Marsha De Cordova MP: speeches

Speeches

• 3 Sept 2026 · Project Spire · Hansard source

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  I want to take this opportunity to make it clear that Project Spire is being funded out of the commissioners’ own income. None of the money given in parish collections goes towards funding the project. It is also worth pointing out that, over the next three years, the commissioners are distributing £1.6 billion to provide record levels of support for Church ministry and mission across England. It is my sincere hope that Project Spire delivers exactly what the hon. Member points to: a sense of belonging in the Church for future generations. I also highlight the words shared by the Archbishop of Canterbury in her historic visit to the Cape Coast Castle in Ghana, which I too have visited. She said: “I pray not only in lament for the Church’s involvement in the slave trade, but also for hope—hope that the God of healing can bring justice and reconciliation to all who are still impacted by its legacy.”

• 3 Sept 2026 · Community Cohesion · Hansard source

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  I congratulate my hon. Friend on the work that she is doing in her constituency on bringing our communities together. She rightly points out that the Church has a key role to play in drawing our communities together—both to protect them, and for peace and social justice. The Church supports the work of the Church Urban Fund and Near Neighbours, whose central aim is to promote interfaith understanding and stronger community cohesion. As I mentioned in my previous answer, the Church has established a working group with the bishops to promote community cohesion in response to some of the deepening political polarisation. I hope to provide an update on that work in due course.

• 3 Sept 2026 · Christian Nationalism · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend is spot on. He raises a really important issue, and I completely share his concerns about the misuse of Christian ideology. Church representatives are discussing and sharing their experiences of Christian nationalism with partners and churches across the nations of the United Kingdom, including the Church of Scotland. We all know that, throughout the Bible, we are called to learn to do right, seek justice, defend the oppressed, take up the cause of the fatherless and plead the case of the widow. When we think about and reflect on the Bible, we see that the greatest commandment of all is to love the Lord our God with all our hearts, but also to love our neighbour as ourselves. The people mentioned by my hon. Friend are neither patriots nor Christians, and they display little or no understanding of the faith that they profess to support.