Sad to hear of the death of my colleague Gerald Kaufman, the longest serving MP in this Parliament. The quantity and breadth of tributes to him have underlined the huge mark he made made in the Labour Party, in the House of Commons and to British politics as a whole. I got to know Gerald through our shared commitment to the cause of justice for the Palestinians. Gerald was a a proud Jew and a …
The results of the Serious Case Review confirms some of my worst fears about the background to Shi-Anne Downer’s brutal murder in my constituency. Kandyce Downer should never have been awarded a Special Guardianship Order to care for Shi-Anne and there was little or no professional supervision of what life for her looked like in practice after the Order was granted. The result was tragedy. Even …
The illegal settlements cannot be a sideshow to glad-handing when Theresa May meets Prime Minister Netanyahu. By Richard Burden Originally published by HuffPost, February 6, 2017 Theresa May should put Britain’s opposition to settlement building in the West Bank centre-stage when she meets Israel’s Prime Minister Netanyahu at Downing Street on Monday. The UK’s credibility can …
Like all MPs, I have had hundreds of letters and emails from constituents in recent weeks about authorising the triggering of Article 50, thereby formally giving notice of the UK’s intention to leave the European Union. Understandably, the emails I have received from constituents have come from different sides of the argument. Many of those emails are from people who, like me, both campaigned and …
This week’s Supreme Court decision confirms what many people who voted to leave the European Union wanted, for our sovereign Parliament to have the final say on matters of such significance to the future of our country – not Government Ministers on their own with no accountability or scrutiny. It is no secret that I voted to stay in the EU and have not changed my view, but I accept the result of …
Birmingham is proudly among the UK’s largest student cities. Before Christmas, I hosted a summit meeting between local MPs and student leaders from across the city. They have now published a ‘Birmingham Universities Manifesto’ which sets out their prioirities and calls for the debate around Britain’s exit from the EU to be refocused to better take into account the concerns of young people and all …
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.