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.
Never forget the crimes against humanity that international inaction allowed Radko Mladic to commit in Bosnia and Herzegovina. When the world says “Never Again” we have to mean it.
He was held responsible for the killing of over 8,000 Muslim men and boys
Read in full: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/rakto-mladic-dead-bosnia-serbia-genocide-b3040343.html
RIP Dolly
More than 100 French and British former diplomats have said Palestine is being erased in front of the world’s eyes and called for urgent action including trade and arms sales bans to press Israel to accept a Palestinian state.
This is pitch-perfect.
Skepticism over statements on these matters is appropriate, but this appears to be different. We cynics on Jerusalem matters are always right – until we aren't.
The real test comes when the actual measures are announced and put in place. Let's hope.
E-1
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 …
Yesterday, I was delighted to represent the Labour Front Bench in a debate on Harvey's Law. As Labour’s Shadow Roads Minister, I was pleased to help the campaigners from "Harvey's Army" to secure a commitment from the Minister so all Highways England contracts will reintroduce mandatory procedures for scanning and logging dogs found run over on motorways and other roads that they manage. As the …
A number of constituents have got in touch with me over the last few months regarding concerns about broadband – specifically access to superfast broadband. I want to hear if you or anyone in the area, has problems with accessing superfast broadband. Please get in touch. You can check if you have access to superfast broadband by using the postcode checker here: For further information please get …
Post by Richard Burden for Northfield.
Events yesterday suggest Tory Ministers are even more like buses than I first thought.. The other week, I commented on the fact that you rarely see a Tory Government Minister in Northfield until there is an election in the air. Then they all seem to arrive at once. Like buses. I have now discovered that they are even more like a badly-run bus company than I first thought. It’s not just that …
On Monday 23 February, as part of Fair Pay Fortnight, the Trades Union Congress published statistics by parliamentary constituency on the living wage. The TUC’s analysis shows that nationally one in five jobs pays under the living wage – which is currently set at £9.15 in London and £7.85 across the rest of Britain. But the national average does not tell the whole story. The figures show …
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.
