West Midlands Police have announced a plan to close 28 police stations across the region. In and around the Northfield area, Kings Norton, Longbridge, Warstock and Bartley Green are scheduled to close. Although nearby Bournville Lane will continue to be the Police headquarters for the area, these proposals mean that there will be no police stations in Northfield constituency itself by the end of …
Richard is looking for an addition to his busy team in the Westminster office. This is a part-time, paid and fixed position lasting until the Christmas recess.
You will learn first-hand about the work that MPs do representing their constituents in Parliament, as well as gaining insight into the role of a Shadow Transport Minister.
Last Friday (18 September) I hosted a ‘Superfast Summit’ in Kings Norton, where I met with senior officials from Virgin Media, BT, Digital Birmingham and alternative providers, to discuss the problem of superfast broadband not-spots in the constituency. Many of you will be aware - or have even got in touch with me – about my campaign on poor broadband coverage. I have estimated around 1500 homes …
A few weeks ago I wrote a piece about the Labour leadership election and about the future direction of our Party. It set out the reasons why I believe the qualities that Yvette Cooper would have brought to the position of Leader made her the candidate for me to support. The scale of Jeremy Corbyn’s victory was, however, overwhelming and it must be respected. I don’t say that …
Hundreds of you have got in touch with me about the Assisted Dying Bill. The Bill comes up for debate in the House of Commons this Friday (11th September). Over the past weeks and months I have sent individual replies to as many people as possible. However, the sheer quantity of e-mails I have received – both for and against the Bill – means that I have not been able to get back to everybody …
This week Parliament returns from its summer break. One of the first things I will be doing in Westminster is leading a debate on funding cuts to West Midlands Police. In the last five years West Midlands Police has received funding cuts twice that of other forces according to the independent National Audit Office. Whereas the West Midlands has been cut by nearly a quarter (23%), Surrey Police …
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.