I was appalled by the decision made by train operators to limit the train ticket office consultation to 21 days. After being heavily challenged the operators have now extended the deadline until Friday 1 September. Please read my objection letter to West Midlands Trains below. I have visited all three stations in my constituency, IContinue reading Stop the closure of our train ticket offices
It was Harold Wilson who once quipped that ‘a week is a long time in politics’. Goodness knows what he’d have made of the last 6 days. On Friday our new Chancellor announced more than £400billion of borrowing and tax cuts worth an extra £55,000 for millionaires. Almost immediately there was panic in the markets,Continue reading Labour offers real alternative after Chancellor sends pound into freefall
This week I travelled to Manchester, I still prefer Birmingham, to deliver a keynote speech at a conference on Looked After Children. They are children for whom the state has assumed responsibility because they can no longer live with their parent or parents. Nearly 500,000 children are in the care system at any one timeContinue reading Birmingham youngsters deserve better
For many years now, I’ve written to local children as they complete their last days at junior school. Around 1,400 children in Selly Oak constituency experience the change of transferring to the ‘big school’ each year. Where I grew up, we had two secondary schools: one for children of the Roman Catholic faith and anotherContinue reading Daunting step to ‘big school’
Just when you might have thought they’d secretly passed a law to ban it, we’ve finally seen the resignation of a government minister. Is it just a story about someone having an affair or does it say much more about this government? The former Health Secretary has enjoyed extraordinary power during his time in chargeContinue reading Kiss was tip of iceberg
Today I spoke to Homegroup Mental Health Carers Support Service as part of #CarersWeek to find out how the government can do more to support carers in the UK. Here is what I think…
I recently received an email from an irate constituent. His car, parked outside his home, was damaged in an attempted theft. Fortunately, a neighbour witnessed the incident and managed to note the registration of the getaway vehicle. Three days later, the police hadn’t given any indication they intended to pursue the matter. They hadn’t evenContinue reading Police must hear priorities of the public
The pace of technology over the last 20 years has been phenomenal and has certainly changed our lives. Can we now use technology to help with environmental problems or is there a ‘hair shirt’ mentality about climate change which means it’s always about what you must give up? I’m fed up listening to people, whoContinue reading A new ERA of solutions
I SEE that former Post Office boss, Paula Vennells, has stepped down from Morrisons and Dunelm following the Court of Appeal decision to overturn the convictions of 39 sub-postmasters, taking the total to 51 quashed convictions with a further 22 under review and others pending in Scotland. More than 700 people have been prosecuted forContinue reading Put right the suffering of those sent to prison
