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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.
This feed refreshes intermittently. Please log in to X (Twitter) to view my newest tweets in full.
Let’s call out what happened in Belfast last night for what it was – a pogrom. What a contrast with the hugely dignified response of Stephen Ogilvie’s family. Total respect for them as they face such an ordeal after the horrific attack on him.
Abolishing patient watchdog leaves NHS ‘marking own homework’, councils warn
In otherwise wide ranging interview with Health Secretary, James Murray, regrettable that @BBCr4today didn’t ask why the new Health Bill, to be debated today will scrap independent patient and public voice in health &social care. Here’s why govt is wrong
Perceptiveness and blinkers: thoughts on Tony Blair’s agenda for a “Radical Centre” in UK politics
Just over two weeks ago, Labour members and supporters -old and new - met at the Factory Youth Centre in Longbridge to discuss our victory in Birmingham Northfield, our defeat nationally and the challenges and opportunities facing Labour over the coming five years. Workshops were on themes ranging from low pay to housing; from children and young people to the economy and the role of the private …
The Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, IPSA, have now announced their decision in respect of the future of MPs' pay. As the name suggests, IPSA is independent of Government and of MPs ourselves. Before IPSA made its final decision, I set out my view about its proposals several times over the last year. I thought the proposals were ill judged, particularly when average pay rises …
I can rarely remember a Budget over which there has already been so much speculation, concern and fear. And the announcements we will hear on Wednesday are not even the annual budget the Chancellor is required to present every March. This is ‘an emergency summer budget’ – made necessary because the Tories pledged to make £12 billion in welfare savings before the Election, without any idea …
7 of the world’s ten F1 teams are British and Britain’s £9bn motorsport industry is a global success story, employing over 40,000 people. That is why, as well as drivers, the UK needs to always be looking to nurture the next generation of designers, engineers, aerodynamicists and technicians who can keep us ahead.
This week the Government published the annual statistics on reported road casualties in Great Britain. Behind these figures are personal tragedies for thousands of families up and down the country whose loved ones have been killed or injured on our roads. They should be a wake-up call for Ministers. After decades of progress, for some time there have been worrying rises in casualty rates for …
You may recall before the General Election, I did a call out for local people to get in touch if they had access problems to Superfast Broadband.
The response I got back, highlighted a number of random pockets in the local area – not-spots - that have no coverage and affect residents and even a school.
Last year’s fire at Northfield’s Manor House was devastating news for everyone concerned about the heritage of our area. Since then I have continued to press Birmingham University for updates. You can find the latest news about the building and the recent further demolition in this letter– which has also been sent out to local residents. As you will see, the University outline why further …
Over the next week I will be moving my constituency office to new premises. The relocation will mean that, unfortunately, there will be some disruption in contacting me and there may be an impact on the length of time it takes me to respond to cases. However I want to assure you that my team and I will be working through any backlog as quickly as possible. My phone number, 0121 477 7746, will …
Last year’s independence referendum, and the massive increase in support for the Scottish Nationalists at the General Election, have inevitably focused attention about how and where decisions should be made across the different nations of the UK. It’s also clear that big questions must be answered about how power is devolved – not only to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, but within …
Unless the new Government stops ignoring concerns, and ends the complacency, I fear that only further chaos looms ahead. By Richard Burden Originally published by HuffPost, June 11, 2015 New Government, same problems. This week saw the final abolition of the ‘Counterpart Driving Licence’ – the green paper sheet holding a drivers’ convictions and entitlements. It has been …
This is my inaugural animal welfare round-up where I will regularly update you on some of the animal causes I have been campaigning on.
I am regularly in contact with many local people regarding issues of animal welfare. I believe strongly that there is no place in a civilised society for animal cruelty and often raise these concerns with the UK Government.
I have been contacted by many people over the past few weeks about my nomination for the Leader and Deputy Leader of the Labour Party. Make no mistake, this has been a big decision and it is one I have thought very closely about.
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.
