A military parade to mark the 80th anniversary of VE Day was refused by Dacorum Borough Council for being "too elite". The council instead suggested locals stage their own street parties to commemorate the event. The decision sparked outrage, with Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy calling it "ridiculous" to say that VE Day is elitist, as it honors the sacrifices made by ordinary men and women from working-class backgrounds to secure freedom.

A man dressed as a giant rat, known as the "Selly Oak rat", attended a full meeting of Birmingham City Council to raise concerns about the city's bin strike. With 21,000 tonnes of uncollected household rubbish on the streets, security experts warn that residents may be at increased risk of fraud as "bin raiders" search through discarded waste for confidential documents.

Labour MP Liam Byrne, chair of the business and trade committee, left his constituents in Birmingham to fight bin strikes while he enjoyed a luxurious trip to Japan with seven other MPs. The "fact-finding" mission was supposed to last only until official meetings finished on Friday, but Byrne extended his stay for a personal holiday. This means his constituents were without their local MP to advocate for them during the bin strike battle with unions.

A Birmingham councillor, Majid Mahmood, has been criticized for going on a "holiday" in Egypt while the city is experiencing a bin strike and overflowing with rubbish. The councillor's absence was seen as hypocritical by employees in the council's refuse management team, who are working long hours to deal with the crisis. The employees felt that the councillor's decision to take time off, paid for by a charity, was a "stab in the back" while they were struggling to keep up with the mounting waste.