I am sure many of you will have been following the developments in Zimbabwe over the last few weeks, as I have. Zimbabwe, once seen as a future beacon for Africa, today faces economic ruin with inflation running at above 100,000% and unemployment at about 80%. For millions of people in Zimbabwe every day life is a battle against poverty, disease and disempowerment. Life expectancy is down to only …
A debate on Global Security in the Middle East took place in Westminster Hall yesterday. The debate followed the publication of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee report on the issue in August last year and the Government’s response in October.
MPs have expressed their revulsion at the mounting death toll in Gaza and called on the international community to take immediate action.
An Early Day Motion (EDM) on Gaza was tabled by Richard Burden MP on 3 March 2008 and has been signed by 68 Members of Parliament.
I opposed the invasion of Iraq but we are right to be in Afghanistan. Sadly, the country remains blighted by conflict in Helmand, where most of the UK’s 7,500 troops are deployed. Many families here in the UK have lost loved ones over there. With no end yet in sight it is understandable that some commentators are now suggesting that we should get out. Understandable maybe, but – in my view – …
A debate on Global Security in the Middle East took place in Westminster Hall yesterday. The debate followed the publication of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee report on the issue in August last year and the Government’s response in October. The debate focussed in particular on the situation in Israel and Palestine. Speaking in the debate Richard Burden described the current situation in …
A short visit to the Middle East over the New Year brought home to me the contradictory environment in which the Palestinians find themselves following the Annapolis summit in November. At one level, economic activity within the major towns of the West Bank was more buoyant than I have seen it for a long time. The markets were busy and shop owners appeared to be doing a reasonable trade in …
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.