Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Special thanks to Chloe from Turves Green Girls’ School for designing the winning front cover for the Christmas card. Well done to Chloe as well as to runners up Nula and Maria!
In this, my last Parliamentary newsletter of 2018, I just wanted to take the opportunity to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Thank you all for taking the time to read my newsletter as well as for all the emails and letters you have sent me. I always appreciate you getting in touch to share your views and to let me know what issues are important to you. I also want to say...
As everyone reading this will know, Brexit has dominated the political agenda in recent weeks and consequently the range of other issues covered in this this month’s newsletter is more limited than usual. Brexit Update The Prime Minister has now set out the terms of her proposed Brexit deal (all 585 pages of it!) and Parliament is about to start nearly two weeks of intensive debate ahead of votes...
From international organisations that fight levels of poverty on a scale that we do not have to face in the developing world to local groups that are a lifeline for so many people here in the UK, charities make a world of difference. I am delighted to support Giving Tuesday. It is a great opportunity to shine a light on the great work that charities do, and to encourage both individuals and...
Unsurprisingly, lots of constituents have written to me in the last week about the Brexit deal that Theresa May has brought back. If – as looks likely – Parliament rejects both Theresa May’s deal and leaving the EU without a deal, then a people’s vote may yet be the only way to break the logjam. I have set out my thoughts in an article in the Birmingham Mail’s Birmingham Live website...
In Birmingham Northfield North Worcestershire Golf Course (NWGC) Inquiry Earlier this month there was a public inquiry to look into Bloor Homes’ appeal against Birmingham City Council’s rejection of their planning application to build 800 houses on the NWGC. Together with Councillor Olly Armstrong and a number of local residents, I argued that the area will not be able to cope with a development...
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.