By Richard Burden Originally published by Labour List, July 18, 2018 Strictly, meetings of the Parliamentary Labour Party are meant to be private. There has, however, been so much media commentary based on leaks from the meeting that I want to set out a few things to hopefully provide some additional perspective. The main item for discussion at the Parliamentary Labour Party this week was how …
This week is Srebrenica Memorial Week, organised by British charity Remembering Srebrenica, to commemorate the 23rd anniversary of the Srebrenica genocide in which over 8,000 men and boys were systematically murdered by Bosnian Serb forces. The Srebrenica genocide was the worst massacre to take place on European soil since World War Two. It was part of a horrific conflict in which rape was …
The past month saw key votes in the House of Commons on the kind of Brexit the UK Government should be trying to negotiate. These votes were not about whether or not Brexit takes place. Following the referendum, Parliament set that process in motion with the triggering of Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty under which a Member State can give notice of its intention to leave the EU. Last month’s …
In this week’s votes in the House of Commons on amendments to the EU Withdrawal Bill, all MPs, irrespective of Party, had a duty to cast our votes in a way that we genuinely believe is in the interests of the country. These votes were not about whether or not Brexit takes place. The decision to take the UK out of the European Union was made at the referendum and by triggering Article 50 …
55 people killed by live fire in one day and over 2,770 wounded. It was the deadliest single day in Gaza since Israel’s attack in 2014. Hospitals in Gaza, already at breaking point from shortages of essential medical supplies report more abdominal, chest and head wounds than from shootings of demonstrators buy the Israeli military in previous weeks. The respected Israeli human rights …
Decisions about the circumstances in which UK forces should be sent into action are amongst the gravest that any government can take. In a modern democracy, government also has a responsibility to listen and the elected Parliament should not be cut out of the process that precedes those decisions being made. Yesterday I stressed to the Prime Minister the importance of Parliament being consulted …
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.