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.
Roy Hattersley was a fellow Birmingham MP and a key figure in Labour for decades. We came from different wings of the Party but I always knew he was someone who never lost sight of the bottom-line principles that made him Labour. RIP
Let’s call out what happened in Belfast last night for what it was – a pogrom. What a contrast with the hugely dignified response of Stephen Ogilvie’s family. Total respect for them as they face such an ordeal after the horrific attack on him.
Abolishing patient watchdog leaves NHS ‘marking own homework’, councils warn
In otherwise wide ranging interview with Health Secretary, James Murray, regrettable that @BBCr4today didn’t ask why the new Health Bill, to be debated today will scrap independent patient and public voice in health &social care. Here’s why govt is wrong
A lot of people have raised the issue of the changes in the Green Waste collection with me whilst I have been out talking to residents recently. I want to be honest with you. There are problems out there and I know that people around here are concerned about it. That is why, along with my local team, I have been taking up the issues residents are raising with Birmingham City Council. We haven’t …
Responding to the Government’s announcement for investment in Ultra Low Emission Vehicles from 2015-2020, Labour’s Shadow Roads Minister Richard Burden MP, said:
“We need to cut emissions on our roads if we are going to meet our climate change targets and improve air quality. But this Government has badly mismanaged funding for low emission vehicles, missing their investment target for 2010-2015.
Polling day is now less than a month away. On 22 May, people in Northfield have the chance to ensure your views are heard and make a real difference in local City Council and European elections.
You may have seen George Osborne deliver his Budget last month. But while the Conservatives continue to trumpet about the success of their long-term economic plan, many people I speak to in Northfield just aren’t feeling a recovery at all.
My Easter Newsletter provides an update on what I have been doing locally and in Parliament to represent people in Birmingham Northfield over the past few months. This newsletter covers national issues from the Chancellor’s budget, road safety, potholes, the upcoming elections in May and an update on the ‘Trojan Horse’ allegations. There are also local updates on Northfield’s budget, North …
Along with local Labour Councillors, for some time now I’ve been raising the widespread concerns of residents about North Worcestershire Golf Club’s (NWGC) announcement that they want to sell of the Golf Course in Northfield for redevelopment by Bloor Homes. We promised to keep residents informed so here is an update. Bloor Homes, officers of NWGC and their advisors, Harris Lamb, asked to meet …
On this Mothers day, families would be forgiven for thinking they’re in for a £2000 subsidy on their childcare costs under plans recently announced in the Budget. Whilst any new money to help families facing soaring childcare costs is welcome, this Coalition con should not fool mums and dads in Birmingham.
Last week, I joined Shadow Education Secretary Tristram Hunt to visit Jervoise Primary School, near Weoley Castle, following their recent successful Ofsted inspection.
Last week, I attended an event in the House of Commons to back the GMB union’s campaign calling for support for Teaching Assistants in Northfield.
You may know that the Greater Birmingham and Solihull LEP is currently developing its Strategic Economic Plan (SEP), which will be submitted to the Government at the end of March 2014, and form the basis of the city-regions negotiations for a a ‘Growth Deal’. It is a crucial time for determining how our city region will drive growth and new opportunities in the future.
My latest newsletter gives an update on what I am doing locally and in Parliament to represent people in Birmingham Northfield. This newsletter covers national issues from the recent floods to the rising cost of living, as well as my local work to boost jobs and employment in our area, support local residents at Kingswood Care Homes, and respond to the huge financial challenges facing Birmingham …
On the 5th March, I held a debate in the House of Commons to ask the Government why two farmers’ markets in South Birmingham, including Kings Norton Farmers’ Market in my constituency, had suddenly lost their tax exemption – at the same time as huge multinational firms like Amazon, Google, Starbucks and Vodafone continue to get away with paying almost nothing.
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.
