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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.
Why the voice of patients must stay independent.
My response to important new report from @TheKingsFund
While the eyes of the world are on Iran, Israel is using the opportunity to deepen its illegal occupation of the West Bank…
BREAKING: Overnight, under cover of the Israel–Iran war, Israel allocates another 574 million ILS (≈$155m) to settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank, and 9 million ILS (≈$2.4m) to the Ministry of Diaspora Affairs, spearheading attacks on humanitarian organisations.
In
People in #Gaza are still living in dire conditions while humanitarian aid is being blocked.
On 28 February, the Israeli authorities closed all crossings into the Gaza Strip, raising concerns about food security and fuel supplies needed to sustain humanitarian operations.
Pupils of Kings Norton Primary School took part in a sponsored tree planting in Kings Norton Park last week.
The pupils, joined by staff from Deutsche Bank in Birmingham, helped to plant 10 standard trees and several hundred small trees. Local Labour Councillor and Birmingham’s Cabinet Member for Health and Wellbeing, Steve Bedser, was also there to lend a hand.
I have today launched this new website.
I hope you like the new look. If you have any comments please feel to drop me a message.
We are still in the process of switching over to the new site – so please bear with us if there any technical problems in the next few days.
Local Gov Sec Eric Pickles refusing to meet leaders of England’s 8 largest cities to discuss concerns about cuts: birminghammail.co.uk/news/local-new…
— Richard Burden MP (@RichardBurdenMP) February 28, 2013
The developers of the new Longbridge town centre being built on the former MG Rover site have put together a fascinating fly through video, bringing the vision for the area to life.
You can watch the video online here.
Kings Norton based Mechatronic Solutions this week celebrated 25 years in business.
I was delighted to attend their open day yesterday to join their celebrations and have a guided tour of their shop floor.
The latest employment figures for January 2013 were published on Wednesday.
The fall in the headline rate of UK unemployment is clearly welcome news. But here in Northfield the number of people unemployed in January was actually up on the previous month.
The child poverty figures published today paint a stark picture.
One in five British children live below the poverty line. Across Birmingham it is up to three in ten – and in parts of the constituency it is as high as four in ten. This poverty cripples a child’s chance to lead a happy and healthy life and makes it so much harder for them to reach their potential.
My letter to Birmingham City Council Leader, Sir Albert Bore and Cabinet Member for Jobs & Skills, Councillor Tahir Ali regarding the Birmingham Jobs Fund:
18 February 2013
Dear Albert and Tahir,
I wonder if you or relevant officers could answer some queries I have about the Birmingham Jobs Fund?
Chuka Umunna, Labour’s Shadow Business Secretary, was in Birmingham today.
I am delighted he was able to pay a visit to local West Heath manufacturer, Graves Aircraft Components, during the day.
The front page of today’s Bromsgrove Standard features the important story of one of my younger constituents, Sam from Rednal, now aged four. Sam was born with an undiagnosed heart condition. Fortunately he received a pulse oximetry test when he was born, which was being trialled at Birmingham Women’s Hospital at the time. The test picked up his heart condition and three days later he underwent …
I have been contacted by many constituents about the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill – both by those for and those against the proposal to introduce same-sex marriage. Marriage is an important statement of love and long term commitment, and has long been the main way that the state recognises and shows support for loving relationships. I believe that couples who love each other and want to …
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.
