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
I've discovered that a driving holiday in rural central France with intermittent internet access is not the best way to hear that Parliament has been imminently recalled, or the best place from which to act on the information. Result? The logistics of getting back in time have beaten me and I'll still be on the road back to the UK when Parliament meets tomorrow. As my name won't be recorded by …
Urging Northfield communities to apply for HLF funding to mark the Centenary of the First World War With a year to go until we mark the centenary of the UK entering the First World War, I am urging local residents and community groups in Northfield to consider applying to the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) for community projects to learn more about the First World War. HLF is making at least …
You may have heard that the Government has recently announced a £94 million new funding commitment to improve cycling in the UK. I strongly welcome the news that the Department for Transport will now be investing £10 a head for cycling infrastructure in 10 cities – including Birmingham. As action to ‘Get Britain Cycling’ is an issue that lots of constituents have contacted me about, I have been …
I have been contacted by a number of local people about the new Home Office attempts to address illegal immigration. Let's be clear - the "Go Home" advans and UK Border Office spot checks are little more than right wing propaganda. Instead of an evidence based approach to tackle immigration and improve integration, the Tories are using tax payer’s money to secure a headline and calm their party's …
In addition to granting us some beautiful weather, Summer 2013 has also shone a light on one of the brightest industries our country has to offer – motor. On 12 July 2013 ‘Driving Success’, the first ever comprehensive industrial strategy for UK automotive, was launched by Government and leading industry bodies.
Read my thoughts on the strategy in a new blog for Motortrades Insight here.
Today I am shocked to reveal the full scale of the cost of living crisis taking place under David Cameron and George Osborne. Analysis of historical figures from the Office for National Statistics shows that David Cameron has been in Downing Street for 36 months of falling real wages – more than any other Prime Minister on record. And no other Prime Minister has seen so many consecutive months …
It has been a busy month in Westminster before MP’s left Westminster for the Parliamentary recess. This July I have launched new project to tackle youth employment, been campaigning against the scandals of rip-off telephone rates and pay day loans, and revealing some shocking truths about the Government’s policy on arms exports. It was also a month that saw another development in the drama of MG …
The accountants Deloitte have lost an appeal over a regulatory ruling that it failed to manage conflicts of interest in its advice to the MG Rover Group and the "Phoenix Four" directors, who bought the UK carmaker before it collapsed in 2005. It is highly concerning that the Tribunal found Deloitte and Mr Einollahi, the partner involved, to have demonstrated “a persistent and deliberate disregard …
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.
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.
