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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Yes – West Midlands Police have serious questions to answer about their behaviour. But it is not the whole story. You wouldn’t know it from most of the commentary today, but this @TimesofIsrael piece provides important context around the Maccabi issue
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
In the glorious sunshine of the last few weeks I have been privileged to visit some major new redevelopments in our area – including the near completion of the Sainsbury’s store within Longbridge which will be providing 320 new jobs, and the start of work by Barratt to build over 100 new homes in Kings Norton. As MP’s have left Wesminster for the Parliamenary recess, the sun is certainly shining …
Over the past few weeks my postman in Westminster has been delivering a steady stream of postcards and letters from local people opposing the privatisation of Royal Mail. I completely agree. Along with my Labour colleagues I opposed the privatisation of this 372 year old British institution when the Government first introduced early in this Parliament – and oppose it now.
Today, I’m pledging my support for a campaign to boost single parent employment, run by the charity Gingerbread. 42 per cent of families in Birmingham Northfield are headed by lone parents, and many struggle to balance work with caring for their children. As the cost of childcare increases, finding a decent job that fits in with school hours can become an almost impossible task. Add in to this …
Yesterday the South Birmingham Community Credit Union Ltd (CommuniSave Credit Union) announced that it has gone into liquidation. The credit union has over 2,000 members and serves the Northfield constituency as well as other areas in South Birmingham, Bromsgrove and Redditch.
A National Audit Office report concluded today that the use of high cost phone lines across government is complex, ineffective, and leaving vulnerable individuals with the highest charges. After I held a debate on this issue, calling on the Cabinet Office to urgently improve the government’s performance in this area, the NAO has now concluded that government departments should eliminate the use …
Today the House of Commons Committee on Arms Exports, that I am a member of, publishes a report concluding that the UK’s human rights policy is being fundamentally undermined by the scale and nature of arms exports licences being approved by the Government. It also finds that the situation in Israel and the Occupied Palestine Territories is of severe concern.
I was delighted to join pupils at St Laurence Church Junior School on Monday as they designed their pictures for Royal Mail’s 2013 Christmas Stamp competition. An unusual time of year to be thinking about Christmas! But a fantastic opportunity for pupils in my constituency and across the country to take part in such a rare opportunity to design a picture which could feature on the stamps …
A few weeks ago, a constituent contacted me asking why I was seeking a £10,000 pay rise for MPs. My answer was simple: I had not done so and I am not doing so. MP’s do not set our own pay. MPs’ salaries are decided by a body which is completely independent of Parliament called IPSA - the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority. So what do I think about it? First, when people are feeling the …
Just two weeks ago, the world’s fiercest and fastest racing drivers returned to Silverstone for what turned out to be a thrilling British Grand Prix. While our exceptional British drivers have had mixed fortunes on the track this season, for me the return of Formula One to our shores is always an ideal opportunity to recognise British success in automotive more widely.
I’m throwing my weight behind a Private Member’s Bill that seeks to challenge the unscrupulous practices of high-cost credit companies offering pay day loans. The High Cost Credit Bill will come before Parliament on Friday 12 July. It is sponsored by one of my oldest friends Paul Blomfield MP, and I hope to be there to give my support. The bill seeks to end some of the worst practices of pay …
Tomorrow - 5th July 2013 - marks the 65th anniversary of the founding of the NHS. The NHS remains an incredible institution to this day, providing free health services to millions of people every day. But the NHS today is suffering from an A&E crisis that proves that the Tories just can’t be trusted with our health service. The creation of the NHS in 1948 is one of the country's - and Labour’s …
As the economic landscape continues to look bleak, and long term unemployment continues to rise, today I’m outlining my plan to get people in the Northfield area back into work. Named “The Climb Project”, the initiative aims to develop a new economic vision for the area and drive action on jobs and growth today. The foundation of the Climb Project is a new local multi-sectoral partnership that …
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.
