Local communities in Birmingham should be given more power to decide the priorities for their areas. I am calling on Birmingham City Council and other agencies to do more to help them do so. I recently published a paper responding to a City consultation on the future of devolution and localisation in the city – through the development of what Birmingham City Council calls ‘Vibrant Urban Villages’ …
Richard Burden joined local campaigners from Oxfam, RSPB, Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace and Practical Action on Saturday to support their campaign to combat climate change. In Birmingham City Centre Richard accepted a large Valentines Day card to deliver to the Prime Minister. The card had been signed by people concerned about climate change and called on the Government to make the Climate …
Local authorities have a duty to provide accommodation for families with children and other vulnerable people who are either homeless or threatened with homelessness. Until now, Birmingham City Council has operated a banding system which gives priority to re-housing families who are staying in temporary accommodation provided by the City Council, over families who are also homeless but staying …
A debate on Global Security in the Middle East took place in Westminster Hall yesterday. The debate followed the publication of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee report on the issue in August last year and the Government’s response in October. The debate focussed in particular on the situation in Israel and Palestine. Speaking in the debate Richard Burden described the current situation in …
A short visit to the Middle East over the New Year brought home to me the contradictory environment in which the Palestinians find themselves following the Annapolis summit in November. At one level, economic activity within the major towns of the West Bank was more buoyant than I have seen it for a long time. The markets were busy and shop owners appeared to be doing a reasonable trade in …
A short visit to the Middle East over the New Year brought home to me the contradictory environment in which the Palestinians find themselves following the Annapolis summit in November. At one level, economic activity within the major towns of the West Bank was more buoyant than I have seen it for a long time. The markets were busy and shop owners appeared to be doing a reasonable trade in …
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.