On 5 July the NHS will be 60 years old. To mark this occasion – and the great achievements of the NHS over the last 60 years – Richard recently joined the Prime Minister and local volunteers at No 10. Read more below. Writing in his monthly Westminster Diary column Richard celebrates 60 years of the NHS and looks at its priorities as it moves towards its second 60 years. Read his article below …
6 senior representatives of Nanjing Automobile Company, the new owners, of MG Longbridge plant, visited the Houses of Parliament on Friday as the guests of Northfield Labour MP, Richard Burden. Director of NAC UK, Mr Wang Yao Ping was joined by Company secretary Ms Sarah Xu and Legal Advisor, Mr Chai Cheng. They were accompanied by two senior consultants to the NAC Board, Mr Wang Wang Lin and Mr …
At the invitation of Nanjing Automotive Company which has established a base at the former MG Rover site at Longbridge, Richard Burden visited the company’s production base in China in March and saw how the machinery which was shipped from Birmingham to Nanjing is being used and some models that have already rolled off the line. He spoke with senior management from the company and emphasised the …
Approaching the second anniversary of the collapse of MG Rover, Richard wrote to the Inspectors in charge of carrying out the Inquiry into what led to this, requesting that they complete this as soon as practicable. Richard emphasised his concern about the cost of the investigation and told the Inspectors whilst they should not compromise on thoroughness, that they should keep the expense down to …
“The FRC operates under a specific remit. They obviously have to act in accordance with that. “It is significant, however, that the FRC also says that there are further issues for the Dti to consider. It is vital that the Dti acts on this and, from my own discussions with ministers, I have no doubt that they would wish to do so. The Dti has the power to order further official enquiries and I am …
“This is a bitter blow, not only to the 6,000 people who work at Longbridge, but to their families and to the thousands of others whose own livelihoods are intertwined with that of MG Rover. When BMW pulled out 5 years ago, I was one of 80,000 who marched to save Rover. Together, government, unions and the communities of the West Midlands came together and the closure threat to Longbridge was …
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.