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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.
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
All political parties try to grab headlines and present stories in a way that makes a political point. But there are bottom lines. That is why it is just not right to manufacture stories to discredit your opponents and scare local people in the hope of getting votes for yourself. Unfortunately, that seems to be what at least some Conservatives are trying to do in Northfield right now. They have …
Next Friday, the 21st of February, I’m very proud that I will be hosting a major jobs fair for South Birmingham at Bournville College in Longbridge, as part of The Climb Project I launched last year.
I hope that local people will be able to attend and see the fantastic opportunities that are available here in South Birmingham.
Residents have contacted me about reports that the North Worcestershire Golf Course in my constituency may be sold off for redevelopment as a housing estate.
Local councillors and I have opposed this in the past and we had been assured by the Golf Club that they had no such plans. Therefore, we are as concerned to hear the latest reports as local residents have been.
Richard Burden MP, Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Britain - Palestine, responding to the news of Scarlett Johansson's resignation as a Global Ambassador for Oxfam, said:
My New Year Newsletter gives an update on national issues from rising rail fares to foodbanks and further education, as well as my ongoing campaigns on MG Rover and rip off phone rates. There are also updates on my local activity over Christmas and news of exciting upcoming events that I am hosting in the constituency. I hope you enjoy reading this month’s update, and remember you can also sign …
News that Del Singh has been killed in an attack in Kabul has been devastating for me, as it has been for so many of his friends in the UK and around the world.
This is a snapshot of an article by Andrew Sparrow entitled “Britannia Unhinged – young Tory right set out their stall”, which was published in the Guardian on the 9 October. Please click to zoom in on the comments made by Parliamentary Candidate for Northfield, Rachel Maclean:
This week, in preparation for Holocaust Memorial Day, I signed the Holocaust Educational Trust’s Book of Commitment in the House of Commons.
The Holocaust Memorial Day provides us with a crucial reminder of the importance of commemorating the millions who were affected by the Holocaust and other genocides. I want to encourage as many people as possible in Northfield to mark HMD on the 27th.
To coincide with the New Year – a time when many people have recently made weight-loss resolutions – this week is National Obesity Awareness Week. Unfortunately, obesity increases the risk of developing a number of serious diseases, including diabetes – and the rate of diabetes is much higher here in Birmingham than elsewhere in the UK. That's why I'd encourage you to come along to Sainsbury's …
On Thursday 16 January local UNISON and UNITE members will be taking a day’s strike action in a dispute regarding pay and conditions for support staff at Birmingham University – including cleaners, catering staff, security staff, library staff and technicians Below is the statement I have given on the issue: There are currently 4.8 million workers in the country who aren’t paid enough to …
You may have read recently that the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills is refusing to discuss the landmark £14 million fine imposed on Deloitte & Touche for their advice to the MG Rover Group and the “Phoenix Four” directors, which is expected to be paid to the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW).
For many people, the New Year brings with it celebration and a sense of optimism for the months ahead. This year though, yet again, it also brings a significant hike in rail fares – and for commuters, that is anything but a cause for celebration.
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.
