Birmingham City Hall, the second most populous city in United Kingdom after London, has been declared in bankruptcy after receiving an invoice of about 760 million pounds, that is, €890 million. After receiving this multi-billion dollar bill, the authorities have blamed their large debt on the costs incurred to comply with demands for equal pay between men and women.

Local authorities have reported that all services that involve new expenses will be stopped immediately, with the exception of care for vulnerable people and legal services, the British television channel Sky News collects. Birmingham City Government leader John Cotton has already warned that local authorities will have to take “hard and solid decisions”, thus pointing to a series of cuts that may affect roads, cultural projects and public spaces.

Likewise, the situation could affect municipal financing of the 2026 European Athletics Championships, which will be held at the Alexander stadium, located on the outskirts of the city, according to the British BBC radio television. The local government has thus issued a statement in which it insists that “the council is in a position in which it must finance the equal pay obligation that has accumulated to date, but don’t have the resources to do it“.