National issues

Stronger local support for Armed Forces community

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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.

Spot cancer early

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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.

Future of housing in Birmingham

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Thank you to everyone who submitted their views to Labour’s policy commission looking at the future of housing in Birmingham. You can read our report online here. We received evidence from a wide range of people and organisations both locally and nationally. This evidence was very helpful in framing the ideas and perspectives which the policy commission put forward as part of the Birmingham …

Labour: With you in tough times

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These are tough times for people and their families. The local election on Thursday 3rd May is your chance to have a say on what the Conservative-led government is doing and how it is affecting you, your family and your community.
And, here in Birmingham, it is also a chance to get rid the Conservative led Council which is failing our city and its people.

I’m voting yes to a mayor because Birmingham needs a shake up

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Yes, I am a Labour MP. I want to see Labour take control of Birmingham Council on Thursday. I reckon Albert Bore and his team could do a much better job than the Conservative/Lib-Dem coalition which has been in charge for the last eight years. But Birmingham does not only need a shake up of who runs the City. We also need a much more fundamental shake up in how it is run. That’s one of the …

Why the forced academies programme is wrong

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Birmingham has a number of primary schools on Michael Gove’s ‘hit list’ for conversion into academies.
It’s sometimes difficult to find out exactly which they are. Not surprisingly the schools themselves are reticent to have such information published. You can understand their fear of being stigmatised as ‘failures’, even though they will not necessarily have done anything to warrant being on it.

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Richard Burden

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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.

Get in touch

You can reach me by email at richard@richardburden.com or use the form on the Contact page to send me a message.