Ministers could be forced to intervene in Birmingham if 'mad' Green-Gaza coalition seizes power

Susanna Siddell
Sat, 11 Apr 2026 08:12:00 +0000

Ministers could be forced to intervene in Birmingham if the "mad" Green-Gaza coalition is able to seize power at the next round of local elections.

The upcoming contest at the Labour-run Birmingham City Council is being eyed up by a spread of political hopefuls keen to capitalise on voters abandoning the serving party.

However, ministers fear Labour's 14-year-long reign over Europe's largest council could be toppled by a "mad coalition" comprised of Green and Gaza supporters.

Government sources have told The Times a coalition could "make it difficult to deliver services" and lead the council into requiring central intervention.

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Previously, Independent Candidates Alliance leader Akhmed Yakoob stood as an independent in the 2024 General Election, standing on a pro-Gaza ticket.

Earlier this year, he joined forces with Zack Polanski's party in the Gorton and Denton by-election - but has since become disillusioned with the Greens after local activists were not permitted hold up their side of the deal by ceding certain seats in Birmingham.

Relations between the two, as a result, have turned frosty, with the controversial lawyer calling his opponents "treacherous".

Mr Yakoob went on to accuse the party of "wanting to lead our children into the path of drugs, sex and degeneracy" on his social media.

Such claims were subsequently slammed by a Green insider as "beneath contempt".

Now, in this campaign for Birmingham City Council, Mr Yakoob has united with George Galloway’s Workers Party to bolster support against mainstream Labour - disillusionment exacerbated by bin strikes across the city.

Birmingham resident Khasrul Islam, 65, told The Times: "Look at what Labour has done to our area. They only take and they don’t give.

"They want to take our benefits. But there is nobody cleaning, nobody coming, if you phone the council they don’t take notice."

At the past round of local elections for the council back in 2024, Mr Islam said the Gaza war was Sir Keir Starmer's principal criticism, but now its importance ranks below the bin strikes.

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Despite Mr Yakoob expressing his disdain for the Greens, he refused to rule out setting up a coalition with them - or, in fact, any party apart from the Labour Party in the "likely" event a coalition must be formed in May.

When informed Sir Ed Davey's Liberal Democrats could snub their offer of a coalition, the pro-Gaza candidate brushed the party aside and said: "Is that what they’ve said?

"They don’t deserve us then. That’s another party that is Zionist-controlled."

Meanwhile, Labour council leader leader John Cotton laid out the pitch for his party, declaring: "It’s between progress with us or division and chaos with the others.

"The challenge before this city is very clear, and only Labour can offer a path through that."

Mr Yakoob is forecast to take home several council seats while they capitalise on the dwindling support for Labour, with the Independent leading his campaign on the bin strikes.

But the city could also set the scene for a shift towards Reform UK, with a number of voters expressing contempt for the tried-and-tested traditional parties.

Britons across six council areas in the West Midlands city will be headed to the polls on May 7 for a fateful day for the governing groups.