Former Northfield MP announces he won’t stand again

Former Northfield Labour MP Richard Burden, has announced that he will not seek nomination for re-election.

Mr Burden served as Northfield’s MP for 27 years until being narrowly defeated by Conservative Gary Sambrook in the 2019 election.

Yesterday, he released a statement on his social media expressing his intention and backing current Kings Norton North councillor Alex Aitken in his bid to be selected as the party’s new parliamentary candidate.

Richard Burden’s statement in full:

“I was humbled by the kind words I received from residents when knocking
on doors in the recent local elections. Lots of people told me how much
they want Northfield to have a Labour MP again, and they urged me to
re-stand for Parliament when the next General Election comes.
It was the privilege of my life to represent my local community in
Parliament for 27 years. I want to thank everyone for the support I received
over the years and I really appreciate the warmth which local people
continue to show me.

But there comes a time when it feels right to pass the baton to someone
else. For me, that time is now. So today I am announcing that / will not
seek selection to be Labour’s candidate next time.
I will, of course, continue to work to help Labour win my home
constituency once again and to defeat the Conservative Government that
treats the British people with such contempt.

There are a lot of talented people who are seeking nomination as Labour
candidate for Birmingham Northfield. All of them have strengths that
would be assets to this area. When I come to cast my vote as a local
Labour member, however, I will be backing Kings Norton Councillor, Alex
Aitken.

I have known and worked closely with Alex for years. He has lived all his
life in our area, and he is Northfield through and through. As a Councillor,
he has proved himself to be a hard-working and effective advocate for
local people whose confidence in him was demonstrated when he
increased his majority fourfold.

There is also real depth to Alex’s politics, informed by his own life
experience. He is pragmatic when circumstances demand it, but he
always remains true to the principles that brought him into the Labour
Party in the first place. I believe those qualities are vitally important in an
MP.

Alex is the genuine article, and I will be proud for him to represent me as
my home MP.”