I don’t know if you’ve come across Paul Reddish? He’s CEO of Volunteering Matters and has spent the past week cycling from Edinburgh to London, on a thank you tour of charities and volunteer groups who really make a difference. I caught up with him when he stopped off in Stirchley to say a bigContinue reading Grateful to all volunteers for work they do
The announcement of a ceasefire will bring a much-needed and welcome respite for the peoples of Israel and Palestine following the horrific violence of the past two weeks. However, past history suggests this could result in another uneasy stand-off – one that will do nothing to address the Palestinians’ desire for self-determination and the Israelis’Continue reading An internationally supported, long-term plan is needed to bring peace to Israel-Palestine
New figures released by the End Child Poverty coalition have revealed the growing scale of child poverty across the country, even before the pandemic hit. The research carried out by Loughborough University for the End Child Poverty Coalition shows that in the latest year (2019/20) there were 7483 children trapped in poverty in Selly Oak. That’s 38% of children. SteveContinue reading Local MP calls on Government to tackle Child Poverty
Last week I spoke in the debate on the Queen’s Speech, my chance to comment on the Government’s plans. I’ll support measures that help my constituents. I believe I should use Parliament to address problems people here are raising with me. Many families are concerned about the future for their children and yearn for aContinue reading Ideas in speech could help, but we must go further
I’ve been thinking about the time I heard former American President Bill Clinton make his Changemakers speech at Labour Party conference. His argument was that politics is about change and we should embrace it. Many of us can find change disturbing. Sometimes we put up with bad situations because we fear the challenge of change.Continue reading Change is our only constant
Steve McCabe MP (Birmingham Selly Oak) has said we must make this Queen’s Speech work for the West Midlands and improve it where possible but ultimately says it lacks the urgency needed to tackle the issues facing his constituents. Commenting on the Queen’s Speech on 11 May, Steve McCabe MP said: “On Health, we’ll neverContinue reading Birmingham MP says ‘Queens Speech Lacks Urgency’
Steve McCabe MP, Birmingham-Selly Oak, is a member of the Work and Pensions Select Committee who in a report released today, recommend that the Chancellor must maintain for another year ‘at the very least’ the £20 per week increase in Universal Credit (UC) and Working Tax Credit introduced to support families during the coronavirus pandemic. The report notes that sinceContinue reading Universal Credit uplift must be extended to prevent hundreds of thousands falling into poverty
AFTER weeks of encouraging us to proceed, the PM has finally pulled the rug on our Christmas plans by admitting things are much worse than he’d let on. How has it got so out of control? Is it just that things are so difficult that it would be too hard for anyone or are notContinue reading When it comes to politics it’s better to under-promise and over-deliver
A certain PM once argued we should be tough on crime and tough on the causes of crime. We are currently losing that battle while being encouraged to believe that it’s all too hard and involves difficult choices. I was surprised, while taking part in a recent research interview, to be asked what was moreContinue reading Realistic rehabilitation for offenders is a must
I got short shrift from the Prime Minister on Monday for daring to ask him to his face what so many of his own MPs are saying behind his back. I asked him if he should quit. Actually, I asked him if he’d thought of making way for someone with a skillset, better suited to getting us through this crisis. This is the kind of situation that should bring people together but that’s not how it’s comingContinue reading Cometh the hour, cometh the man – we’ve got the wrong man for this situation
