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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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Real elation that every living Israeli hostage is now free. Even one still held would have continued the nightmare. It carries on for many Palestinians Israel has abducted. I wrote about Dr Husam Abu Safiya in February . Why is he still in captivity?
Last week, our chair @richardburden27 published on his own website some personal reflections about what Remembering Srebrenica has meant for him this year.

Israeli forces are said to have dropped more explosives on Gaza than fell on London, Dresden and Hamburg combined in the Second World War. The level of destruction is hard to fathom as is the humanitarian suffering.
Our Foreign Affairs Correspondent @SecKermani looks at the…
Richard Burden MP, Chair of the Britain-Palestine All Party Parliamentary Group, has today called on President Peres, the next Israeli Prime Minister and President Elect Obama to embrace new thinking to secure peace and justice in the Middle East for both Israelis and Palestinians. As Foreign Secretary David Miliband completes his visit to the Middle East, today sees both Israeli President Shimon …
As the Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Electoral Reform I am very pleased to be able to announce the publication of the Review of Voting Systems (Condensed) which the Group has just published with the help of the Electoral Reform Society. The APPG on Electoral Reform exists to foster discussion on, and support the cause of, electoral reform. I am keen that it is voters …
I welcome today’s Government announcement of a £1billion package to help families cut their fuel bills. These measures will make a real difference for people – including many of my constituents in Northfield. I am particularly pleased that these programmes will be funded primarily by a £910 million contribution from the energy companies. As you may know, I am one of several Labour MPs who have …
Coping with the effects of flooding is difficult in any event and having your own home flooded can be devastating. Unfortunately, this is the experience which many of my constituents have had to go through following the recent heavy rains. And, for some, this is not the first time it has happened. Over the weekend I visited residents in Weoley and Frankley who have been affected by the floods …
Richard welcomes the announcement that Kings Norton Green Post Office will remain open Richard has today welcomed the decision by Post Office Ltd not to close the post office on The Green in Kings Norton. On 24 June Post Office Ltd published a review of the number of post offices in Birmingham, as part of a national programme called Network Change. This review proposed a number of post offices …
Fair Play – Border Busters Forum Consultation On Friday 18th July Richard attended a consultation event organised by the Border Busters Extended Schools cluster. A group of 10 year olds from across the Longbridge and Northfield areas discussed the questions in the Department for Children, Schools and Families ‘Fair Play’ consultation. Richard said: ‘The young people involved all came up with some …
‘The international community must seize new opportunities to tackle the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and help to help achieve a lasting peace between Israel and Palestine’, Richard Burden MP has said today. Mr Burden is a member of the UK’s House of Commons International Development Committee. Today the Committee has published a new report on the Humanitarian and Development Situation in the …
On 5 July the NHS will be 60 years old. To mark this occasion – and the great achievements of the NHS over the last 60 years – Richard recently joined the Prime Minister and local volunteers at No 10. Read more below. Writing in his monthly Westminster Diary column Richard celebrates 60 years of the NHS and looks at its priorities as it moves towards its second 60 years. Read his article below …
On 4th July Richard helped to officially open the new Shenley Green Multi Use Games Area. The floodlit games area, on Green Meadow Road, has been developed by Bournville Village Trust (BVT) to provide an outdoor sport facility that will be used by the adjacent youth centre, GreenMeadowPrimary School and the local community. The project has cost nearly half a million pounds and has received …
The annual Northfield Constituency Convention took place on Saturday 28 June. This year’s theme focussed on community safety and what is being done to make Northfield safer. Knife crime has recently dominated the headlines. It is a very serious issue – Richard recently wrote about it in his Westminster Diary (online here). But it is not the whole picture. And at the end of June people in …
On 27th June Richard paid a visit to residents of Forrell Grove in Northfield to see the work of the Northfield Energy Efficiency Partnership (NEEP). NEEP was launched in January 2008 to bring energy efficiency to Northfield residents making their homes warmer and more affordable to heat. On his visit to Forrell Grove Richard met with the Tenants and Residents Association, who have been working …
On 11 July Richard hosted a Big Lottery Lunch for local community and voluntary groups Richard is pressing for a vibrant and sustainable voluntary and community sector here in Northfield. On 11 July he hosted a lunch and networking event for local volunteers and community groups at the Elim Pentecostal Church in Weoley. The event – co-hosted by the Big Lottery and Birmingham Voluntary Services …
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.
