Today I was pleased to welcome the Environment Secretary Hilary Benn to the Northfield constituency. He was here to visit Frankley – one of the local areas severely hit by floods last year. The government has earmarked funds for the area under its flood protection scheme. During the visit we met with community leaders, Frankley Parish Councillors and staff from Birmingham City Council and the...
I recently attended an Arctic experience, recreated in Westminster by the WWF to raise a sense of urgency about the devastating impact climate change is having on people and places around the world. WWF invited an Arctic “Climate Witness” called Mille Porsild to VictoriaTowerGardens – close to the House of Lords, and set the Arctic scene with a life-size igloo hand sculpted from ice and...
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.