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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Roy Hattersley was a fellow Birmingham MP and a key figure in Labour for decades. We came from different wings of the Party but I always knew he was someone who never lost sight of the bottom-line principles that made him Labour. RIP
Let’s call out what happened in Belfast last night for what it was – a pogrom. What a contrast with the hugely dignified response of Stephen Ogilvie’s family. Total respect for them as they face such an ordeal after the horrific attack on him.
Abolishing patient watchdog leaves NHS ‘marking own homework’, councils warn
In otherwise wide ranging interview with Health Secretary, James Murray, regrettable that @BBCr4today didn’t ask why the new Health Bill, to be debated today will scrap independent patient and public voice in health &social care. Here’s why govt is wrong
The long awaited report of the independent inquiry into the collapse of MG Rover in 2005 was published at 9AM this morning. The report is now available online: Read Volume I of the report Read Volume II of the report The report is over 800 pages long. There is a 20 page conclusion which provides an overview of some of the matters discussed in far greater depth earlier in the report. Read the …
The MG Rover inqury report will be published at 9AM today. A copy of the report will be made available online here as soon as possible.
Below is an article I wrote for today’s Birmingham Post ahead of the publication of the report – about MG Rover, the report and looking forward to a new and sustainable future for Longbridge.
Local people have waited over four years for the MG Rover Inquiry to be completed. I have always supported publication of its findings. That will finally be happening on Friday. Like most other people, I have found it frustrating that the inquiry has taken so long and astonishing that it has cost around £16m. Lessons should be learnt from this about the conduct of future Companies Act …
The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has today announced that it does not intend to begin a criminal investigation into the collapse of MG Rover. The SFO was asked to review events which led to the collapse of the MG Rover Group following a report by the independent investigators appointed by the government following the collapse of MG Rover in April 2005. I’m pleased the SFO has looked at this matter …
Earlier today I raised the issue of the report into the collapse of MG Rover with Harriet Harman – Leader of the House of Commons – during Business Questions. I asked her to confirm that the report would be published as soon as possible and that the government will do everything they can to ensure former workers can receive money from the trust fund. The minister assured me that “if …
The government has today announced that the findings of the independent inquiry into MG Rover will be referred to the Serious Fraud Office (SFO). The announcement – confirmed in a written statement to the House of Commons earlier today – said that the SFO has been asked to review events which led to the collapse of the MG Rover Group. It follows a report by the independent …
I have today learnt that the report into the collapse of MG Rover has finally been submitted to the government. Following the collapse of MG Rover in 2005 an independent inquiry was established to investigate what led to the collapse. After over four years, the independent inspectors appointed by the government have submitted their report to the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and …
One thing has been missing from so much of the comment that has followed last week’s European and local elections results – a debate about Labour’s policy. People on both sides of the debate about Gordon Brown’s leadership have claimed the argument is about leadership style and communication, not policy. It’s just that one side claims a change of leadership is necessary to convince the electorate …
Earlier this year, in the immediate aftermath of Israel’s attack on Gaza, I led a delegation of MPs on a visit to the region to survey the impact of the conflict. The situation we encountered in Gaza was appalling. Over 1,300 Palestinians had been killed during ‘Operation Cast Lead’ and a further 5,300 injured. Over two hundred schools lay damaged or destroyed, whilst hospitals and the United …
I have secured a debate for later today in the House of Commons to highlight the issue of underachievement of white disadvantaged pupils. White pupils are the largest underachieving group in Birmingham and across the UK. Whilst almost half of White British pupils not on free school meals (FSM) achieved at least 5 A* – C grades at GCSE in 2007 – the same as the national average for all …
In the last recession young people were left on the scrapheap. I am determined that this should not happen this time. Every young person deserves a fair deal. That is why I have welcomed the government’s guarantee that every young person who would otherwise be long term unemployed gets a job or training. Labour’s Budget for Jobs announced a new £1bn Future Jobs Fund which aims to create 150,000 …
Over 120 Members of Parliament have expressed their astonishment at the BBC’s refusal to broadcast the Disasters Emergency Committee Gaza Crisis Appeal. Today I tabled a motion in the House of Commons with the support of 122 MPs from across all the main political parties (see latest version here). The motion says: That this House is astonished by the refusal of the BBC and Sky to broadcast the …
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.
