Whether you voted Leave or Remain back in 2016, there is one thing we can all agree on: the psychodrama that is Brexit has gone on long enough and it needs to be brought to a conclusion, one way or another. As an MP I feel this as acutely as anyone. It is not just that arguments over Brexit have dominated debate in Parliament and beyond. The issue has created an all-pervasive atmosphere that is...
Today, Boris Johnson asked the Queen to prorogue (suspend) Parliament for the best part of a month from the week beginning 9th September. The Prime Minister claims it is simply a pause in Parliamentary business ahead of his Government announcing its legislative programme in a Queen’s Speech he has scheduled for 14th October. The reality is very different. Describing the move as a “constitutional...
Since I published my last Brexit update, the results of local Council and European elections should give all parties pause for thought. Both sets of elections saw voters express frustration at the continuing uncertainty over where we are going as a country in relation to Brexit. Last Tuesday, the online magazine LabourList, published this article from me in which I set out some of the lessons I...
I write this blog just a few days after the Article 50 timetable governing Britain’s exit from the EU has been extended until 31st October to give more time to break the deadlock in Parliament about how to go forward. As with all things Brexit-related the reaction has been mixed, to say the least. What people on all sides of the argument share however, is a huge sense of frustration that that...
You may have already seen that I recently sent out my latest Brexit update covering recent developments in Parliament, which you can read here. Since then, we have had another tumultuous week with a lot going on in and around Parliament. On Monday, I spoke in the debate in the Commons about Brexit, and you can watch my speech here or read it here. I highlighted my concerns about a no deal Brexit...
Any viable peace deal for Israel and Palestine needs to be based on respect for international law and human rights. Today’s decision by the UK Government to vote against all but one resolution on Israel-Palestine at the UN Human Rights Council is an unwelcome step away from that rights-focused peace. In one day, the Government has reversed years of policy on the self-determination and human...
I was Labour Member of Parliament for Birmingham Northfield between 1992 and 2019 and a former Shadow Transport Minister. I now chair Healthwatch in Birmingham and Solihull, and the West Midlands Board of Remembering Srebrenica. I also work as a public affairs consultant. I am an effective community advocate and stakeholder alliance builder with a passion for human rights. I am a trustee of the Balfour Project charity and of Citizens Advice Birmingham, and a former Chair of Medical Aid for Palestinians.