Our branch covers members living in the three wards of Shirley East, Shirley South and Shirley West, within Solihull constituency. We have around 200 members and normally meet nine times a year, on the third Wednesday of the month, at the Shirley Centre on Stratford Road. Since the coronavirus restrictions on meetings came in we have been keeping in touch via Zoom calls.

We are a friendly and welcoming branch, covering all shades of Labour opinion, and our discussions are comradely and respectful. All of us are united in the aim of increasing Labour representation on Solihull Borough Council, and working towards a Labour government. Our members engage with the public through street stalls and leafletting (for example the campaign against free parking restrictions on Stratford Road), help out in other wards, and attend lobbies and rallies in both Solihull and Birmingham. Several members hold officer positions on the CLP Executive Committee.

Members are active in the community with groups such as Shirley Covid-19 Support and Friends Of Shirley Park. We believe social activities are important to build relationships and solidarity among members. We have a Christmas Curry Night in December which includes the now-annual ‘Secret Santa Lucky Dip’, our newly formed Pub Quiz team were victorious at their first contest at the Plume of Feathers before lockdown kicked in, and we are planning to set up a walking group to explore the local area while putting the world to rights.