Being ‘different’ is something that many of us wrapped in brown or black skin were very aware of in the 1970s and 1980s. ‘P*** bashing’, being called a ‘w**’ and even being the subject of physical assaults in school playgrounds was run-of-the-mill stuff back then. Thankfully – in the main[…]
In 2015, the Independent Airport’s Commission (led by Sir Howard Davies) concluded that, by 2060, a new runway at Heathrow would create £147 billion for the UK economy. For the past seven years, my organization has been pushing for Heathrow’s expansion, to deliver the private sector-led investment Britain needs for[…]
Labour’s roots will always lie in Britain’s manufacturing heartlands. But as we learnt from the 2019 General Election, we lost our way in representing these communities. After 13 years of Tory rule, Britain now heavily relies on imports to support critical industries; like steel and energy, instead of producing goods[…]
Chapter 27 of my book (My Political Race) Bonfire Night 2002 and the Tory Party was almost ablaze. Iain Duncan Smith (IDS), their leader (yes, he really was, you didn’t imagine it), announced that his party must ‘unite or die’. The latest split was over gay adoption. IDS was trying[…]
Returning to the running machine at the gym after the excesses of Christmas was a bigger challenge than usual for me this year. I had mistakenly assumed that with a few days break that nagging pain in my right knee would just disappear, and I’d be able to get back[…]
I have a confession to make. I was the planning minister that helped take the 2008 Planning Act through parliament – an Act that was designed to speed up development of national infrastructure projects. As you can see, it has had only limited success. We haven’t built a new runway[…]
The NHS has benefitted from having a diverse workforce over the past 70 years. That’s something for is all to be proud of. But diversity isn’t just about race, faith, gender or sexuality. There are many types of diversity that help to make our public services better. The importance of[…]
I’ve had many roles in my life. One of my favourite was as Minister for Faith Communities in 2008, a role I held as a Minister in the Department for Communities and Local Government. It wasn’t the title I fell in love with, but the role, including the challenges. I[…]
In June 2018 the proposed new runway project at Heathrow achieved outline planning consent, through its Parliamentary majority of 296 in a vote of MPs. It is set to be the biggest privately funded infrastructure project in the world. However, there are still many hoops it must jump through before[…]
From feedback, this is one of the most popular chapters of my recent book (My Political Race). I hope you enjoy Chapter 8, about Steve Pound MP’s count in Ealing North, 1997. *** Chapter 8 1 May 1997 – A New Dawn I rang Terry Ashton. He was my big[…]