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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These are the main subjects on which I’ve written. Click here to view the full list of categories.
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Click on ‘Contact’ below to get in touch with me.
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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 (Birmingham, Northfield) (Lab): Amid the speculation in the press about the progress of negotiations between MG Rover and Shanghai Automotive, does my right hon. Friend agree that we must keep at the forefront of our minds the 6,000 employees at MG Rover, the employees’ families, the communities that depend on MG Rover and the businesses whose futures are intertwined with MG …
Government spokespeople have confirmed that senior officials from the Department of Trade and Industry are in China to help bring to a successful conclusion, the proposed partnership arrangement between Shanghai Automotive (SAIC) and MG Rover. They have also confirmed that the government has offered repayable bridging finance to stabilise the transition and to allow the new joint venture between …
At the end of January, I attended the launch of the Make Poverty History Campaign in Birmingham, and along with hundreds of other supporters, wrapped a huge white ribbon around St Martin’s in the Bullring. This campaign, which is supported by a coalition of over 200 charities and other organisations, is a chance for everyone to get involved, and to put pressure on World Leaders to really move …
After leading last year’s campaign to save local post offices in the constituency from closure, and helping to spearhead a Commons Inquiry into Post Office reorganization nationally, I was pleased to open a new sub post office in Longbridge. The new Longbridge Post Office on Bristol Road South replaces a former branch on Edgewood Road and an old one on Bristol Road South. The new branch is …
I was out and about in February, talking to local Pensioners groups, listening to their views about the future of pensions in this country. As a result of the increase in government investment under Labour, nearly two million pensioners have been lifted out of poverty. In addition, changes brought in by the Government mean that 14,035 pensioners benefit from the Winter Fuel Allowance, worth at …
Richard Burden recently hosted a briefing in Parliament for MPs whose constituencies are within the travel-to-work area of MG Rover. At the meeting, the MPs were given an update by MG Rover Director of Communications on the strategy behind the proposed joint venture between MG Rover and the Chinese motor manufacturer, Shanghai Automotive (SAIC). With the Longbridge plant in his constituency …
On Monday March 14th, Richard met representatives of the Royal College of Nursing to discuss their manifesto “Health Priorities for the next UK Government”. The manifesto calls for a ban on smoking in public places, safer workplaces, a stronger focus on measures to boost recruitment and retention of nurses, better funding for long term nursing care, ensuring all children have access to a school …
I am really pleased that a local Youth Commission has been set up in Northfield, to help improve facilities for young people locally and – just as important- to listen to what young people themselves are saying. The Commission should help identify how young people in Northfield can make best use of the extra money which the Labour Government is has made available to improve facilities for young …
Today, as Chair of the All Party Group on Palestine, I welcomed the positive outcomes of the London Meeting to Support the Palestinian Authority. But I’ve called for a full Peace Conference, involving Israel, to be held as soon as possible. The agreements made in London yesterday are an important step forward, and mark another significant movement in the right direction towards a united …
I recently attended an event hosted jointly by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Parliamentary Reform in association with the Hansard Society, which aimed to allow parliamentarians to hear directly from young people and to look at ways in which Parliament can connect directly with them. I was joined by Lauren James, 12, from Turves Green Girls’ School, and Joseph Shaw, 14, from Turves Green …
Our top 50 achievements since being elected in 1997: 1. Lowest inflation since the 60s 2. Lowest mortgage rates for 40 years 3. Introduced the National Minimum Wage 4. Record police numbers in England and Wales 5. Cut overall crime by 30 per cent 6. Record levels of literacy and numeracy in schools 7. Best-ever primary school results 8. Funding for every pupil in England to double (since 1997) by …
Today, Richard Burden MP, Chair of the Britain-Palestine All-Party Parliamentary Group, will chair a Memorial Evening in London to commemorate the life of Yasser Arafat. The evening will be attended by H. E. Afif Safieh, Palestinian General Delegate to the UK. Speakers will also include Rajab Chamlakh, Head of the Association of Palestinian Community in the UK; Lord David Steel, Former leader of …
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.
