As has been the case across the city and country, UKIP was the beneficiary of a big protest vote here yesterday. The split in the vote for mainstream parties resulting from that worked to more to Labour's advantage in Longbridge, and it worked more to the Tories advantage in Kings Norton. Everything I picked up on the doorstep suggests to me that only a fraction of the people who voted UKIP...
Here are 10 things David Cameron’s Tory cheerleaders in Birmingham hope you will forget when you cast your vote on Thursday:
A lot of people have raised the issue of the changes in the Green Waste collection with me whilst I have been out talking to residents recently. I want to be honest with you. There are problems out there and I know that people around here are concerned about it. That is why, along with my local team, I have been taking up the issues residents are raising with Birmingham City Council. We haven’t...
My Easter Newsletter provides an update on what I have been doing locally and in Parliament to represent people in Birmingham Northfield over the past few months. This newsletter covers national issues from the Chancellor’s budget, road safety, potholes, the upcoming elections in May and an update on the ‘Trojan Horse’ allegations. There are also local updates on Northfield’s budget, North...
Along with local Labour Councillors, for some time now I’ve been raising the widespread concerns of residents about North Worcestershire Golf Club’s (NWGC) announcement that they want to sell of the Golf Course in Northfield for redevelopment by Bloor Homes. We promised to keep residents informed so here is an update. Bloor Homes, officers of NWGC and their advisors, Harris Lamb, asked to meet...
Last week, I joined Shadow Education Secretary Tristram Hunt to visit Jervoise Primary School, near Weoley Castle, following their recent successful Ofsted inspection.
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.