Mr. Richard Burden (Birmingham, Northfield): I can tell my right hon. Friend and my hon. Friends in Luton and surrounding constituencies that, with Longbridge in my constituency, the people of the west midlands well understand what they will be going through and the anger that will be felt about the way that General Motors announced its decision. I imagine that they will take as dim a view of the …
Mr. Richard Burden (Birmingham, Northfield): One day, I should like to ask my right hon. Friend a question about something other than Rover, but today is not the day. Will he join me in congratulating John Towers and his team on proving all the critics wrong and acquiring Rover Cars for the Phoenix consortium? Does he agree that the great thing about the Phoenix bid is that it has been a real co …
Richard Burden MP (Lab: Birmingham Northfield) whose constituency contains the Longbridge plant and is home to 2,500 of its workers has today welcomed the success of the Phoenix Consortium’s bid to buy Rover from BMW. Mr Burden said: ‘This really is excellent news. Many people have been working so hard to achieve this result and it will be greeted with great relief by my constituents and …
Labour MP Richard Burden, whose constituency includes Longbridge in Birmingham, gives his reaction on the Phoenix deal to buy Rover to BBC News Online When I last wrote for BBC News Online back in March, the West Midlands was reeling from the shocking news that BMW had decided to break up and sell off the Rover Group, putting tens of thousands of British jobs at risk. The reaction in the Midlands …
Mr. Richard Burden (Birmingham, Northfield): Is it not a fact that the people of Longbridge, the workers of Rover and, indeed, everyone else, were assured by BMW that it was in for the long term? It was not just in words. New plant for the new Mini was still going in at the very time that BMW made the announcement; indeed, work was still going on last week. Is it not important that we look to the …
Mr. Richard Burden (Birmingham, Northfield): Yesterday in Prime Minister’s questions, I said that the entire midlands area was holding its breath, waiting on the BMW board meeting that was to take place today. We now know the result. The responsibility for what looks like befalling Longbridge and other large parts of the Rover group is that of BMW. The day after the announcement in 1994 …
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.