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.
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These are the main subjects on which I’ve written. Click here to view the full list of categories.
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Chair @SarahChampionMP has written with concern to Foreign Secretary @YvetteCooperMP over the Israeli Government’s treatment of @UNRWA and other INGOs, which run a range of services for Palestinians in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
Read more: https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/98/international-development-committee/news/211214/international-development-committee-chair-urges-foreign-secretary-to-act-over-unrwa-restrictions/
Trump’s coup in Venezuela didn’t just break the rules – it showed there aren’t any. We’ll all regret that | Nesrine Malik
An illegal military strike on Saturday followed by claims that the USA will “run” Venezuela.
Now a renewed threat to seize Greenland over the heads of its people.
When will our leaders here in the UK stop prevaricating and stand up for international law?
With prices rising faster than wages, the last few years have been tough for public sector workers – including those in the NHS, who work incredibly hard, and often in challenging circumstances. It is a scandal that this Government went against the advice of the NHS Pay Review Body. George Osborne has broken his promise that there would be a 1% rise in public sector pay until 2015. If the …
Today I will cast my vote in Parliament to support UK recognition of the State of Palestine alongside the State of Israel. The principle at stake here is a simple but key one for anyone seeking a just and durable solution to the conflict in the Middle East. Do we treat Israelis and Palestinians as equals or not? For Israelis, recognition of their state is something they have expected from the …
Poor old George Osborne. His government’s privatisation of Royal Mail seems to be hitting his own department even harder than the rest of us. Can you imagine – a letter he sent from his office in the House of Commons to another MP’s office took no less than five days to arrive? And guess what? The office which did not receive the letter for so long was mine.
Thursday’s rejection by Birmingham City Council of Sainsburys’ plan to build a new store on the car park of the Navigation Inn in Kings Norton is a tribute to the efforts of local people and businesses. A plan by the Co-op to build a supermarket facing The Green has also been knocked back. Reports in the press suggest that the Co-op may come forward with a re-designed scheme. Labour’s local …
Ludicrous. A lottery. These are just some of the terms being used to describe the Government’s approach to roads maintenance, after the Public Accounts Committee issued a damning report into funding arrangements this week. The all-party committee of MPs responsible for scrutinising public spending have concluded this Government’s stop-start approach to roads maintenance funding is wasting …
People from the local Labour Party in Northfield were out with me today in support of the NHS. I say “local” because the Conservative Party are holding their national conference in Birmingham and their London HQ is boasting that they are going to bus large numbers of people attending the conference from different parts of the country down to Northfield on Sunday afternoon. Their job …
Ahead of the recall of Parliament tomorrow, I want to update local people about my view on IS and the current situation in the Middle East. Like many British people, I opposed the US/UK invasion of Iraq in 2003. I believe that some of the chaos we now see in that part of the world today is, at least partly, a legacy of that action. But I do not believe that affects the urgency of the situation in …
Just a short note to keep you up to date with where things are up to with The North Worcestershire Golf Course issue. Last Friday (19th September) I attended a public meeting with Bloor Homes which was organised by the Council's Longbridge Ward Committee. @b31Voices tweeted regular reports from the meeting as it was taking place but I thought It may also be helpful for me to do a round-up of what …
Thanks to businesses and residents in Kings Norton for the comments you have sent to me about the planning applications from Sainsburys and the Coop to build new stores next to or near Kings Norton Green.
I know many Northfield residents will have been worried by this article which has appeared in the Birmingham Mail. So I wanted to write to update local people about the action I and Chair of Birmingham’s Northfield District Committee, Labour Councillor Brett O’Reilly, have taken in response. We have called for an investigation into the issue of the Spectrum Swimming Club and …
Lots of local people continue to contact me about the future of Northfield's leisure facilities. For the latest update please read this article on B31 Voices about the City Council's Cabinet Meeting on the 15 September 2014 - at which the future of the pool and leisure centre was discussed. After the recent local consultation and residents meeting chaired by Labour Councillor and Northfield …
As Labour’s Shadow Transport Minister and MP for Birmingham Northfield, I am pleased to be hosting: Dinner with Mary Creagh MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Transport Thursday 20th November, 7.00. for 7.30pm Edgbaston Priory Club, Sir Harry’s Road, Birmingham, B15 2UZ Mary Creagh was first elected Member of Parliament for Wakefield in May 2005. She had previously served for a number of …
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.
