There’s a bit too much schadenfreude from Tories over the effective bankruptcy of Birmingham Council. Its ‘Section 114 notice’ is an admission that the council (Europe’s largest) is unable to meet a £760 million equal pay lawsuit – so spending on all but essential services in Britain’s second city will stop. A Labour-run council has gone pop: a point that several Tory councillors have made. But like the school concrete fiasco, this might be the first sign of a deeper malaise – with more bankruptcies to come.
Birmingham is home to the largest – and perhaps worst-run – council in Europe. Part of the mess it has found itself in is liability for not paying women equal bonuses to those received by men between 2006 and 2012. The women sued and the Supreme Court in effect extended the time workers have to bring equal pay compensation claims from six months to six years. In 2012, the council warned
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