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 former Facebook page. My current Facebook account is here.
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 view my latest Facebook posts here. I also have a 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.
Great news! Heakthwatch saved…
Sarah Helm has her say – and rightly so
Britain’s East Jerusalem Consulate and Israel’s E-1 Settlement: Tests for the rule of law:
Wise and moving words from
Magen Inon whose parents were murdered in their home in Netiv Haasara
On 7th October three years ago
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.
This week (1-7 June) marks Volunteers’ Week which is a chance to celebrate the contribution that volunteers make in the community.
To all volunteers in our area, thank you. Your work is central to building a community spirit and creating a more participatory society.
This week I listened to David Cameron set out his ‘One Nation’ Queen’s Speech for ‘working people’. After having heard him deliver it, I’m not convinced that the Prime Minister quite understands what either of those phrases mean.
It is difficult to know quite what to say after what has been the longest general election campaign in recent memory.
Join the local party and help shape Labour’s future. If you were one of the 17,000+ local voters who supported my re-election, from a £1 a year you can become a Labour member. Everyone who has been involved in the last few weeks knows there was a real buzz about our successful campaign here in Birmingham Northfield and that there was a real sense of shared purpose. Across the country …
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.
