Former
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.
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Israeli forces are said to have dropped more explosives on Gaza than fell on London, Dresden and Hamburg combined in the Second World War. The level of destruction is hard to fathom as is the humanitarian suffering.
Our Foreign Affairs Correspondent @SecKermani looks at the…
Some personal reflections on what Remembering Srebrenica means in 2025 – for Bosnia and Herzegovina, for the wider world and here in the UK..

“Two years after 7 October and the kidnap of my parents, hate is in fashion. For all our sakes, we need compassion” | Sharone Lifschitz | The Guardian
Remembering all those killed and those taken hostage in southern Israel two years ago today. Thoughts with those who lost loved ones and solidarity with the families of those still held in captivity.
This by @JeremyBenAmi, who lost friends that day, is very powerful. #October7
Two years after October 7, @JeremyBenAmi writes that to honor the victims and end the cycle of horror, we must reclaim a word too often scoffed at and shied away from: Peace.
🔗 https://jstreetdotorg.substack.com/p/two-years-after-october-7-it-is-time
Many people will have seen the story in the Birmingham Mail on gang violence in South West Birmingham. Here is my response: “The emergence of these street gangs in South Birmingham is certainly cause for serious concern. I have been in close contact with the Police about it for some time now. I can reassure people that a dedicated Police operation is in place with targeted actions ongoing …
Last month, all of Birmingham’s further education colleges and Birmingham City University were told by the Conservative Government that they could no longer offer apprenticeships to local people. This would set us and the people of our city back, stifling opportunity, preventing people from getting training and jobs, as well as hampering the hard work of our colleges and universities. Along with …
In all the years I have been an MP I have always stayed true to the values that took me into politics in the first place. My values are Labour and that means that I have consistently been a thorn in the side of Conservative-led Governments. But those same values also mean that I have never been someone who blindly follows party lines. I stand up for what I believe – first by working in …
Responding to the announcement, Richard Burden MP, Labour’s Shadow Aviation Minister, commented: “Safety and security of passengers must always be the overriding priority for Government and for airline operators. If the Government has evidence that the level of security checks on passengers carrying electronic devices is of exceptional concern in the countries they have listed, then it is right …
Birmingham Northfield North Worcestershire Golf Course Residents living close to North Worcestershire Golf Course will know that at the end of February, Bloor Homes withdrew their planning application to build on the golf course. However they have now said they will be submitting new proposals shortly. In their latest notice they have said their new proposals are aiming “to address the concerns …
Sad to hear of the death of my colleague Gerald Kaufman, the longest serving MP in this Parliament. The quantity and breadth of tributes to him have underlined the huge mark he made made in the Labour Party, in the House of Commons and to British politics as a whole. I got to know Gerald through our shared commitment to the cause of justice for the Palestinians. Gerald was a a proud Jew and a …
The results of the Serious Case Review confirms some of my worst fears about the background to Shi-Anne Downer’s brutal murder in my constituency. Kandyce Downer should never have been awarded a Special Guardianship Order to care for Shi-Anne and there was little or no professional supervision of what life for her looked like in practice after the Order was granted. The result was tragedy. Even …
The illegal settlements cannot be a sideshow to glad-handing when Theresa May meets Prime Minister Netanyahu. By Richard Burden Originally published by HuffPost, February 6, 2017 Theresa May should put Britain’s opposition to settlement building in the West Bank centre-stage when she meets Israel’s Prime Minister Netanyahu at Downing Street on Monday. The UK’s credibility can …
Like all MPs, I have had hundreds of letters and emails from constituents in recent weeks about authorising the triggering of Article 50, thereby formally giving notice of the UK’s intention to leave the European Union. Understandably, the emails I have received from constituents have come from different sides of the argument. Many of those emails are from people who, like me, both campaigned and …
This week’s Supreme Court decision confirms what many people who voted to leave the European Union wanted, for our sovereign Parliament to have the final say on matters of such significance to the future of our country – not Government Ministers on their own with no accountability or scrutiny. It is no secret that I voted to stay in the EU and have not changed my view, but I accept the result of …
Birmingham is proudly among the UK’s largest student cities. Before Christmas, I hosted a summit meeting between local MPs and student leaders from across the city. They have now published a ‘Birmingham Universities Manifesto’ which sets out their prioirities and calls for the debate around Britain’s exit from the EU to be refocused to better take into account the concerns of young people and all …
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. In Birmingham Northfield Birmingham Council Budget In recent weeks, Birmingham City Council published their budget proposals. Faced with over £800m being cut from the grant they receive from Government, the Council are in an impossible position with rising …
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.
