Local

Future of housing in Birmingham

F

Thank you to everyone who submitted their views to Labour’s policy commission looking at the future of housing in Birmingham. You can read our report online here. We received evidence from a wide range of people and organisations both locally and nationally. This evidence was very helpful in framing the ideas and perspectives which the policy commission put forward as part of the Birmingham …

Labour: With you in tough times

L

These are tough times for people and their families. The local election on Thursday 3rd May is your chance to have a say on what the Conservative-led government is doing and how it is affecting you, your family and your community.
And, here in Birmingham, it is also a chance to get rid the Conservative led Council which is failing our city and its people.

I’m voting yes to a mayor because Birmingham needs a shake up

I

Yes, I am a Labour MP. I want to see Labour take control of Birmingham Council on Thursday. I reckon Albert Bore and his team could do a much better job than the Conservative/Lib-Dem coalition which has been in charge for the last eight years. But Birmingham does not only need a shake up of who runs the City. We also need a much more fundamental shake up in how it is run. That’s one of the …

Why the forced academies programme is wrong

W

Birmingham has a number of primary schools on Michael Gove’s ‘hit list’ for conversion into academies.
It’s sometimes difficult to find out exactly which they are. Not surprisingly the schools themselves are reticent to have such information published. You can understand their fear of being stigmatised as ‘failures’, even though they will not necessarily have done anything to warrant being on it.

MG Rover trust fund

M

It is now more than seven years since the Phoenix Four made their promise to set up a trust fund for former MG Rover workers, when the company closed in 2005.
You may have seen the report in today’s Birmingham Mail about a High Court ruling against Phoenix Venture Holdings’ application for HBOS to disclose financial information relating to the disposal of 8,000 cars.

Recent Posts

Richard Burden

Avatar photo

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.

Get in touch

You can reach me by email at richard@richardburden.com or use the form on the Contact page to send me a message.