I never knew Tory ministers were like buses but it's true. You don't catch a glimpse of one for ages and then they all turn up at once. That's certainly how it's been in my home constituency of Birmingham Northfield. The Conservative government has never shown much interest in the people who live around here. Presumably that is why they thought it fine to hit Birmingham with cuts at a rate twice …
On Tuesday (3 February 2015) I successfully held an Ask Me Anything using my Twitter and Facebook pages. As promised I did my best to answer as many questions from Northfield constituents as possible within the intended hour-long chat. In the end I stayed on for an extra 20 minutes and I’m still getting back to a few I missed! You can see my responses on Twitter by checking out this handy Storify …
Last Thursday (29 January) I welcomed constituents to a public discussion held at Northfield Baptist Church to talk about the early findings of my survey on immigration, and local peoples’ concerns on the issue. In addition to the hundreds of people who participated in the survey, over fifty constituents braved the snowy weather to hear the findings and raise their concerns at the event. They …
Since December my diary, and my mind, have been rather occupied with the Government’s “Infrastructure Bill.” This might sound rather technical. But I know from the number of local people who have contacted me about the various issues covered from the Bill – from fracking to cycling and the Highways Agency – that it is hugely important. So although it has been hard work, and it has taken a …
Lots of residents get in touch with me about anti-social behaviour problems. This can cover anything that reduces local people’s quality of life and causes them distress – and it can vary from abandoned vehicles and litter, to noisy and rowdy behaviour outside your home. These things are not minor nuisances – I know they often leave people feeling completely helpless and desperate. I regularly …
This is just a quick note to say that despite the snow earlier, the public meeting on immigration will be going ahead tonight as planned. We are continuing to monitor the weather, so should it deteriorate please check the website, Facebook or Twitter for updates. The event will begin promptly at 18.45, so we would be grateful if you could arrive at 18.30. Refreshments will be served. The address …
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.