Rats known as ‘Squeaky Blinders’ not welcome beyond Birmingham border, says MP
‘Let’s be quite certain, the Squeaky Blinders are definitely not welcome,’ Wendy Morton said.
An MP has said “rats the size of cats”, named the Squeaky Blinders, as a result of Birmingham bin strikes are “not welcome” beyond the city’s boundaries.
Conservative former minister Wendy Morton told MPs that West Midlanders fear fly-tipping throughout the region after nearly 400 council waste operatives in Birmingham began an indefinite strike last week.
Nature minister Mary Creagh, whose Coventry East constituency is in the West Midlands, said a rise in illegal waste dumping “certainly hasn’t occurred” in Coventry.
Ms Morton told the Commons: “Fly-tipping is expensive and it’s a dangerous nuisance.
“Local authorities such as Conservative-led Walsall are taking a really proactive and determined approach to tackling this, but with bin strikes on our doorstep in the neighbouring Labour-led Birmingham Council, we fear more fly-tipping, particularly in the communities that border Birmingham.
“Alarmingly, we’re hearing of rats the size of cats in Britain’s second city and, let’s be quite certain, the Squeaky Blinders are definitely not welcome in Aldridge-Brownhills.”
The MP for Aldridge-Brownhills in Walsall asked the minister what the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) could do to “support” authorities like Walsall which share a boundary with Birmingham.
She also asked what ministers could do to help “bring the bin strikes to an end”.
Ms Creagh said resolving the strikes is “a matter to the council”, adding: “As a neighbouring MP in Coventry, we have not seen any of the fly-tipping that she talks about in Walsall.
“It certainly hasn’t occurred in Coventry.
“But what I would say is both sides need to get round the table and sort this out for the benefit of the people of Birmingham.”
Unite the Union national lead officer Onay Kasab has previously said Birmingham City Council could end the dispute “by agreeing to pay a decent rate of pay”.
The trade union has claimed ending the waste collection and recycling officer role has hit 150 workers with pay cuts of up to £8,000, which the local authority has disputed.
According to Birmingham City Council, the number of staff that could lose the maximum amount of just over £6,000 is 17 and a town hall spokesperson said their “door is still open” for Unite to “come back to the table”.
