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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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Israel has killed at least 71,662 Palestinians and injured at least 171,428 since the beginning of its genocide in Gaza.
Our Chair, @RichardBurden27 , was proud to represent @RemSrebWestMids at the @HMD_UK Holocaust Memorial Day commemoration in Birmingham yesterday #RememberYesterdayActToday
Organised. United. Ready to fill the streets with hope and unity.
Share this post to help spread the word. We are growing. We are building. We are #Together.
In June 2023, I visited a hospital in Nablus a few hours after it had been surrounded by Israeli troops. The attacks that have been launched on on West Bank towns, villages and refugee camps this week are a big escalation but they are still part of a pattern that has been going on for years. In a statement about the Israeli military assaults in the West Bank, UN Secretary General, Antonio …
A United Nations delegation has made it into northern Gaza. They made a video on their way in and it is now circulating on social media. It is hard for me to come to terms with the fact that this is the same part of Gaza that I visited last summer. I probably drove in on the same road.
The appalling violence seen in several British towns and cities over the past week has taken my thoughts back to an event attended by hundreds of people in Birmingham last month. We were all there to both remember the past and to make a commitment for the future …
A video featuring highlights of the Remembering Srebrenica memorial event, held at the Council House, Birmingham, on 11th July 2024.
Today is Srebrenica Memorial Day: a day to pay tribute to the victims and survivors of the 1990s genocide in Bosnia, and a day to commit to challenging hate, both at home and overseas. The Remembering Srebrenica theme for Memorial Week 2024 is “I Am Because You Are”. In the West Midlands we have two Srebrenica memorial events taking place today with Bosnia and Herzegovina UK Network, one on …
While my own and many other people’s eyes are focussed on the UK General Election this Thursday, please take a moment the following Thursday (11th) to remember the 29th anniversary of the Srebrenica genocide, which took place in July 1995. Better still, if you can be in the centre of Birmingham at lunchtime on 11th, please join us at Remembering Srebrenica’s memorial event at Birmingham City …
A new candidate will be standing for Labour in my home constituency of Birmingham Northfield on 4th July. His name is Laurence Turner and he has my support as someone who lives here and who represented the area in Parliament for 27 years. My backing for Laurence is, of course, tinged with sadness. My last blog post on here welcomed the prospect of my good friend, Alex Aitken, winning the seat for …
Two years ago, I posted the statement below on social media, announcing that I did not intend to stand again for election as MP for Birmingham Northfield. At the same time I voiced my support for Alex Aitken to become the next Labour candidate for the constituency. With the General Election having finally been called, on 4th July I will have the opportunity to vote for Alex to become my home MP …
Labour says it will listen to its supporters’ concerns over Gaza. Now it must show it understands what that means. (An extract from an article originally published by Labour List.)
Middle East Eye is reporting that Israel intends to set up checkpoints around Rafah to separate Palestinian men “of military age” from their families. It brings back haunting memories about what happened in Srebrenica in 1995.
It is 21 years since British photojournalist Tom Hurndall was shot by an Israeli sniper while trying to save children from the line of fire in Rafah. His memory calls us all to redouble our efforts to demand an end to Gaza’s agony today.
Refugees from Gaza with family in the UK face both Kafkaesque barriers from the UK government and extortion at the border between Rafah and Egypt. A family I know is experiencing both. Before going into that, though, let’s get one thing clear. The way to end the suffering in Gaza is an immediate ceasefire and unimpeded humanitarian access into the Strip, it is one hundred per cent unacceptable to …
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.
