http://www.westmidlandsno.org.uk Home of the West Midlands NO! Campaign Thu, 24 Dec 2009 19:33:30 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Merry Christmas to all our supporters. http://www.westmidlandsno.org.uk/2009/12/24/merry-christmas/ Please try not to laugh because this is very serious.  Coventry has left the City Region of Birmingham, Coventry & the Black Country. Since Telford & Wrekin parted company with the city region, it's become more and more irrelevant as its focus narrows to providing the same Birmingham-centric services as the ... http://www.westmidlandsno.org.uk/2009/11/25/coventry-leaves-city-region/ The City Region has published a report on the future of next generation broadband in the area covered by the quango as well as Telford & Wrekin. Chris Pitchford, the unelected business representative on the City Region board, describes it as an action plan for the roll-out of new, faster broadband ... http://www.westmidlandsno.org.uk/2009/09/25/talking-the-talk-but-not-walking-the-walk/ The City Region has signed its Multi Area Agreement (MAA) - the extra powers it wanted from the British government that led to Telford & Wrekin being booted out of the quango so that it could qualify. Bizarrely, Telford & Wrekin has signed up to the MAA despite no longer being ... http://www.westmidlandsno.org.uk/2009/09/25/not-in-the-city-region-just-run-by-the-city-region/ Advantage West Midlands (AWM) is on the prowl for fund managers for its new £45m business support fund. Only a few weeks ago, AWM released details of projects that it has withdrawn funding for after the British government restricted its generous funding of AWM's slush fund.  The setting up of a new ... http://www.westmidlandsno.org.uk/2009/08/25/awm-launches-new-45m-business-fund/ Why does the Birmingham Post insist on misleading its readership over the City Region? Almost every reference to the City Region claims that some spokesman is an elected member of the City Region, giving the impression that it isn't an unelected, undemocratic quango. Take this latest article, for example: Glyn Pitchford, elected West ... http://www.westmidlandsno.org.uk/2009/08/05/glyn-pitchford-is-not-elected/ The following is from the Campaign for an English Parliament's website: The British government is embarking on its latest fashionable charade of holding cabinet meetings in the English euroregions with the undemocratic, unwanted Ministers for the Regions. One CEP member is organising a protest at the West Midlands Regional Grand Committee on ... http://www.westmidlandsno.org.uk/2009/08/03/cep-one-nation-not-nine-regions/ A couple of weeks ago, Advantage West Midlands (AWM) announced that they had run out of our money and were pulling funding for a number of projects. At the time they refused to disclose which projects were having funding withdrawn so West Midlands NO! put in a Freedom of Information request ... http://www.westmidlandsno.org.uk/2009/07/21/awm-release-details-of-funding-refusals-after-foi-request/ Budget holds the key to improved transport Alistair Darling will announce this week whether or not the West Midlands will become a City Region, allowing it to get cash for urgently-needed transport improvements costing up to £1 billion. City council leader Mike Whitby delivered a final plea to the Chancellor to back ... http://www.westmidlandsno.org.uk/2009/04/20/birmingham-post-budget-holds-the-key-to-improved-transport/ Yesterday saw the first day of the new unitary authority in Shropshire following the abolition of the county's five districts. This experiment in regionalisation went ahead after referenda were held in three of the five districts, all of which resulted in an overwhelming rejection of the plans.  Shropshire County Council sent ... http://www.westmidlandsno.org.uk/2009/04/02/shropshire-regionalisation-project-starts-with-a-whimper/