Marsha De Cordova MP: speeches

Speeches

• 3 Jul 2025 · Christians in the Occupied Palestinian Territories · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for his important question. There is no safe space for children in Gaza, where we know that over 56,000 people have lost their lives, including more than 17,000 children. The Church has rightly condemned the attacks on hospitals and civilians, but we can certainly do more and the Church must do more. The Church must continue to be a voice for the voiceless, and Gazan children are the voiceless. I encourage the Government to enable medical evacuations, heed calls for the creation of a Gaza family visa scheme and take concrete steps to ensure Israel allows vital medical aid into Gaza.

• 3 Jul 2025 · Christians in the Occupied Palestinian Territories · Hansard source

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  I thank the Father of the House for his question. He is absolutely right: the attacks that took place in Taybeh last week were outrageous and should not have been allowed to happen. If we are all going to be the hands and feet of Jesus, we have to speak out when we see such atrocities happen. We must be a voice for the voiceless. I hear him when he says that the Church must speak out every day against what is happening in Gaza, and indeed across the whole occupied territories.

• 3 Jul 2025 · Poverty · Hansard source

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  Churches and all our faith communities make a powerful difference in the lives of all our constituents every single day, and Church of England parishes provide more than 31,000 social action projects in church schools and educate millions of children each day. Parish initiatives include food banks, credit unions, warm spaces, school clubs and other forms of family support.

• 3 Jul 2025 · Poverty · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend makes an important point. Everyone has a responsibility to tackle child poverty, and we should all commend and thank the Church for the role it has played in this space. I know that the Bishop of Derby hosted Baroness Sherlock, the child poverty unit and colleagues for a roundtable, where many issues were discussed.

• 3 Jul 2025 · Poverty · Hansard source

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  No decision has been taken on that. When the board of governors and the Church of Commissioners make that decision, they will follow the right processes to do so.

• 3 Jul 2025 · Community Cohesion · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for asking two really important questions. I congratulate the Rev. Canon Jenny Gray on her retirement. Her exemplary service to the community was recognised by the diocese in 2023, when she was made an honorary canon of the cathedral. On metal theft, my hon. Friend is absolutely right that it is criminal and antisocial, and it causes real harm. The Church has been doing a lot of work on this since 2013, and I am happy to write to him to set out that work in more detail.

• 3 Jul 2025 · Community Cohesion · Hansard source

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  I pay tribute to the social cohesion work happening in my hon. Friend’s constituency. I would just highlight that bishops and church officials have been in discussion with the Minister for Faith in the other place on community cohesion issues. The Church did write to the Prime Minister following the publication of the White Paper to call for a more holistic integration strategy, and this has also been raised in meetings. I commend all our church and faith organisations that came together during the riots last summer, and demonstrated how we can work collaboratively across all our communities.

• 3 Jul 2025 · Community Cohesion · Hansard source

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  I congratulate the hon. Member and those in his constituency on the work taking place on that really important issue.

• 3 Jul 2025 · Community Cohesion · Hansard source

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  Through the parish system, the Church of England has a presence in every community. Long-term relationships are vital for building trust and understanding in all our communities, and the Church has worked closely with faith organisations, local authorities, the police and so forth—all in aid of building better relations.

• 1 Jul 2025 · Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill · Hansard source

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  The social security system should be there as a safety net for those most in need—those who are vulnerable, disabled or have ill health—but after 14 years of the Conservatives, it has been left with gaping holes. Disabled people were the ones who suffered the most harm under previous Conservative Governments as well as under their coalition partners, the Liberal Democrats. We all know that many disabled people suffered. Indeed, the DWP found that between 2014 and 2020 there were 69 process reviews—for those who do not know, those reviews happen when claimants have committed suicide. The National Audit Office found that in fact the number was probably higher. Just a few weeks ago, the second coroner’s inquest into the death of Jodey Whiting found that the DWP’s failings precipitated her death. I set that out because it is important that we understand that disabled people’s lives have not been valued or respected for the last 14 years. Then, five years ago, when the pandemic hit, we all know that nearly two thirds of those who lost their lives had either a long-term condition, a disability or ill health. We also know that blanket applications of “do not attempt resuscitation” orders were placed on many. Indeed, Mencap found, and showed in its evidence on that issue, that that was happening to those with a learning disability. When the Government rightly put in place financial support such as the furlough scheme and the £20 uplift to universal credit, again, disabled people on legacy benefits did not attract that support. It is therefore fair to say that disabled people were hammered; in short, our lives were not valued. In 2009, under the last Labour Government, we signed the UN convention on the rights of persons with disabilities. The coalition Government then came in in 2010 and rather than supporting and implementing that, became the first nation state to be investigated for the way in which they treated disabled people through their welfare reforms. What was found? Grave and systematic violations of the rights of disabled people—and just last year, the update to that review said that there were no significant improvements. That was the record of the last Conservative Government, so we take no lessons from them. Universal credit and personal independence payment are there as an income-replacement benefit. When we talk about UC and personal independence payment, they are not an out-of-work benefit, and people need to understand that. This is about an extra cost benefit that is there to help those who have a disability and need that additional support. I come to the Bill, which still includes billions of pounds’ worth of cuts that will have a significant and negative impact on tens of thousands of disabled people. We know that it will potentially create a two-tier—and possibly three-tier—system. It is not me saying that, but the experts—the many organisations that provided Members from across this House with briefings. Imposing that four-point descriptor will mean that many will not be able to get support. If someone like me, who has sight loss, loses their sight in two years’ time, they would potentially not get the support they need. That is unfair and unjust. It is vital that this Government wait for the OBR’s analysis. The proposals were not developed in consultation with disabled people, nor with us as Members of Parliament. Indeed, the Government’s own impact assessment shows that up to 150,000 people will be affected by the changes, although it will be more than that according to analysis by NEF and many others. I respect the Minister for Social Security and Disability, my right hon. Friend the Member for East Ham (Sir Stephen Timms), so I urge the Government to please let us have his review, let us all feed into it and let it be co-produced with disabled people. Let us also wait for Sir Charlie Mayfield’s findings from his Getting Britain Working review. I have met him and I am excited by his work. I welcome some of the other proposals from the Government in their “Pathways to Work” Green Paper on the right to try. That is so important, because I strongly believe that disabled people who want to work should be given the support that they need. Yet we all know that there are far too many challenges in that space. I stand here as somebody who lives with a disability and as somebody who has served as a shadow Minister for Disabled People for many years. I know their lived experience. It is vital that they are at the centre of all the reforms. We cannot rush through these plans and changes as they will lead to a negative impact. We do not want to see this progressive Labour Government, who want to bring about change, break down barriers and create opportunities for people, end up leaving disabled people worse off.

• 30 Jun 2025 · Welfare Reform · Hansard source

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  I thank the Secretary of State for her statement. It is vital for us to have a social security system that protects the most vulnerable, the ill and the disabled, so will she clarify one provision in the Bill? Will both the standard element and the health element of universal credit rise in line with inflation? If that does not happen, disabled people will be pushed further into poverty and hardship.

• 24 Jun 2025 · Pious Projects’ Paediatric Hospital: Gaza · Hansard source

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  The al-Ahli hospital in Gaza, which is run by the Anglican church in Jerusalem, has repeatedly been bombed. Earlier this month the hospital compound was hit, killing five people, including a father escorting his son to surgery. The Minister has spoken much about the need for aid to get in, but will he set out what concrete action he is going to take now? Saying that Israel must do something does not mean that it is going to act, so what action he is going to take to ensure that the attacks on hospitals, medics and patients ends?

• 13 Jun 2025 · Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill · Hansard source

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  I rise to speak to amendment 27, which would require the doses and types of lethal drugs to be properly licensed by the MHRA. It is important that I put it on the record that I do not think the Bill is safe. It does not provide adequate safeguards. Most importantly, it will deepen and exacerbate inequalities. On that, I know that I speak for tens of thousands of disabled people who rightly say, “We need assistance to live, not to die.” Throughout the passage of the Bill, hon. Members across the House have received many letters and briefings from leading experts, including this week a letter from over 1,000 doctors across all areas of medical practice expressing their clear view that the Bill does not provide answers on how we can improve management of the end of people’s lives. They said that the drugs expected to be used in assisted deaths should undergo rigorous testing and approval, as would be required for any other prescribed medication. Those requirements are missing from the Bill. Indeed, there is nothing in the Bill requiring lethal drugs to be regulated by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency. That is contrary to good medical practice. Many of us will have heard that in Oregon, complications with drugs used for assisted dying occurred in about 7% of deaths and included vomiting, seizures and prolonged deaths of up to 137 hours. Where is the requirement in the Bill to inform patients about how those risks, including prolonged dying, might be managed? Where is the plan to identify the most acceptable medications? If they have not already done so, I urge hon. Members to consider this letter, signed by many leading experts. If we do not listen to them—the very people who would have to implement the Bill—who will we listen to?

• 13 Jun 2025 · Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill · Hansard source

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  I will not take any interventions. It is clear that the Bill does not protect vulnerable patients from coercion. In 2021, the UN’s human rights experts raised concerns that, even if assisted dying is restricted to those with terminal illness, disabled and older people may feel subtly pressured to end their lives due to social attitudes and lack of appropriate services and support. Across the House, we know that support for disabled and older people is inadequate. We know that disabled people continue to face disproportionate levels of poverty, isolation and hardship. Until that changes, I urge every Member to think and not vote for the Bill.

• 10 Jun 2025 · Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories · Hansard source

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  In relation to sanctions.

• 10 Jun 2025 · Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories · Hansard source

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  The sanctions imposed on the two Israeli Ministers are long overdue, but a welcome first step. I continue to ask the Minister and the Foreign Secretary: why are we still arming Israel, when will we impose an arms embargo and when will we ban goods from settlements? Finally—the Minister has already alluded to this—the conference on the two-state solution in New York next week is a crucial moment in the recognition of a Palestinian state. The Minister has the opportunity at this Dispatch Box to share with the House that the UK Government are committed to recognising Palestinian statehood. Will he do so?

• 9 Jun 2025 · Planning and Infrastructure Bill · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend is making a powerful speech, and she touches on developers. My new clause 67 focuses on developers’ obligations when they have committed, at the planning application stage, to deliver a certain number of affordable homes. Under my new clause, they would have to stick to that. They should not be given scope to use issues around viability or profitability to reduce the number of affordable homes that they deliver. Does she agree that that option should not be open to developers if they want to build homes?

• 3 Jun 2025 · Victims of Domestic Abuse and Violence · Hansard source

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  In April, the Metropolitan Police Commissioner warned that without additional funding, London will see a sustained increase in violence against women and girls. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has been working tirelessly to fix the broken system left by the Conservatives, but if we do not get that support in London, women will go unprotected. Will she commit to working with colleagues in the Home Office and the Treasury to ensure that the Met can keep women safe in my constituency and across London?

• 3 Jun 2025 · Victims of Domestic Abuse and Violence · Hansard source

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  19. What steps her Department is taking to support victims of domestic abuse.

• 2 Jun 2025 · Bus Services (No. 2) Bill [Lords] · Hansard source

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  I thank the Secretary of State for the work that she is doing in this regard. I am pleased to hear that the Bill requires guidance to be produced to enable authorities to make floating bus stops safe and accessible, but many blind and partially sighted people, including me, have experienced problems with them. Could a proper assessment of their safety be carried out to ensure that no passenger who uses a bus, whether it is to go to work or to attend a health appointment, will experience the challenges that so many people currently experience when trying to navigate them?

• 2 Jun 2025 · Gaza: UK Nationals Visa Scheme · Hansard source

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  5. What assessment she has made of the potential merits of creating a visa scheme for people in Gaza related to UK nationals.

• 2 Jun 2025 · Gaza: UK Nationals Visa Scheme · Hansard source

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  The situation in Gaza is beyond devastating. More than 54,000 lives have been lost. Hospitals are being bombed, people are being tortured and starvation is being used as a weapon of war. Palestinians in the UK are rightly scared that they may not see their mother, father, brother or sister survive these atrocities. The Government rightly responded to the war in Ukraine by offering a family visa scheme, so that Ukrainians could travel here to join their family. Is it not time for a similar scheme—a Gaza family scheme that offers the same solidarity and respect for life?

• 22 May 2025 · Same-sex couples: Church Blessing Services · Hansard source

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  I am sure my hon. Friend will understand why I cannot comment on who the next Archbishop should be. The process is well under way, and I am sure that hon. Members will join me in holding them in prayer as they go about this important work. This issue affects many people, and people have deep feelings about it. If the House of Bishops approves the proposals to enable prayers of love and faith in stand-alone services, the business committee of the General Synod could timetable this issue for a debate in February 2026.

• 22 May 2025 · Same-sex couples: Church Blessing Services · Hansard source

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  A proposal to enable churches to opt in to the use of prayers of love and faith in stand-alone services is out for consultation and will come back to the House of Bishops in October.

• 22 May 2025 · Leasehold: Value for Money · Hansard source

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  I commend my hon. Friend for all the work she is doing on this important issue, which affects many constituencies, and it was a pleasure to meet her and members of that residents association. We all know that many managing agents behave in ways that are not fit for purpose. It is absolutely right that we need legislation to deal with unscrupulous managing agents, because things cannot continue in the current vein. I thank her for all the work she is doing.