AuthorRichard Burden

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.

Perceptiveness and blinkers – thoughts on Tony Blair’s agenda for a new “radical centre” in politics

Labour Party, National issues
2 weeks ago
14 minute read
381 views
P

“The people don’t want ‘politics as usual’. The real reason behind the rise of the leaders from Donald Trump to Giorgia Meloni to Javier Milei is that they answer this call. You can like them or dislike them, but their chief characteristic is they appear to be unbound, not constrained by conventional thinking.” So says Tony Blair in his essay “The Labour party is playing with fire over its future …

Read onRead later

Thoughts on Epstein, Mandelson and the monopolisation of power

Equalities, Labour Party, Personal, Political reform
4 months ago
22 minute read
1,657 views
T

Over the past week, my thoughts about the Epstein–Mandelson scandal have jumped from revulsion about the revelations themselves, to trying to process what they will mean to those who have experienced abuse. Then they have reawakened memories of my own run-ins with Mandelson – and got me thinking again about the culture of self-justified impunity that power brings with it.

Read onRead later

Trump and Venezuela – 1984 in 2026?

World
5 months ago
1 minute read
945 views
T

Trump says the USA will “run” Venezuela after the his armed attack on the country this weekend. He thinks his power entitles him to take over countries in what he considers to be the US’s backyard. Judging by his actions in Ukraine, Putin thinks the same about what he considers to be Russia’s sphere of influence. As does Xi when it comes to Taiwan. A world to be divided between three superpower …

Read onRead later

Is the United Nations Security Council violating the UN’s own founding charter?

Middle East
7 months ago
1 minute read
1,468 views
I

On Monday of this week, the United Nations Security Council adopted a US-sponsored resolution endorsing President Trump’s plans for the future of Gaza. There were 13 votes in favour, including the UK, and none against. There were two abstentions – Russia and China. Such a decisive result says a lot about the imbalance of power in today’s world – reflected in the reluctance of leaders of European …

Read onRead later

Recent Posts

Richard Burden

Avatar photo

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.

Get in touch

You can reach me by email at richard@richardburden.com or use the form on the Contact page to send me a message.