Many primary schools in Birmingham have been facing pressure from the Department for Education to become academies, whether or not they wish to do so. I have written about this online before here and here. One of those schools was West Heath Primary School in my constituency. This week the school found out that the Department for Education has decided not to continue the forced academy process …
On Wednesday I joined a cross-party delegation of MPs, City Council leaders and business representatives from Birmingham to meet with the Prime Minister. We wanted to talk to him about some of the challenges Birmingham faces – and also the opportunities they present. Issues like how we attract inward investment, how we build the transport infrastructure our region needs, how we develop skills and …
This week Parliament rose for the Summer recess. At the end of the week, schools in Birmingham break up for the summer too. But some of them do so not knowing what the future will look like come September. Over the past few months, I have been trying to get to the bottom of what is happening in relation to the Department for Education pressuring a number of primary schools in my constituency to …
The UK has a successful automotive industry – but we must build a long-term framework for growth On Sunday, the British Grand Prix at Silverstone was won in a Red Bull, one of the eight F1 teams based here in the UK. And whilst I don’t want to take anything away from Mark Webber’s Australian pedigree, he too lives here in Britain. The UK is also home to seven volume car manufacturers, six …
Last week I joined the Royal British Legion in the House of Commons to promote the creation of Community Covenants across the UK.
The event highlighted the importance of local communities getting behind the Armed Forces community in their own area and honouring the principles of the Armed Forces Covenant in practice on the ground.
I was pleased to join cancer awareness nurses at Westminster today as Cancer Research UK’s Cancer Awareness Roadshow made a special stop outside the Houses of Parliament.
The Roadshow has been touring towns and cities across the UK so that people can learn more about the steps they can take to reduce their risk of cancer and the importance of spotting it early.
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.