A National Audit Office report concluded today that the use of high cost phone lines across government is complex, ineffective, and leaving vulnerable individuals with the highest charges. After I held a debate on this issue, calling on the Cabinet Office to urgently improve the government’s performance in this area, the NAO has now concluded that government departments should eliminate the use …
Today the House of Commons Committee on Arms Exports, that I am a member of, publishes a report concluding that the UK’s human rights policy is being fundamentally undermined by the scale and nature of arms exports licences being approved by the Government. It also finds that the situation in Israel and the Occupied Palestine Territories is of severe concern.
A few weeks ago, a constituent contacted me asking why I was seeking a £10,000 pay rise for MPs. My answer was simple: I had not done so and I am not doing so. MP’s do not set our own pay. MPs’ salaries are decided by a body which is completely independent of Parliament called IPSA - the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority. So what do I think about it? First, when people are feeling the …
Just two weeks ago, the world’s fiercest and fastest racing drivers returned to Silverstone for what turned out to be a thrilling British Grand Prix. While our exceptional British drivers have had mixed fortunes on the track this season, for me the return of Formula One to our shores is always an ideal opportunity to recognise British success in automotive more widely.
I’m throwing my weight behind a Private Member’s Bill that seeks to challenge the unscrupulous practices of high-cost credit companies offering pay day loans. The High Cost Credit Bill will come before Parliament on Friday 12 July. It is sponsored by one of my oldest friends Paul Blomfield MP, and I hope to be there to give my support. The bill seeks to end some of the worst practices of pay …
Tomorrow - 5th July 2013 - marks the 65th anniversary of the founding of the NHS. The NHS remains an incredible institution to this day, providing free health services to millions of people every day. But the NHS today is suffering from an A&E crisis that proves that the Tories just can’t be trusted with our health service. The creation of the NHS in 1948 is one of the country's - and Labour’s …
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.