UK’s second-largest city files for bankruptcy
Birmingham City Council, the largest local government in the United Kingdom, filed for bankruptcy on 5 September. This was announced by the Birmingham City Council on its website.
According to the authorities, the reason for the bankruptcy was the huge cost of paying compensation in the union’s lawsuit. Women workers in traditionally female occupations were paid less than men.
The city has been paying compensation for the last 10 years. The debt continues to grow at £5-14m a month, while the total debt is already £650-760m. At the same time, the budget deficit for this fiscal year is estimated at £8m.
The municipality stated that it does not have such significant funds. Bankruptcy means the cessation of all payments, with the exception of social payments to the population. Birmingham is the second most populous city in the UK after London, with over a million people. It is also known for being the main setting in the Netflix series Peaky Blinders.