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Welcome to my website and blog.
You can read a bit more about who I am and what makes me tick here. A summary of the work I did when I was Labour MP for Birmingham Northfield between 1992 and 2019 can also be found here.
The older posts on here date from my time as an MP but I have continued to blog since leaving Parliament.
The opening paragraphs of my blog posts appear at the bottom of this page in reverse date order. The “Read on” buttons take you to what I have written in full. My posts below also contain links to articles I have written and which have been published elsewhere, together with posts imported from my own Facebook page.
To view posts on a specific subject, from both during and after my time in Parliament, please click one of the buttons below.
These are the main subjects on which I’ve written. Click here to view the full list of categories.
Here is the link to my Bluesky account, and here is the link to my Twitter/X account. You can also view my Facebook page and LinkedIn profile.
Click on ‘Contact’ below to get in touch with me.
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Chag Pesach Sameach to all celebrating #Passover
Israel must immediately repeal the discriminatory death penalty law passed today by the Knesset, as it contravenes Israel’s obligations under international law.
The United Nations opposes the death penalty under all circumstances. The implementation of this new law would violate
Israel is brazenly granting itself carte blanche to execute Palestinians while stripping away the most basic fair-trial safeguards.
The new law dismantles fundamental safeguards to prevent the arbitrary deprivation of life and protect the right to a fair trial. It further
Brexit has dominated discussion in Parliament since before the election. At the moment Parliament is debating what the Government has called its European Union (Withdrawal) Bill. Ministers say the main purpose of the Bill is to sort out how EU law can be incorporated into the UK at the point of us leaving the EU in order to make sure gaps are not left in people’s rights and protections. As it …
Welcome to my latest Parliamentary newsletter. This covers local issues and developments as well as my actions in Parliament. You’ll find updates on the bin dispute, traveller sites and other issues. As ever, please do not hesitate to get in touch with me on these or any other issues.
Best wishes,
Richard
Richard Burden, MP for Birmingham Northfield, has today been awarded a parliamentarian road safety award by charity Brake and Direct Line. The award recognises Richard’s long-standing involvement in transport and his commitment to road safety, particularly during his time as Shadow Transport Minister between 2013 and 2017. Richard has established himself as a strong supporter of the transport …
Many constituents have contacted me recently about the upcoming European Commission vote on extending the ban on neonicotinoid pesticides to cover all crops. Bees play a vital role in the environment as well as food supply. It is right then, that both the Government and European Commission take steps to protect bees. As such, I wrote to the Government to share people’s concerns about the impact …
Local charities and community groups in the Northfield area have the opportunity to apply for funding as part of the Aviva Community Fund. The Aviva Community Funds awards funding of up to £25,000 for local community projects across a range of categories such as skills for life, health and wellbeing, and community support. The Aviva Community Fund will finance over 500 projects across the UK so I …
This week in Parliament I outlined why I could not support the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill at its Second reading in its current form. Neither the people of Birmingham Northfield, nor anyone anywhere else in the country, were ever asked about, or voted for, the kind of ministerial power grab that the contents of the Bill represent. We must not allow Ministers to grab powers to avoid scrutiny …
After weeks of missed collections across Birmingham, I am relieved that agreement has been reached to bring the bins dispute to an end and I thank the Council and Unions for doing so. Birmingham residents have understandably been left angry and frustrated by all of this, but they too will be relieved to have the clean streets that they expect and are entitled to. The immediate focus must now be …
In this, my first Parliamentary Newsletter since the General Election, I want to say thank you to the people of Birmingham Northfield Constituency for re-electing me as your MP. To have been re- elected with a majority that was almost double that of the previous election is an even greater honour. So in saying a personal thank you to all who voted for me, I also want to underline that I am the MP …
Like so many other people who live in Birmingham, I and my family have been experiencing problems with missed bin collections, with overflowing wheelie bins left uncollected or picked up days late for a number of weeks now. As an MP I have also been inundated with calls and e-mails from residents who have been going through the same thing. According to a report in the Birmingham Mail this week …
This week I raised this issue with the Government. As many constituents will personally know, this has been a persistent problem across the constituency in recent months. You can see my question and the Government’s response here:
Many of you will have seen an increase in the number of travellers in areas of the constituency in recent months, often accompanied by anti-social behaviour and unauthorised encampments. These encampments can create huge amounts of mess and result in local residents being threatened with verbal and other abuse. This is not acceptable. In the last week we have seen a new encampment on West Heath …
This Friday marks one year since my friend Jo Cox MP was murdered. Across the country this weekend millions of people will be remembering Jo’s life and work in street parties and other community events. These will all be demonstrating in practice the integrity and words that will forever be associated with Jo, ‘we have more in common than that which divides us.’ Northfield Arts …
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.
