Northfield deserves a quality leisure centre in which local people, young and old can swim, take part in sports and keep fit. People have been telling me this for years. The issue has always been where such a leisure centre should be, how accessible it is and how it can be funded. Unfortunately the story for the past decade has been of short term thinking by Birmingham Council, following by no...
The World Cup has started and, to celebrate, it was good to visit St Brigid’s School in Northfield on Thursday. They were holding their own World Cup match. It was St Brigid’s England team against St Brigid’s Rest of the World team. It was a close match and England won 3-2. A good omen? I hope so.
A National Audit Office report concluded today that the use of high cost phone lines across government is complex, ineffective, and leaving vulnerable individuals with the highest charges. After I held a debate on this issue, calling on the Cabinet Office to urgently improve the government’s performance in this area, the NAO has now concluded that government departments should eliminate the use...
Opening a debate on the controversial use of 0845 and 087 numbers by ministerial departments this morning, I called for the government to end the use of high cost phone lines. I have been contacted by local people understandbly irate that calling government departments leaves them with sky high bills. After questioning government departments about their use of these numbers, I have been shocked...
Yesterday in parliament we debated the importance of the arts and creative industries - not only for the economy but for people's lives. I called on the government to invest and harness Birmingham's innovation and talent - especially by ensuring the BBC has a real and long term presence in our region. We need more programmes produced here, and more representation of local people on the TV screens...
With Jenny Wilkes of #BBC on set of “Doctors”: Birmingham’s Drama Village #CreativeBirmingham birminghamculture.org/news twitter.com/RichardBurdenM…
— Richard Burden MP (@RichardBurdenMP) May 10, 2013
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.