Cllr Tuli Zefi - Langley Ward

07/09/2026

🏘️ Investing CIL Funding Back into Our Communities

Today, in my role as Smethwick Town Lead, I visited St Mary’s Church in Bearwood, which received £4,637.20 from Sandwell Council’s Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) fund to refurbish its kitchen.

It was great to meet Revd Ben Baker, Vicar and Priest-in-Charge at St Mary’s Bearwood, and members of the church team. I was pleased to see how the funding has been used to purchase new kitchen equipment, including a cooker, microwave and fridge.

These improvements will help the church continue supporting local residents and delivering activities that bring people together.

02/09/2026

👨‍👩‍👦WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO OUR CHILDREN – AND WHAT KIND OF FUTURE ARE WE CREATING FOR THEM?

These figures should stop every parent, grandparent, teacher and politician in their tracks.

More than 75,000 children and young people aged 6–17 attended A&E in England because of mental health concerns in 2025.

That is a 36% increase since 2019.

And perhaps most frightening of all, some of the biggest increases have been among children aged just six to nine years old.

Six years old.

Children should be worrying about toys, football, playing with their friends and what they're having for tea — not reaching a point of mental health crisis.

So we have to ask a difficult question:

What has happened to our future generations?

Is social media playing a part?

Our children are growing up in a completely different world. Constant comparison. Pressure to look perfect. Pressure to fit in. Online bullying. Influencers. Algorithms. Likes, followers and endless scrolling. Access to content that previous generations would never have been exposed to at such a young age.

But social media cannot be the only conversation.

We also need to look at pressures at school, family circumstances, isolation, the impact of the pandemic, access to mental health services and whether children are getting help early enough.

Because whatever the causes, something is going seriously wrong when thousands of children are reaching crisis point before they receive support.

More than 6,200 young people reportedly waited over 12 hours in A&E for mental-health-related attendances. An emergency department should not become the default mental health service for a frightened child simply because there is nowhere else for their family to turn.

We need proper early intervention, support in schools and communities, and a serious national conversation about the online world our children are being raised in.

These children are our future. Protecting their mental health should be one of our highest priorities.

Parents and grandparents — what changes have you noticed?

Do you think social media is damaging our children's mental health, or is something much bigger happening to this generation?

01/09/2026

⛪ St Michael and All Angels Church—Then and Now

Standing on Causeway Green Road, St Michael and All Angels served as Langley’s parish church from 1890, replacing the smaller Trinity Church. For almost a century, it stood at the heart of the local community.

The building’s future was once uncertain, and there were fears that it could be demolished after the Birmingham Diocese was unable to find a purchaser. Thankfully, the building survived and is now home to Iglesia Ni Cristo (Church of Christ).

The church contains many important historical features, including a Nicolson organ, memorial stones, tablets honouring local figures and several beautiful stained-glass windows.

Among them is a touching window dedicated to Gladys Pryor, the vicar’s daughter, who died aged just twelve in 1900. Created by the Camm studio in Smethwick, it depicts Gladys among the children gathered at the feet of Christ.

Of particular importance are two First World War memorial windows. The main window depicts St George, Faith and Hope and records the names of 64 men from the parish who lost their lives. A second window commemorates Cecil Percy William Lloyd, who was connected with the church and was killed on the Somme in 1916.

These photographs capture an important part of Langley’s history and show a building that continues to serve a faith community today.

01/09/2026

Sir Keir Starmer’s time as Prime Minister ended early after he lost the support of his own party. Now, just over two months after Downing Street confirmed that he would serve out his term as an MP, he is walking away from that commitment too.

First he left Downing Street. Now he is leaving the constituents who elected him to represent them.

In my view, this is another failure of leadership. Rather than remaining in Parliament and helping to address the serious issues facing the country, he appears to be walking away when things have become difficult.

What message does that send to the public? Where is the commitment to the people who elected him?

The residents of Holborn and St Pancras deserve an explanation—and taxpayers deserve to know how much this avoidable by-election will cost.

Public service is about facing difficult issues, accepting responsibility and keeping your word. It should never be about abandoning the job when it no longer suits you.

01/09/2026

31/08/2026

🎭 WHAT’S HAPPENED TO OLD-SCHOOL COMEDY?

Growing up, I remember watching shows like Ali G, Little Britain and plenty of other comedies that pushed boundaries, took the mick and sometimes offended people. That was almost part of the point of comedy.

Fast-forward to today and it feels like things have changed massively.

We constantly hear debates about whether older comedy is offensive, inappropriate or racist, while comedians today seem to have to think twice about every joke in case it causes outrage or gets them cancelled.

Now there’s even a campaign calling on cinemas not to show the new Ali G film because some people believe the character relies on racist stereotypes.

I understand that times change and attitudes change too. Some things that were considered acceptable 20 or 30 years ago might understandably be viewed differently today.

But have we gone too far the other way?

Surely adults should be able to decide for themselves what they find funny. If you don't like a comedian, programme or film, don't watch it — but should that mean nobody else gets the choice?

Comedy has always pushed boundaries, challenged people and occasionally offended people. If everyone becomes too frightened to say the wrong thing, what happens to comedy?

What do you think?

Has comedy become too restricted because people are frightened of causing offence, or is changing what we consider acceptable simply part of society moving forward?

Interested to hear people's views. 👇

28/08/2026

🙏 PLEASE WATCH, SHARE & SUPPORT RITA 🙏

On 13th August, what should have been an ordinary day for Rita suddenly turned into something no one expects to experience.

A serious fire at a neighbouring property spread to Rita's home, causing significant damage and affecting a number of homes in our Langley community.

Rita is retired and had built a life and a home filled with belongings, memories and things collected over many years. Through absolutely no doing of her own, she has now been left dealing with the devastating consequences of that fire and has sadly lost many of her possessions.

A home isn't just bricks and mortar. It's where your memories are, where you feel safe, and where you've built your life.
I was there that day helping the police with the evacuation of residents, and I saw first-hand the fear, confusion and devastation caused by the fire.

I've now sat down with Rita and given her the opportunity to tell you, in her own words, what happened and what life has been like since.

🎥 Please watch her story.

Rita's granddaughter has started a GoFundMe to help her through this incredibly difficult period and help her begin putting her life back together.

I'm asking our community for something simple:
If you can afford to donate, even a few pounds, please do. When enough people give a little, it can make a huge difference to someone who genuinely needs our support.

And if you can't donate, please share this video. It costs nothing, but it could put Rita's story in front of somebody who can help.
We often talk about community spirit. This is one of those moments when we can actually show it.

Let's show Rita that she isn't facing this alone. ❤️

🙏 DONATE TO RITA'S FUNDRAISER:
https://gofund.me/782ba9a51

Please watch. Please donate if you can. Most importantly, please SHARE. ❤️

27/08/2026

Over the years, I have noticed a real change in the way some people treat their community and the area in which they live.

We are seeing more fly-tipping, bags left on pavements and rubbish dumped in our streets. Fifteen or twenty years ago, if people saw litter on the ground, many would pick it up and place it in a bin. Today, the response is too often: “It isn’t my rubbish—why should I pick it up? Someone else can deal with it.”

This attitude creates a domino effect. One person leaves rubbish behind, another person sees it and thinks it is acceptable, and before long, one dumped bag becomes a much bigger problem. Everyone leaves it for somebody else, standards begin to fall and people gradually stop caring.

But this is our street. This is our neighbourhood. This is our home.

There are still many good people who report problems, pick up litter and take pride in where they live. To every one of you, thank you. However, I am concerned that more people are turning a blind eye and accepting things that we would never have accepted in the past.

I do not want our area to reach the point seen in some places across the country, where people have become so disheartened that they feel there is no point in trying anymore. Once that community pride is lost, rebuilding it becomes much more difficult.

We must also think about the example we are setting for future generations. If our children grow up seeing rubbish being dumped and everyone walking past it, they may begin to believe that this behaviour is normal. We need to show them that caring for where we live matters and that we all have a part to play.

Community is not simply the place where we live—it is how we treat that place and the people around us.

The rubbish may not belong to us, but the neighbourhood does. If we all do a little—reporting fly-tipping, disposing of waste responsibly and picking up the occasional piece of litter—we can make a significant difference.

Let us break the domino effect, restore pride in our streets and protect our community for the generations who will come after us.

26/08/2026

🚨If you drive through Blackheath town centre, please be aware that the ‘bus gate’ goes live next Tuesday (1 September).

📌 If you drive through Blackheath town centre, please be aware that the ‘bus gate’ goes live next Tuesday (1 September).

It is a section of road reserved for buses, pedal bikes and the emergency services between Birmingham Road and Long Lane. The bus gate is well signed and has a different colour surface, to warn motorists of the restricted area.

From Tuesday, any unauthorised vehicle seen on CCTV driving through the bus gate will receive a £70 penalty charge notice (PCN). This is reduced to £35 if paid within 14 days. The bus gate will be operational 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

You can still drive through Blackheath town centre along Market Place via the new road layout that was installed last year.

The bus gate is part of the new Blackheath Bus Interchange and aims to help bus passengers and other pedestrians feel safer when shopping in the town centre.

Come along to Blackheath and support local businesses and market traders, find out what they have to offer and see the recent improvements made to the town centre.