The government has today published their plans for a new high speed rail network. This is the kind of long term thinking that we need for the West Midlands. A high speed rail station in the centre of Birmingham will be good for the city and a gateway to the region as a whole. Having an additional interchange station adjacent to the NEC and Birmingham airport will boost the profile of the West …
This week I joined fellow Labour MPs to celebrate the fifth anniversary of the ban on fox hunting.
It is now five years since the Fox-Hunting Bill received Royal Assent, ending the cruel practice of hunting with dogs. In that time, dozens of prosecutions have been brought under the Act, showing that this ban is making a real difference.
Today I was pleased to welcome the Environment Secretary Hilary Benn to the Northfield constituency. He was here to visit Frankley – one of the local areas severely hit by floods last year. The government has earmarked funds for the area under its flood protection scheme. During the visit we met with community leaders, Frankley Parish Councillors and staff from Birmingham City Council and the …
One thing has been missing from so much of the comment that has followed last week’s European and local elections results – a debate about Labour’s policy. People on both sides of the debate about Gordon Brown’s leadership have claimed the argument is about leadership style and communication, not policy. It’s just that one side claims a change of leadership is necessary to convince the electorate …
I have secured a debate for later today in the House of Commons to highlight the issue of underachievement of white disadvantaged pupils. White pupils are the largest underachieving group in Birmingham and across the UK. Whilst almost half of White British pupils not on free school meals (FSM) achieved at least 5 A* – C grades at GCSE in 2007 – the same as the national average for all …
In the last recession young people were left on the scrapheap. I am determined that this should not happen this time. Every young person deserves a fair deal. That is why I have welcomed the government’s guarantee that every young person who would otherwise be long term unemployed gets a job or training. Labour’s Budget for Jobs announced a new £1bn Future Jobs Fund which aims to create 150,000 …
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.