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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These are the main subjects on which I’ve written. Click here to view the full list of categories.
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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.
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Richard welcomed the announcement of MG Rover’s development agreement with Chinese car company, Shanghai Automotive. Richard said: “This is excellent news. MG Rover has already released a range of new and revised models and more are on the way. It has also been clear for some time that securing a strategic partner is vitally important for the future. Such a partnership will enable MG Rover to …
The Phoenix Directors have given me some more information about the reports that have appeared in the press recently. They have explained their rationale for some of the ways in which the companies in the group – including MGR Capital – have been structured. In response to a specific question from me, they have also reconfirmed that all the proceeds from the sale of surplus land at …
I attended the Education Schools Strategy day at King Edward VI School at Five Ways in February, and addressed the Leadership Teams of nine local secondary schools on the topic of ‘Building a vision for learning and employment in South West Birmingham’. The schools that took part in the meeting form the Edge Collegiate. They are
I have been telling different people in the constituency about the new Child Trust Fund which has been introduced by the Government and which will benefit more than 2,500 families in Birmingham Northfield. All children living in the UK born on or after 1st September 2002 and who receive Child Benefit, will receive a £250 voucher to open a Child Trust Fund account, with up to £500 given to those …
I recently took action after a recent survey showed more than half of guide dog owners have been turned away by a service provider such as a pub, restaurant, hotel, shop or bank in the last five years.1 I pledged my support to Theresa May MP’s parliamentary motion, encouraging local businesses to not only welcome guide dog owners through the door, but to make their services fully accessible for …
I recently attended an Arctic experience, recreated in Westminster by the WWF to raise a sense of urgency about the devastating impact climate change is having on people and places around the world. WWF invited an Arctic “Climate Witness” called Mille Porsild to VictoriaTowerGardens – close to the House of Lords, and set the Arctic scene with a life-size igloo hand sculpted from ice and …
At a meeting of the Council’s Northfield District Committee on 12th February, I was told that the bus company, Pete’s Travel, had taken the Fordrough, Houldey Road and Slingfield Road off the 634/635 bus route. Residents had been given virtually no notice of this change. I spoke to both Centro and Pete’s Travel and they accepted that the route for this bus should not have been changed without …
I have campaigned for better support for local workers – such as those at Kalamazoo – who lost their pension rights when their firms go bust. Last month, the government announced the details of the Financial Assistance Scheme which included the levels of assistance that eligible members will receive when the FAS starts making payments. The FAS will provide: – assistance to all those …
Richard exposed the failure of the Council to proceed with the Fairfax Road regeneration scheme on time and pushed for progress. In Parliament during February he welcomed the big increase in funding for Birmingham from the Labour Government but criticised the Conservative- Lib Dem administration, which runs the City Council, for shelving a Labour plan to put an extra £7.3m into better youth …
Richard Burden MP (Birmingham Northfield) will meet managers and employees at BMW’s Powertrain plant tomorrow as the German company prepare to sell the engine production facility. Mr Burden is expected to press for a speedy resolution to the sale and sees the benefits of transfer to the neighbouring MG Rover plant. Mr Burden said: “As their major customer, it would make good sense if MG …
A year to the day after BMW announced they were to sell Rover Richard Burden (MP Birmingham Northfield) will join Stephen Byers, the Trade and Industry Secretary, as he gives a keynote address to a major manufacturing conference organised by the AEEU.
Mr. Richard Burden (Birmingham, Northfield): I can tell my right hon. Friend and my hon. Friends in Luton and surrounding constituencies that, with Longbridge in my constituency, the people of the west midlands well understand what they will be going through and the anger that will be felt about the way that General Motors announced its decision. I imagine that they will take as dim a view of 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.
