Here’s a test for you. Is Rubery in Birmingham or in Bromsgrove? And if Rednal is in Birmingham, what about Rubery-Rednal? And are Rubery and Rednal in Longbridge or is Longbridge in Rubery and Rednal? Or are they all next to each other? Confused? You should be. It all sounds a bit like one of those riddles you used to get at school, doesn’t it?
Yesterday I met with a number of student representatives to show my support for their opposition to the government’s student finance changes. The Tories have said they will be completely cutting the availability of maintenance grants to students, effective from September 2016. These maintenance grants are in place to support students from the poorest backgrounds and more than half a million …
Welcome to the latest issue of my Animal Welfare Round-Up, where I regularly update you on some of the causes I have recently been taking action on. You can read my previous issues here.
The Dog Meat Trade
Towards the end of last year, a number of constituents contacted me about the dog meat trade in Asia.
Laws under which Israel arrests and detains children in the Occupied Territories are different depending on whether a child is Palestinian or Israeli. That is inexcusable. It is just over four years since I wrote a Huffington Post article about Palestinian children in Israeli custody and the conditions to which they are subject to. As I said then, it is shocking when you hear about some of the …
In the last month my team and I have referred about the same number of people to the foodbank for assistance as we did in the ten months before that. By Richard Burden Originally published by HuffPost, 24 December, 2015 Last week, I called in to say hello at Northfield’s local Trussell Trust foodbank. Back in the Commons I always hear Government ministers talk about Britain’s strong …
Thanks to Billie Shannon of St Laurence Junior School for designing this card as well as to all other children from schools in Northfield who entered my Christmas Card competition this year.
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.