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.
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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
I am calling on the government to rethink its approach to policing after figures released today show that police numbers have fallen to the lowest for a decade, including the loss of 1,077 officers across the West Midlands. Today’s figures show that there are now 8,000 fewer officers on the streets in England and Wales, at a time when personal crime, which includes theft and violence, has gone up …
Earlier this week I signed a Book of Commitment in the House of Commons, honouring those who were persecuted and killed during the Holocaust.
Holocaust Memorial Day, on 27th January, marks the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau – the Nazi concentration and extermination camp which is the site of the largest mass murder in history.
I’ve been invited to several Christmas events this year, but one in particular has stood out. Last Friday I joined representatives of West Midlands Police to present a special award to Billie Jayne Fulford, a year 11 student at St Thomas Aquinas school in Kings Norton. Until this year, the award has been named after Pat Manion, a former Deputy Head at the school who is remembered for …
On Sunday, Israel released 550 Palestinian prisoners, the second and final phase of the prisoner swap which secured the release of Israeli soldier, Gilad Shalit, in October. Israel reserved the right to make the final decision on which Palestinian prisoners to release, and which should remain in jail. Not surprisingly then, it attracted widespread criticism when not one of the 164 Palestinians …
Congratulations to Abdul Ahmed from Fairway Primary School who designed this year’s winning Christmas card.
Once again there were some fantastic designs this year and I would like to say a big thank you to all the schools and children who took part.
Last week I spoke in a debate organised by Politics in Brum about whether or not Birmingham should have an elected mayor. I am sure there will be many more such debates over the next six months as we move towards a referendum in May 2012 to ask the people of Birmingham whether or not they want an elected mayor. These next six months provide an important opportunity to address some fundamental …
I have heard from many constituents who disagree with the government's plans to cut feed-in tariffs (FITs) for solar power. I have also heard from local community groups who are worried that their plans to install solar power panels may now be under threat. Labour has been leading the campaign against the government’s plans, which will put thousands of jobs and businesses in the solar industry at …
Labour in Birmingham has set up a policy commission to look at the future of housing in Birmingham and we want to hear from you.
Whether you are a council or housing association tenant, renting in the private sector or a home owner. We want to know your views online at birminghamhousing.wordpress.com.
I have just returned from a visit to Israel and the West Bank. Here are a few video reports from some of the places I visited. You can click on the menu button to scroll through the videos and also view them on YouTube here.
It’s hard to imagine living without something as simple – and vital – as a toilet. Yet just over 150 years ago this was the daily reality for many people in the UK. Without adequate sanitation or safe water to drink, disease was rife. It was the cause of child mortality levels found in Africa today.
On Monday evening I attended a public meeting in Longbridge about the City Council’s proposed budget for next year. There was a lot of anger at the meeting about the cuts the Conservative-led Council are proposing. It's the Conservatives and Lib Dems running the Council that are making these decisions and they should answer for them. Unfortunately, none of them turned up at Monday’s meeting to do …
The government is planning the biggest re-organisation of the NHS since it began in 1948.
It is unnecessary, unwanted, wasteful and damaging – and threatens to end the NHS as we know it. Only last year, the government promised people they wouldn’t do it. Many thousands of people have already called on the government to stop.
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.
