emissions and increase their recycling rates.

The scheme has already been a success in other regions of the United Kingdom, with Nottingham and London both involved in the EcoTeams concept.

EcoTeams is based off the idea of measuring ‘environmental impacts’, such as amounts of waste disposed and recycling rates, and attempting to cut these impacts week-by-week.

An ‘Eco Team’ is formed of members of the community who share the common goal of reducing their environmental impact. The group share ideas, facts and support each other’s eco-friendly drives.

According to the EcoTeams website, the average household taking part in the scheme reduces waste by 20%, whilst increasing recycling by 5%.

In addition to this, it is also claimed that those taking part will reduce CO2 emissions by 16.6% and water use by 15%.

Philip Moore of Global Action Plan, the group behind EcoTeams, says:

‘Joining an EcoTeam is a fun and sociable way to explore a number of topics (energy, water and transport use, as well as what is thrown away and recycled) so that people get a better feel for the issues. By discussing these topics as a team ‘EcoTeamers’ also benefit from other people’s experience.’

‘In Birmingham, CO₂ emissions from households make around 35% of the total emissions , the rest being emissions from industry, the public sector and transport. So, it’s clear that together we have a big opportunity to influence the bigger picture.’

The idea of using communities to spread the environmental message has become increasingly popular with authorities in recent years. One such scheme is Birmingham City Council’s ‘Recycling Champions’, which aims to recruit volunteer residents to spread the word about recycling to fellow residents.

Philip Moore added:

‘The ultimate aim is for our population to live sustainably. This means using resources at a rate that the planet can replenish as fast as we use them, and to manage the waste we produce.’

‘Currently in the UK we consume so much that if everyone in the world lived like us we would need three planets to sustain the population. In other words, we are living on three times beyond our means. By contrast, the average Indian lives on only half their fair share of the planet’s resources.’

The EcoTeams training event will take place at The Birmingham and Midland Institute on Saturday 20^th March from 09:30am – 14:30pm. Those interested in the scheme can find information and sign up for the event at http://ecoteams.org.uk/

Jeremy Shields said he was not ‘personally aware of any evidence of recycling boxes being stolen in the legally-defined sense.’

He did concede, however; ‘it is accepted that boxes go missing, usually for reasons unknown, and that people can ask for replacements.’

Mr. Shields’ statement contradicts residents Birmingham Recycled have spoken to.

One resident, who did not wish to be named, stated that they had been forced to take another residents’ recycling box following the disappearance of their own.

Another resident, Fabia McMahon, came home from work one evening to find her recycling bin had been taken from the front of her house. She said:

“It’s annoying as it defeats the object of recycling.

We’re supposed to be working together to make the world a better place to live, but people are just abusing the privilege and stealing from one another.”

Disappearances

The disappearance of recycling boxes has been an issue across the country since local authorities introduced door-to-door recycling schemes. Areas in the West Midlands, such as Cannock, have been particularly badly hit.

Whilst no official explanation has been given for the frequent disappearance of the boxes, theft is usually blamed.

Poor communication

The council has also been criticised for poor communication when trying to claim a replacement box, with various residents claiming they were passed around various departments who didn’t seem to know the procedure for claiming a box.

Addressing communication issues, Jeremy Shields blamed recent technology updates and a spike in calls regarding a backlog of collections following the bad weather:

‘During and after the extreme weather, there was a spike in telephone calls to the Contact Centre, caused by people calling about delays in services.

This situation unforseeably occurred at a time when new software was being used by Call Agents, which produced problems with unfamiliarity.

The combined effect was that people had, regrettably, problems with making contact by telephone, and I apologise for these difficulties.’

Despite this, Shields claimed no knowledge of residents being passed around departments:

‘Only one department is involved [in replacement recycling boxes], and I am surprised that anyone could form any other opinion.

The impact of the issues I have mentioned has diminished, and will continue to do so, with the situation therefore improving progressively.

Additionally, the  online option seems to be increasing in use, which helps to move matters forward.’

The event, which was held at the Prince of Wales, encouraged people to bring along unwanted items to exchange for other items that others had donated to the swap shop.

Items at the swap shop included vintage clothing, videos, DVD’s and computer games, as well as homeware.

Speaking about the event, organiser Beth Fisher said:

“It’s been really good – really busy!

A lot of people turned up with loads of stuff at the beginning, which was a little bit of a worry because we thought we might never get rid of it.”

“But then we’ve had quite a lot of people in and quite a lot of the stuff’s gone and yeah, it all turned out pretty well!”

Swap shops, along with websites such as Freegle, have become increasingly popular in recent years, allowing people to swap unwanted items for new items without creating waste.

Beth added:

“I personally have stopped buying new stuff because I think there’s so much stuff in the world already that you can get everything you need second hand apart from food and pants so I just try and help people do that.”

“You don’t need new things; you don’t even need to spend money on new things. People will literally give you everything you need.”

Speaking on Birmingham Friends of the Earth campaign, Beth said:

“We’ve got various campaign groups. We’re doing a ‘Get Serious’ campaign and a ‘Fix the Food chain’ campaign.

I’m also running a recycled craft group, which is every third Monday of the month at the Friends of the Earth warehouse in Digbeth.”

The Moseley Swap Shop will be taking place on the last Saturday of every month.