Advertise on podcast: In conversation with Mike Wood MP

People in Lower Penn and Wombourne are rightly concerned about plans to force large Battery Energy Storage Sites onto our villages. These developments are not sustainable, they’re out of character with our rural settings, and they raise serious safety questions.  If there was a fire, how would emergency services even access the site?  Local people must have a real say over what happens in their communities. We should be able to protect our green spaces and farmland from inappropriate industrial-scale developments.  I lay out the facts in this short episode. If you agree, please sign my petition, which I will be presenting in Parliament to make sure our voices are heard.

Across Staffordshire, victims lost £20,000 on average last year. Scammers are getting smarter— and they won’t stop just because Christmas is over.  As we begin 2026, please stay alert. Trust your instincts. And think twice before sharing any personal or financial information. At my recent Older People’s Information Fair in Perton, I spoke with Megan (who's 80 year old partner had money stolen from his bank account), as well as Dudley Building Society and Staffordshire Police, about the latest scams doing the rounds and how we can stay safe.

It’s been two years since the iconic Crooked House was destroyed by a fire. I spoke to campaigner Ian Sandall at the site about what the pub means to the Black Country and why we need to get on and rebuild it.

We are at my tenth jobs and skills fair in Wombourne (my first since the boundary changes as MP for Kingswinford and South Staffordshire). Joining me in this episode are Dudley College, West Midlands Ambulance Service and Home Instead — just three organisations offering fantastic jobs and training opportunities.

I visited Brookfields Farm in Wombourne and spoke to Linda about the government’s new tax on family farms.It is a poor policy that will devastate livelihoods, local food production, and our beautiful countryside. It must be reversed.

Merry Hill saw my 9th annual jobs and skills fair, and the busiest one yet. A huge thank you to all the businesses and organisations who attended — there are thousands of quality jobs and careers available in and around Dudley. You can hear from some of the employers in this episode - including M&S, Ask Italian, National Infrastructure Solutions, the NHS, and HM Prison Service.

I continue my Dudley South Heroes series with Dawn Keeley — Dawn does a huge amount of volunteering with the Girlguides in Wall Heath. The girls who attend do lots of adventurous activities and work in the community, and they get a lot out of it. Dawn is a true Dudley South Hero — thank you Dawn! If you know of someone doing some good work in our community, who deserves a bit of recognition, please let me know, I’d love to get them on my community podcast.

Trevor runs a charity called "Santa's Black Country Toy Appeal". He and his team of volunteers have been collecting toys for disadvantaged children for 26 years, and they now cover Dudley, Sandwell, Walsall and Wolverhampton. You can donate at https://bc-santa.co.uk/. Trevor is a Dudley South Hero and joins us for this episode.

Meet Stu Bratt, my next Dudley South Hero. Stu runs a local mental health charity for men called "Tough Enough To Care". He set it up to help people struggling with their mental health, after losing two friends to suicide.

Hawbush Gardens is a real jewel in the community here in Brierley Hill. Ken Smith runs it — they use the space to grow fresh produce for local people and so much more. I went there and spoke to Ken for the first of my 'Dudley South Heroes' conversations — in these conversations you can hear from some of our amazing local people who are doing great things for our community.

I hosted a packed jobs fair at Merry Hill shopping centre and I’d like to thank every single business and organisation that took the time to come along and speak to local people. We’ve got many thousands of good quality jobs and training opportunities in just about every industry you can think of. In this episode you can hear directly from some of our amazing employers including: Flannery Plant Hire, Waldrons Solicitors, HM Prison and Probation Service; Canal & River Trust; as well as Mayor Andy Street and an apprentice.

There’s just over a month left until the government Kickstart scheme ends. It is a fantastic scheme that takes young people off benefits and puts them into quality jobs. They are paid the minimum wage, they learn valuable skills that they can keep for life, and it is fully funded by government. So if you’re a local business, and you haven’t yet had a chance to look into it, please do.  I caught up with Aaron Atwal from Canal & River Trust and Dam Sood from The Indian Tavern at my recent jobs fair - they have both successfully taken on local young people as kickstarters and given them some incredible opportunities. And if you’re a business that’s participated in the scheme, or if you are a kickstart apprentice, get in touch, I’d like to hear from you!

I’m really pleased to report that Dudley and the West Midlands currently have more job vacancies than before the pandemic. And I’m talking about quality jobs that are offering quality training - in health, social care, hospitality, construction, the police, retail  - just about any sector you can think of. I recently held a busy and lively jobs fair at Merry Hill and spoke to some of the employers.

We have some excellent special needs schools here in Dudley such as Pens Meadow - I was proud to open their post-16 building 4 years ago. The issue now is that the school is spread across two sites which makes it difficult for the team to provide the care and education the children deserve. We are going to build a purpose built site that the kids deserve here at Tiled House Lane. Pleased to be joined in this episode by Headteacher Marie and Cllr Patrick Harley.

Spring is coming and things are slowly looking up. Over the past year we’ve spent millions on helping people, families and businesses get through the pandemic. Dudley Council have done a fantastic job and I'm pleased to be to be joined by Council Leader Patrick Harley and Cabinet Member for Finance Steve Clark in this episode.