Birmingham’s nine Labour MPs have today written to the Chief Executive of the Legal Aid Agency calling on him to reverse the Agency’s decision to refuse Legal Aid to the families of 10 of the victims of the Birmingham Pub Bombings at the Court of Appeal. The families are contesting an appeal by the Coroner, Sir Peter Thornton QC, against a High Court ruling that he should reconsider his decision …
Today is World Book Day, a celebration of authors, illustrators, books and most importantly reading. The aim of World Book Day is to encourage children to explore the pleasures of books and reading by providing them with the opportunity to have a book of their own. The theme of this year’s Day is ‘Share a Story’ and World Book Day is encouraging a daily ten-minute storytelling slot to make …
Today is 100 years since the 1918 Representation of the People Act, which gave some women and all men the vote for the first time. It gave the rights of democracy to 8.5 million women, raising the electorate from 8 to 21 million people. The Representation of the People Act 1918 was a vital step towards enabling women to have a say in the way our country is governed. Ten years later the Equal …
I am pleased that a popular bus stop is to be reinstated outside Northfield Shopping Centre. In October Transport West Midlands took the decision to decommission several bus stops in and around Northfield Town Centre as part of a pilot to review journey times on the local bus network. However the suspension of several bus services from outside Northfield Shopping Centre has caused disruption for …
Welcome to my latest Parliamentary newsletter. In my first newsletter since Christmas and the New Year, let me wish you all a Happy New Year. Space prevents the newsletter covering all of what I have been doing over the past month. However, hopefully it provides a flavour of some of the local issues I have taken up as well as my actions in Parliament. You’ll find updates on food banks, community …
Today is Holocaust Memorial Day which marks the anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi concentration and death camp Auschwitz-Birkenau, – one of the sites where the largest mass murder in history took place. Millions of Jewish people, gypsies, homosexuals and others were murdered simply for who they were. Holocaust Memorial Day reminds us not only of the importance of commemorating the …
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.