This week's figures showed a small fall in unemployment in both in my Northfield Constituency and across Birmingham are welcome. But behind the figures we see the chronic levels of long term youth unemployment in the area continuing to rise. More and more people under the age of 24 have been out of work for over a year. That's where my Climb Project comes in - both to help address some of the …
I’m delighted to have been appointed by Ed Miliband to Labour’s Shadow Transport Team with responsibility for, amongst other issues, roads and road safety, motor agenices, cycling and future transport. Former Shadow Ministers Jim Fitzpatrick and Yvonne Fovargue did a fantastic job in raising automotive and local transport issues up the agenda, and I am excited to be building on these campaigns. I …
I have recently submitted evidence to the House of Commons Select Committee inquiry into the "educational underachievement of white working class children." Four years after I first raised this issue there remains a severe gap in educational achievement between poor and better off white children – and not enough action taken on the problem. I’m therefore very please the Select Committee have …
Despite the fact that 1 in 4 British adults experience at least one mental health problem every year, there remains a huge reluctance to talk about mental illness. A recent report by the charity Rethink Mental Illness revealed that over a third of the annual 100,000 ‘avoidable deaths’ in the UK are amongst people with mental health problems. This highlights the urgent need to tackle this stigma …
It’s been quite a September for MP's - and locally in Birmingham Northfield. At the Party Conference in Brighton, Labour set out how we will build a new future for Britain in 2015. Locally, you may have also heard that Deloitte were fined £14 million for failing to act in the public interest in the advice they gave to MG Rover and the Phoenix Four. I’m calling for part of this record fine to be …
I am very pleased to announce the publication of my mid-term constituency report. Over half way through the 2010-2015 Parliament I’m delighted to share what I have been doing to fight for a fair deal for Northfiel - my pledge for the 2010 General Election - and to let the people of Northfield know about my campaign for the area’s Climb to the Future.
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.