In this, my first Parliamentary Newsletter since the General Election, I want to say thank you to the people of Birmingham Northfield Constituency for re-electing me as your MP. To have been re- elected with a majority that was almost double that of the previous election is an even greater honour. So in saying a personal thank you to all who voted for me, I also want to underline that I am the MP …
Like so many other people who live in Birmingham, I and my family have been experiencing problems with missed bin collections, with overflowing wheelie bins left uncollected or picked up days late for a number of weeks now. As an MP I have also been inundated with calls and e-mails from residents who have been going through the same thing. According to a report in the Birmingham Mail this week …
This week I raised this issue with the Government. As many constituents will personally know, this has been a persistent problem across the constituency in recent months. You can see my question and the Government’s response here:
Many of you will have seen an increase in the number of travellers in areas of the constituency in recent months, often accompanied by anti-social behaviour and unauthorised encampments. These encampments can create huge amounts of mess and result in local residents being threatened with verbal and other abuse. This is not acceptable. In the last week we have seen a new encampment on West Heath …
This Friday marks one year since my friend Jo Cox MP was murdered. Across the country this weekend millions of people will be remembering Jo’s life and work in street parties and other community events. These will all be demonstrating in practice the integrity and words that will forever be associated with Jo, ‘we have more in common than that which divides us.’ Northfield Arts …
You can see my interview after the result here, where I talked about the need for a new approach to politics with greater co-operation and less confrontation.
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.