Earlier this year it was revealed that the Northfield constituency has the worst record in the country for low pay. Over 50% of people in this area are paid less than the living wage of £7.85 an hour – reaching up to 63.1% for women. As I said at the time, it is an absolute scandal that over half of local working people are not being paid enough to provide properly for themselves and their...
It only takes 5 minutes to #RegisterToVote online, do it now: .
Unless you register to vote, you lose your voice on issues that directly affect you, your family and your friends.
We all know how fed up people can be with the way the world of politics can seem. Often it can feel like political parties are speaking a different language and bombarding you with buzz words. In 2010, at the last general election 40% of those eligible chose not to vote at all in our constituency. That’s why I need your help. I need your help to help me reach all those people who are not engaged...
A few weeks ago we saw the publication of an ambitious new report looking into how digital technology can help shape the future UK politics. The Commission was ground-breaking in a number of ways and its’ conclusions are broad and ambitious. I would encourage anyone interested to read it via their impressive interactive website. I also wanted to offer a few thoughts on the five key...
On Tuesday (3 February 2015) I successfully held an Ask Me Anything using my Twitter and Facebook pages. As promised I did my best to answer as many questions from Northfield constituents as possible within the intended hour-long chat. In the end I stayed on for an extra 20 minutes and I’m still getting back to a few I missed! You can see my responses on Twitter by checking out this handy Storify...
It’s two weeks into the New Year and we’re at the point where many of us forget about our resolution of shedding a couple of pounds. With that in mind, this week is National Obesity Awareness Week. Almost a quarter of children in Birmingham (23.4%) are classified as obese, compared with 10.1% nationally. Meanwhile the number of recorded cases of diabetes is double the UK average, affecting almost...
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.