David Pinto-Duschinsky MP: speeches

Speeches

• 10 Sept 2026 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  Fly-tipping and littering are a blight on our communities. That is why I am proud of amazing organisations like the Friends of the Welsh Harp, the Friends of Heybourne Park and the Burnt Oak Nepalese community as well as the litter pickers at St Mary’s and many more for the work they do to keep Hendon looking its best. I am working with them to hold my next big Hendon litter pick on 25 October. Over 100 people attended the last one, and this one promises to be even bigger. Will my right hon. Friend join me in thanking all the selfless volunteers and brilliant organisations who keep Hendon tidy and encourage people to come along on the 25th? There is a high-vis and a bin bag with his name on it if he is free that day.

• 8 Sept 2026 · Safety of the Jewish Community · Hansard source

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  As we heard, we face perhaps the worst antisemitism crisis certainly of my lifetime on the streets, in people’s daily lives and online. I am Jewish, and when I go to synagogue at the end of this week to celebrate Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year, I will walk past security guards. That should never have to happen, but it is utterly normal for the Jewish community. We have seen a normalisation of hostility that has left many of my constituents wondering about their future in this country. Does the Minister agree that, exactly as my hon. Friend the Member for Stoke-on-Trent Central (Gareth Snell) said so clearly, it is not just a matter of building higher walls? We must be able to build a situation where Jewish people can live proud and open Jewish lives, free from fear. Does the Minister also agree that this is an all-of-society problem that requires an all-of-society response?

• 3 Sept 2026 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  On Christmas day last year, residents of Beaufort Park in Colindale in my constituency received an unwanted gift: their freeholders, the Berkeley Group, doubled their ground rent to £800, clearly trying to squeeze leaseholders for every penny before the Government rightly introduce the ground rent cap. It is simply unacceptable. I have written to the executive chair of the Berkeley Group and asked to meet so that we can discuss this rise, but either I have been fobbed off or my letters have gone unanswered. This clearly shows why the Government’s reforms and change to leasehold is so important. Will the Leader of the House join me in calling on Berkeley Homes to meet me, and will he allow for a debate in Government time so that we can discuss how to hold unresponsive freeholders to account?

• 16 Jul 2026 · Sir David Amess Summer Adjournment · Hansard source

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  This debate is named for Sir David Amess, and I think it is an important chance to honour the values of unity, community and tolerance that both Sir David and our much-missed colleague Jo Cox stood for so strongly. I also want to echo hon. Members in commemorating Ann Widdecombe, which is why I want to use this speech to briefly highlight an appalling hatred that is spreading and urge this House to unite in action against it. Like many in this House, I was appalled to hear of the terrorist plot against the Ijtima festival, and I am grateful to the police for their rapid action. As the Home Secretary has said, their decisive enforcement undoubtedly saved lives. That Muslims were targeted is despicable, but it is not, unfortunately, unusual. Just yesterday, an individual was charged with plotting attacks on multiple mosques. Anti-Muslim hate crimes are now at record levels. British Muslims, including my friends and neighbours in Hendon, are regularly subjected to a barrage of abuse, vilification and even violence. This hate is becoming normalised online, on our streets and, shamefully, by some Members of this House. We have seen mosques attacked in Peacehaven and other places, and in Edinburgh we saw where this all leads, with Muslims viciously attacked for no other reason than that they are Muslim. Let us be clear: these attacks are an affront to all we hold dear as a country. This hatred is an assault on British values, and it is the job of all of us to confront it and to defeat it wherever it is found. In Hendon, we are blessed with a vibrant Muslim community and strong community institutions, including a number of mosques. They contribute so much to our area, but they are understandably worried. I welcome the action that the Government are taking to protect our Muslim community. Continuing action is essential so that our Muslim citizens can live free and safe as they practise their faith and go about their daily lives. That means continuing to take measures such as investing in protecting our Muslim community. It also means tackling the root causes of anti-Muslim hatred and the language and attitudes that allow it to spread, including in this House. I hope that is a cause we can all get behind. As we go into recess, I can think of no better way to honour the tolerance and British values that Sir David stood for. I would like to finish by wishing every Member of the House a very happy summer recess, and by thanking our brilliant staff, particularly Godfrey, Margaret and Richard, for all they do.

• 24 Jun 2026 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  Q4. My Hendon constituency is proud to sit at the heart of the UK’s largest Jewish community in the London borough of Barnet, but today many of my constituents and many from that community are living in fear. In north-west London in recent months, we have seen Jewish charities firebombed, synagogues attacked and Jewish people stabbed in the street, and all that against the backdrop of a daily drumbeat of abuse and intimidation. I know that everyone on the Government Benches is determined to defeat that despicable hatred, and I welcome the actions that the Government are taking to root out the poison of antisemitism. Can the Prime Minister tell the House what the Government are doing not only to protect the Jewish community in Hendon and Barnet, but to ensure that they—we—can live full and proud Jewish lives, free from fear?

• 14 May 2026 · National Security · Hansard source

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  I thank the Minister for his statement. As Members of the House will be all too painfully aware, our Jewish community in north-west London, including in my constituency, has been subject to repeated despicable antisemitic attacks in past weeks. Our Iranian community has also been attacked. In my constituency, I also have many members of the Hong Kong community, who live under the shadow of transnational repression. Given that context, I warmly welcome the Government’s announcement in the King’s Speech of fast-tracked legislation to deal with hostile state threats. Can the Minister share more details of the timetable, so that we can get that welcome and essential piece of legislation on the statute book as quickly as possible?

• 28 Apr 2026 · Referral of Prime Minister to Committee of Privileges · Hansard source

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  No, I will make some progress. What is more, this Government are undertaking an extensive release of documents in the interests of transparency and out of respect for this House. Ministers have updated us on the progress with the Humble Address. On top of that, the Foreign Affairs Committee is holding hearings. Alongside that, the Government have already strengthened the processes around national security vetting and senior appointments. So I ask again: what is the real substance here? We are not uncovering new facts. In fact, the Conservatives’ argument has changed time and again, as my hon. Friend the Member for Cardiff West (Mr Barros-Curtis) so eloquently pointed out. What we are seeing is lots of throwing mud in the hope that some of it will stick. The Conservatives are speaking not in the public interest, but in service of political opportunism.

• 28 Apr 2026 · Referral of Prime Minister to Committee of Privileges · Hansard source

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  Appointing Peter Mandelson was wrong, and, as with any debate on this subject, we should start by acknowledging the suffering of Jeffrey Epstein’s victims. They have my full solidarity. However, I have listened closely to what has been said by Opposition Members during the debate, and I think we need to call their behaviour what it is: political game playing of the lowest order. Politics is a circus for the Opposition. They thrive on the use of politics as a soap opera, because it is all they know. That is why the public grew so heartily sick of them, and it is precisely why so many of their former colleagues no longer sit on their Benches. Just weeks ago, their leader showed a catastrophic failure of leadership in calling for this country to rush to war. When she spoke then, she had no underlying strategy, and she did not focus on what was right for the country. Clearly she has learned nothing from that. Her cynicism becomes clear now, when we peel back the rhetoric and expose the lack of substance behind her arguments. Peter Mandelson was dismissed last September, and rightly so. The Prime Minister has already acknowledged that his appointment was a mistake. Senior civil servants, including Olly Robbins, Chris Wormald and Cat Little, have all made it clear that due process was followed in that appointment. Olly Robbins has said that no one from No. 10 ever spoke to him or messaged him to apply pressure, and Philip Barton has today confirmed that there was no pressure on the substance of the vetting. I want to deal directly with the sequence of vetting. I have been through developed vetting. I have been through security vetting numerous times, and it is completely standard procedure to make offers of jobs contingent on passing security. On this point, as on other points, there is simply no case to answer.

• 28 Apr 2026 · Referral of Prime Minister to Committee of Privileges · Hansard source

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  I will wind up. We were elected with a mandate to deliver change, and that is exactly what we will do. The Conservative party is trying to distract from that fact, but it will not work.

• 28 Apr 2026 · Referral of Prime Minister to Committee of Privileges · Hansard source

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  No. The Conservatives are demeaning and diminishing an important parliamentary process. Our disciplinary processes are serious, and they should not be used for political point scoring. A Committee of Privileges investigation would not bring further clarity; it would only create a long, costly and wholly unnecessary duplication of processes that are either completed or already under way. It is a distraction, and I guess that is why the Conservatives want it. It is a stunt, and that is why I will vote against it. Under the previous Government, this House was treated with contempt. Standards were bent and procedures were torn apart to protect those in power, with the support of many Conservative Members. We are entitled to ask: why do they raise this matter now? Well, it is because there is an election in a few days’ time, but it is also because they fundamentally cannot accept the change that this Government are delivering. They cannot accept that we are investing in public services that they ran into the ground.

• 20 Apr 2026 · Antisemitic Attacks · Hansard source

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  On Saturday, my constituents awoke to the news of a despicable antisemitic attack at the heart of our community, at the former headquarters of Jewish Futures on Hendon Way. As the Minister said, this is not an isolated incident; we have seen the abhorrent attacks on Hatzola just a mile down the road in Golders Green, and on Finchley Reform and Kenton United synagogues, both nearby. Many of my constituents face discrimination and abuse every single day for no other reason than that they are Jewish. I am working intensively with the police and I am grateful for all they are doing, but, as the Prime Minister has said, we must not just ensure that our Jewish community is safe; we must ensure that Jewish people in Hendon and across the whole country are able to live full and proud Jewish lives, free from fear. Will the Minister share more about what additional measures are being taken both to protect the community in the wake of these despicable attacks and to ensure that the Jewish members of my community are not forced to live smaller Jewish lives?

• 23 Mar 2026 · Hatzola Ambulance Attack · Hansard source

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  I thank the Minister for his statement, and I echo his thanks to the police and the other emergency services. This antisemitic attack happened only a few hundred metres from my Hendon constituency. So many people in my community, Jewish and non-Jewish alike, rely on the work of the selfless volunteers of Hatzola in both Golders Green and Edgware. It has been my honour to visit Hatzola Edgware on a number of occasions. This is not just an attack on our Jewish community, despicable though that is; it is an attack on Britain and on our core values. It was good to meet the Prime Minister earlier today with community leaders to discuss what can be done to defeat this tide of antisemitism. Can the Minister give more information to the House on what is being done to co-ordinate between the police and community organisations to give the reassurance that my community so desperately wants?

• 12 Mar 2026 · Job Creation · Hansard source

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  I thank the Secretary of State for his answer. Communities like mine in Hendon were let down by 14 years of economic instability and the lack of a strategic approach to driving growth under the Conservative party. Will the Secretary of State set out how our modern industrial strategy will help to accelerate growth in places like Hendon?

• 12 Mar 2026 · Job Creation · Hansard source

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  5. What steps he is taking to support the creation of well-paid jobs.

• 11 Mar 2026 · Protest Policing · Hansard source

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  The al-Quds Day march, glorifying a despicable, blood-soaked regime, has long been a cause of great concern to my constituents in Hendon. That is why I wrote to the commissioner of the Met asking for the march to be banned, and why I thank the Home Secretary for her resolute action today. However, the threat posed by the Iranian regime to our Jewish community has not ended. Following the arrest of four men for allegedly spying on our Jewish community on behalf of the Iranian regime, what steps have been taken to keep our Jewish community safe?

• 11 Feb 2026 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  Q12. Our democracy, in this House, relies on the spoken word, but many with speech disabilities are left without a voice. I have a speech impediment, and so do 2 million adults and one in 12 children. It can rob people of their confidence, lead to discrimination and limit our opportunities in work and in public life. It is time to tear down those barriers. Will the Prime Minister share what this Government are doing to help people with speech disabilities to get the support they need, so that their voices can be heard?

• 26 Jan 2026 · Police Reform White Paper · Hansard source

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  I welcome the Home Secretary’s statement. I know from my time working at the Home Office that, for some time now, the structure of policing has not been fit for the future. The threat that crime poses has evolved; our police must do so too. The Home Secretary’s reforms will help to deal with the most sophisticated crimes, but could she explain to my constituents how they will be a win for tackling local crime and support operations like “clear, hold, build” in Colindale, which has massively reduced crime in that area?

• 19 Jan 2026 · Iran: Protests · Hansard source

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  I share the Minister’s horror at the brutal repression we have seen in Iran. Hendon is home to a large and vibrant Iranian community, and we are all horrified beyond words to see the savage, murderous violence being meted out by the Iranian regime to protesters. Is it not the reality that even when there are not protests in the street, the regime is engaged in industrial levels of violence against its own people? Executions in Iran more than doubled in the last year alone. Does the Minister agree that we must keep up the pressure on the Iranian regime to end this barbarity once and for all, and to let the Iranian people exercise their fundamental rights?

• 14 Jan 2026 · West Midlands Police · Hansard source

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  I welcome the Home Secretary’s statement. The picture Sir Andy paints of serious failings in the West Midlands police is utterly shocking, and the Home Secretary is completely right to withdraw confidence. Given the huge damage this saga has caused, what does the Home Secretary think can be done to ensure something like this never happens again?

• 8 Jan 2026 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  Mill Hill Broadway is Barnet’s busiest station, but its steep flight of stairs means that people with mobility issues struggle to use it. Sadly, its lack of accessibility has already had tragic consequences: Priscilla Tropp died after falling at the station. Step-free access at Mill Hill Broadway is essential. The previous Government promised to install lifts at the station but failed to deliver time and time again. Under this Government, progress is finally being made and detailed designs are being worked up. I urge the Department for Transport to give final approval once the design phase is complete. Will the Leader of the House make time available for a debate on the importance of making our transport network more accessible?

• 10 Dec 2025 · Conduct of the Chancellor of the Exchequer · Hansard source

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  Will the right hon. Member give way?

• 10 Dec 2025 · Conduct of the Chancellor of the Exchequer · Hansard source

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  I want to help out the right hon. Gentleman, because he seems a bit confused. On his party’s watch, the debt service exceeded £100 billion. When it took over, the debt service was only £30 billion, so his party tripled it. Will he apologise for mortgaging our children’s future as a result of the Conservative party’s inability to manage the public finances?

• 10 Dec 2025 · Conduct of the Chancellor of the Exchequer · Hansard source

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  Will the right hon. Member give way?

• 8 Dec 2025 · Employment Rights Bill · Hansard source

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  Will the hon. Member acknowledge that employment under this Labour Government is higher than it was under the last Conservative Government, with an average of 75%? Will he therefore apologise for his comments?

• 8 Dec 2025 · Employment Rights Bill · Hansard source

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