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 former Facebook page. My current Facebook account is here.
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Never forget the crimes against humanity that international inaction allowed Radko Mladic to commit in Bosnia and Herzegovina. When the world says “Never Again” we have to mean it.
He was held responsible for the killing of over 8,000 Muslim men and boys
Read in full: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/rakto-mladic-dead-bosnia-serbia-genocide-b3040343.html
RIP Dolly
More than 100 French and British former diplomats have said Palestine is being erased in front of the world’s eyes and called for urgent action including trade and arms sales bans to press Israel to accept a Palestinian state.
This is pitch-perfect.
Skepticism over statements on these matters is appropriate, but this appears to be different. We cynics on Jerusalem matters are always right – until we aren't.
The real test comes when the actual measures are announced and put in place. Let's hope.
E-1
150 MPs call on Israel to stop building illegal barrier and to halt expansion of settlements The Britain–Palestine All Party Parliamentary Group today held its AGM and heard from departing Palestinian General Delegate, HE Afif Safieh, who reflected on his time in the role in the UK and gave his analysis of the current situation in the Middle East. The All-Party Group paid tribute to his large …
Richard Burden (Birmingham, Northfield) (Lab): Does my right hon. Friend agree that the manufacturing skills and tenacity of people in the west midlands have a great deal to offer in regard to future UK competitiveness, as he saw a couple of weeks ago at Rimstock plc in West Bromwich? That company is being assisted by the Rover taskforce to cope with the collapse of MG Rover, and is now winning …
Richard Burden (Birmingham, Northfield) (Lab): I am grateful for the opportunity to introduce this debate on an issue of huge importance not just to my constituents but to the whole of the midlands and beyond. At the start, I congratulate my hon. Friend the Deputy Minister for Women and Equality on her appointment to the Front Bench. Last Friday I attended a meeting held by the administrators …
Richard Burden MP, Chair of the Britain-Palestine All Party Parliamentary Group, has tabled an Early Day Motion on the verdict in the Tom Hurndall case which has praised the Hurndall family for their dignity and determination, but which also questions why the charge was one of manslaughter and not murder. The Motion, which has cross party support, calls for Israel to take steps to end the culture …
Construction of the Northfield Relief Road is starting in March. For over 30 years, successive governments failed to find any money for the scheme. But thanks to over £15m provided for Northfield by the Labour Government, the City Council can go ahead with both the road and other improvements to the central Northfield shopping area. I have worked hard for this result since I was first elected to …
“The FRC operates under a specific remit. They obviously have to act in accordance with that. “It is significant, however, that the FRC also says that there are further issues for the Dti to consider. It is vital that the Dti acts on this and, from my own discussions with ministers, I have no doubt that they would wish to do so. The Dti has the power to order further official enquiries and I am …
This year, the General Election in Northfield and in many parts of the West Midlands region was inevitably overshadowed by events at MG Rover. Through the mechanisms set up by the Government Task Force, we all have a continuing responsibility to help those who have lost their jobs both at MG Rover and in the businesses dependent on it and to identify new opportunities in both employment and …
The Department of Trade and Industry have released a statement this morning stating that they have been informed by SAIC in Shanghai that they “are not willing to acquire either the whole or parts of the MGR or Powertrain businesses on a going concern basis out of administration, nor are they willing to establish a UK joint venture incorporating the whole or parts of the MGR or Powertrain …
“This is a bitter blow, not only to the 6,000 people who work at Longbridge, but to their families and to the thousands of others whose own livelihoods are intertwined with that of MG Rover. When BMW pulled out 5 years ago, I was one of 80,000 who marched to save Rover. Together, government, unions and the communities of the West Midlands came together and the closure threat to Longbridge was …
Richard Burden (Birmingham, Northfield) (Lab): Does my right hon. Friend agree that on the subject of investment, the proposed joint venture between the Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation and MG Rover is not only vital for the west midlands but offers long-term benefits to both companies and both countries?
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 …
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.
