West Midlands Police have announced a plan to close 28 police stations across the region. In and around the Northfield area, Kings Norton, Longbridge, Warstock and Bartley Green are scheduled to close. Although nearby Bournville Lane will continue to be the Police headquarters for the area, these proposals mean that there will be no police stations in Northfield constituency itself by the end of...
This week Parliament returns from its summer break. One of the first things I will be doing in Westminster is leading a debate on funding cuts to West Midlands Police. In the last five years West Midlands Police has received funding cuts twice that of other forces according to the independent National Audit Office. Whereas the West Midlands has been cut by nearly a quarter (23%), Surrey Police...
I can rarely remember a Budget over which there has already been so much speculation, concern and fear. And the announcements we will hear on Wednesday are not even the annual budget the Chancellor is required to present every March. This is ‘an emergency summer budget’ – made necessary because the Tories pledged to make £12 billion in welfare savings before the Election, without any idea...
Last year’s independence referendum, and the massive increase in support for the Scottish Nationalists at the General Election, have inevitably focused attention about how and where decisions should be made across the different nations of the UK. It’s also clear that big questions must be answered about how power is devolved – not only to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, but within...
Sikhs are a valued part of our community both here in the West Midlands and nationally. It is really important that the voices of Sikhs are heard, so I welcome the publication of the Sikh Manifesto which rightly highlights the enduring historical bonds between Sikhs and the UK – as well as key present and future issues. These range from better recognition of Sikhs in public life here in the...
Well, well. I hear David Cameron has parachuted into Longbridge today. You know the kind of thing: quick photo opportunity with hard hat, Tory candidate in tow and meet as few local people as possible. We've seen quite a few of these flag waving visits from Tory ministers in recent months. It's a pity the rest of us couldn't ask Mr Cameron a few questions during his whistle-stop today, about what...
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.