On Tuesday (15 March) I held a debate in Parliament calling on the Government to speak the truth on new anti-boycott rules which many fear represent an unprecedented attack on democracy. The rules, announced last month, by a Government minister during a visit to Israel – without any parliamentary or public scrutiny – aim to ban public bodies including local councils and universities from refusing...
Residents living near North Worcestershire Golf Course who have seen my previous posts or who were at last week’s Longbridge Ward forum will know that I and others have been asking questions about the security of the site. Although North Worcestershire Golf Club remains in existence as the owner of the golf course, it plans to close the site for golf in the Spring. This will be ahead of any...
Thanks to the around 140 local people who came along to the Longbridge Ward Forum. As well as receiving a regular update report on policing issues in the Longbridge area, the two main items on the agenda concerned Parking issues in the roads near the Meadows School and Bloor Homes proposal to build on the North Worcestershire Golf Course site. I thought it may be useful to give residents a quick...
On Thursday, March 3, local residents will have the opportunity to put forward views on Bloor Homes’ proposal to redevelop the North Worcestershire Golf Course. Local Labour Councillor, Andy Cartwright, has invited Bloor Homes to the next Longbridge Ward Forum which is taking place on 3rd March at 6.30pm at the Meadows School just off Bristol Road South. The Ward Forum is a public event...
WELCOME NOTE Welcome to my first newsletter of 2016. This newsletter goes through some of the most recent developments and initiatives I have been campaigning on including protecting funding for the Birmingham-based Illegal Money Lending Team who prosecute backstreet loan sharks and calling for the safeguarding of local council’s rights to ethically invest. Also in the news are the ongoing...
As you may have heard, the national Boundary Commission has been reviewing the numbers of Councillors there should be on Birmingham City Council in the future and the boundaries of the areas from which they should be elected to represent. Those areas are known as “wards” as I am sure you know. I wrote an article recently for the Bromsgrove Standard, but I wanted to write another piece to tell you...
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.