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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.
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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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Disgusting desecration and destruction of Commonwealth War Graves in Gaza .
Having visited the cemeteries in Gaza myself and met the Palestinians who care for them, the enormity of this feels personal for me https://richardburden.com/2024/11/gazas-commonwealth-war-graves-remembering-the-past-and-facing-the-present/
Israel has killed at least 71,662 Palestinians and injured at least 171,428 since the beginning of its genocide in Gaza.
Our Chair, @RichardBurden27 , was proud to represent @RemSrebWestMids at the @HMD_UK Holocaust Memorial Day commemoration in Birmingham yesterday #RememberYesterdayActToday
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.
Speaking at the 2011 Labour Party Conference in Liverpool Richard called on the UK government to support the recognition of a Palestinian state at the United Nations.
I have written an article today on the Huffington Post discussing why the prisoner exchange matters and repeating the call for the release of the 164 Palestinian children detained by Israel.
This morning I spoke in the Britain in the World debate at the Labour Party Conference in Liverpool.
Last week Palestine applied for full state membership of the United Nations. Speaking to the Conference this morning I called on the UK government to support the recognition of a Palestinian state.
The economy was a key focus of the Labour Party Conference today with major speeches by Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls, Shadow Business Secretary John Denham and Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary Liam Byrne.
First thing this morning I participated in a roundtable discussion on how the automotive industry can help to drive the growth of a low-carbon UK economy.
Today MPs debated the possible UN membership of a Palestinian state. The debate, which was secured by Richard Burden MP, took place two weeks before Palestine is expected to ask the United Nations to recognise an independent Palestinian state within 1967 borders. Mr Burden, who chairs the Britain-Palestine All Party Parliamentary Group, used the debate to call on the government to recognise an …
Representing a seat in the West Midlands I know how important the automotive industry is to the UK. Across the country it is an essential part of the glue that binds our economy together. Over the last year the All-Party Parliamentary Motor Group (APMG), which I chair, has brought together parliamentarians, ministers, officials, industry representatives and trade unions to discuss key issues …
The Home Secretary must urgently clarify this situation. It is important that everyone should be aware of what is fact and what is conjecture. Guilt should be on the basis of evidence and conviction, not by innuendo, allegation or association.
I am backing Age UK’s campaign against government plans to accelerate the state pension age which could see 500,000 women across the country waiting for more than year longer for their state pension than promised under the Coalition Agreement. The government’s proposals will hurt thousands of hard-working women who believed their retirement was just around the corner. Almost 10,000 women in …
You may have seen the news last week that the Phoenix Four, the former bosses of MG Rover, have been disqualified as company directors.
The independent inquiry into the collapse of MG Rover, which reported its findings in 2009, was damning for the Phoenix Four. The picture that emerged was of millions being made not from the engineering of cars but from the engineering of company finances.
All of us who want to see a peaceful resolution to the Israel-Palestine conflict should welcome the news that Fatah and Hamas have reached a reconciliation agreement. It is especially positive that young people in Palestine have pushed so strongly for this reconciliation. These non-affiliated youth groups have been inspired by pro-democracy movements across the region to organise demonstrations …
Yesterday former MG Rover employees, MG Rover and Austin enthusiasts, community groups and the new MG car company all came together in Cofton Park to celebrate our pride in Longbridge. Pride of Longbridge was a wonderful day. A celebration of why the name was synonymous with the motor industry throughout the 20th Century. It was great to see Austin, MG and Rover enthusiasts swopping stories with …
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.
