Former Member of Parliament for Birmingham Northfield
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.
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
Remembering British photojournalist Tom Hurndall who died 22 years ago today. He had been in a coma for 9 months after being shot in the head by an Israeli military sniper as he tried to rescue children from the line of gunfire in Gaza. Love and respect always. #RIPTomHurndall
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.
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 …
After the collapse of MG Rover in 2005 an independent inquiry was established to investigate what led to the collapse. Three years on, there is growing concern about the time it is taking for this inquiry to report its findings and the increasing cost. Richard Burden, as the local MP, has been vocal on the importance of the MG Rover Inquiry and the need for it to report as soon as possible. In …
Richard Burden MP has welcomed today’s joint announcement on agency workers by the Government, the CBI and the TUC. Earlier today the Business Secretary, John Hutton, explained that an agreement had been reached between employers and unions on new rules on equal treatment for agency workers after 12 weeks employment. Welcoming the announcement, Richard said: ‘I was one of the many Labour MPs who …
I am sure many of you will have been following the developments in Zimbabwe over the last few weeks, as I have. Zimbabwe, once seen as a future beacon for Africa, today faces economic ruin with inflation running at above 100,000% and unemployment at about 80%. For millions of people in Zimbabwe every day life is a battle against poverty, disease and disempowerment. Life expectancy is down to only …
There was a debate in Parliament recently about the future of the Post Office network. You may also have seen speculation in the press and elsewhere about the prospect of further post office closures locally. So I thought it would be useful to update constituents on my understanding of the current situation and let you know what I am doing as your local MP. What is going on? Post Office Ltd has …
Several constituents have recently expressed their concern to me about the impact that the abolition of the 10p tax rate has on some people on low incomes. Like many other Labour MPs, I share their concern about this. Neither I, nor most MPs I have spoken to, intended people on low incomes to lose out as a result of the changes to the tax and benefits systems passed by Parliament last year with …
A debate on Global Security in the Middle East took place in Westminster Hall yesterday. The debate followed the publication of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee report on the issue in August last year and the Government’s response in October.
MPs have expressed their revulsion at the mounting death toll in Gaza and called on the international community to take immediate action.
An Early Day Motion (EDM) on Gaza was tabled by Richard Burden MP on 3 March 2008 and has been signed by 68 Members of Parliament.
I opposed the invasion of Iraq but we are right to be in Afghanistan. Sadly, the country remains blighted by conflict in Helmand, where most of the UK’s 7,500 troops are deployed. Many families here in the UK have lost loved ones over there. With no end yet in sight it is understandable that some commentators are now suggesting that we should get out. Understandable maybe, but – in my view – …
Richard Burden, MP for Birmingham Northfield, has welcomed Birmingham’s vision for neighbourhood working but said that there are issues that must be addressed if neighbourhood working in Birmingham is to be the success in practice that it deserves to be. The vision for neighbourhood working is set out in ‘Vibrant Urban Villages’, a Green Paper published by Birmingham City Council and the …
Local communities in Birmingham should be given more power to decide the priorities for their areas. I am calling on Birmingham City Council and other agencies to do more to help them do so. I recently published a paper responding to a City consultation on the future of devolution and localisation in the city – through the development of what Birmingham City Council calls ‘Vibrant Urban Villages’ …
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.
Get in touch
You can reach me by email at richard@richardburden.com or use the form on the Contact page to send me a message.
