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.
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.
Disgusting desecration and destruction of Commonwealth War Graves in Gaza .
Having visited the cemeteries in Gaza myself and met the Palestinians who care for them, the enormity of this feels personal for me https://richardburden.com/2024/11/gazas-commonwealth-war-graves-remembering-the-past-and-facing-the-present/
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
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 pressed Birmingham University for updates. You can see here a briefing I received from them last month shortly before Parliament was dissolved. This gives an outline of the work which is being carried out.
Rachel has two children, aged 4 and 10. She is a care worker on the minimum wage. She recently had her hours cut and is now losing tax credits too. She is also being asked to pay £14 per week Bedroom Tax. It's difficult for her to make ends meet. Anne Marie, from Frankley, is also being charged Bedroom Tax since her marriage split up and her son left home. She is disabled. Her case exposes the …
Last Friday, Cllr Pete Griffiths and I welcomed “Mr Pothole” to Kings Norton. Mark “Mr Pothole” Morrell is national campaigner for better road maintenance who I have got to know and respect as Labour’s Shadow Roads Minister. The purpose of the visit was to look at how Birmingham City Council’s Highways contract is being managed by Amey PLC, using Rednal and …
We all know how fed up people can be with the way the world of politics can seem. Often it can feel like political parties are speaking a different language and bombarding you with buzz words. In 2010, at the last general election 40% of those eligible chose not to vote at all in our constituency. That’s why I need your help. I need your help to help me reach all those people who are not engaged …
Scores of local people have written to me over the past few weeks to ask where I stand on our NHS – whether I will fight privatisation and support a well-funded, public health service in the future. Put simply, as your Labour MP I will back the NHS as a public health service and ensure it can provide the care we all rely on. I am absolutely committed to protecting our NHS for the reason the …
This week I joined City Council Cabinet member Lisa Trickett and Longbridge Councillor, Andy Cartwright on a visit to meet Frankley Street Champions. Frankley Street Champions are a brilliant example of local people getting together to make a difference in their area, organising community clean ups and projects to protect the local environment – as well helping lots of individual residents …
The General Election will take place on May 7th 2015. Parliament will be “dissolved” from March 30th and it will not sit again until after the result of the General Election is known. I have written to constituents who have contacted me during the past five years to explain how the dissolution of parliament affects them. You can read a copy of this letter here: Ricard Burden …
April 2015 will mark ten years since the collapse of MG Rover in Longbridge. I know people around here will never forget it. When the company closed in 2005 six thousand people lost their jobs and were left utterly exposed. But the impact went beyond those workers – the collapse affected whole families, and the community that MGR had been at the heart of for a century. This week I secured a …
News that the Birmingham City Council will rebuild Northfield Pool and Leisure Centre on the existing site puts an end to months of speculation following last year's public consultation on the issue. You can read some of the background to the issue here. During that consultation, many residents and traders emphasised the importance of retaining a central Northfield location for the new leisure …
This weekend saw Birmingham host Crufts’ Dog Show, and with a large number of constituents regularly getting in touch about animal welfare, when better to share Labour’s animal welfare commitments!
Today I am launching my final report on immigration: Northfield Talks Immigration
Many of you will recall the immigration survey and public meeting I held over winter. My report is a sum of the findings from the survey and key themes that were highlighted by local people during the Northfield Talks event.
A local resident from Kings Norton has recently launched a petition about the need to tackle homophobia in schools across the UK. Addressed to the Prime Minister David Cameron, and Secretary of State for Education Nicky Morgan MP, it calls on the Government to make tackling homophobia in schools a top priority – including through education of pupils about non-heterosexual relationships …
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.
