There have now been hundreds of delays and cancellations of London Midland services in the West Midlands because of driver shortages in the last few weeks. Last week, on Tuesday alone more than 60 scheduled train services were cancelled or altered. Why has London Midland suddenly found themselves in the position of not having enough drivers? All companies experience turnover of staff but...
There have now been countless delays and cancellations of London Midland services in the West Midlands because of driver shortages. Today alone more than 60 scheduled train services have been cancelled or altered.
Why has London Midland suddenly found themselves in the position of not having enough drivers? All companies experience turnover of staff but presumably that should be planned for.
I was delighted to join Councillor Peter Griffiths to open the new sauna at Northfield Leisure Centre earlier today.
You can find out more about using the centre online here.
At the Labour Party Conference this week Ed Miliband talked about how the economy is not working for ordinary people, about increasing costs and the squeeze on people’s living standards. About how we need to build a One Nation economy that works for all of us, not divide the country between the richest and the rest. The reality of parents unable to feed their children is one of the starkest...
Many primary schools in Birmingham have been facing pressure from the Department for Education to become academies, whether or not they wish to do so. I have written about this online before here and here. One of those schools was West Heath Primary School in my constituency. This week the school found out that the Department for Education has decided not to continue the forced academy process...
I know, I know: when you say the word ‘Northfield’, the first thing that comes into your head is not likely to be ‘seaside’, is it? But that is what the South Birmingham suburb became during those glorious days of sunshine between 25th and 29th July. With help from Yellow Bus Events of Sheffield, and tons of sand, the normally grey Price’s Square on Northfield High Street was transformed into the...
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.