Today was Birmingham Day in the Houses of Parliament, showcasing creativity in our city with many guests from Birmingham's arts and creative industries.
Even though more than 12 months have now passed since the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) was rolled out by the Government to replace the Disability Living Allowance (DLA), many people are still waiting for a decision on their claim to receive it. Given the importance of this payment, and the positive impact it can have on the lives of some of the most vulnerable people in society, I can only …
It will not be revealing too many trade secrets for me to say that I am not a big fan of the Government’s “free schools” programme. I put that in quotes because I think that a lot of what Michael Gove is doing to education in this country has very little to do with freedom. In many cases, the reverse is the reality. However, one less well known approach to free schools comes from “Alternative …
The House of Commons Education Select Committee have published an important report on educational underachievement by children in white working class communities. This is a key issue for the Northfield area, and one that I’ve been looking into for years. In 2009 I held an adjournment debate on the problem after a report funded by Birmingham City Council revealed that a high number of white …
The World Cup has started and, to celebrate, it was good to visit St Brigid’s School in Northfield on Thursday. They were holding their own World Cup match. It was St Brigid’s England team against St Brigid’s Rest of the World team. It was a close match and England won 3-2. A good omen? I hope so.
Alongside Steve McCabe MP (Labour MP for Selly Oak), I’m warning that it is only a matter of time before there is a serious collision near Birmingham Council’s Lifford Lane Depot in Kings Norton. We are calling for urgent action by the City Council to resolve multiple hazards associated with traffic trying to gain access to and from the site.
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.