Commons Chamber

Thursday 12th March 2026

(began 4 weeks, 2 days ago)

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Sarah Olney Portrait Sarah Olney MP (Richmond Park, Liberal Democrat)
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people. Since the Budget in October 2024, 110,000 jobs have been lost in the hospitality sector, 74,000 in retail and 700,000 graduates are currently unemployed. Youth unemployment has just hit 16%. So what impact assessment has the government undertaken of the impact on job creation due to their proposed changes to indefinite leave to remain? And what conversations has the Minister had with the Home Secretary regarding this damaging disincentive to those looking to build their businesses

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and create jobs here in the UK? So I'm afraid, Mr. Speaker, that she describes the world as it is in the doom laden Lib Dem world in which she must inhabit, but not the real world that's inhabited by real world that's inhabited by entrepreneurs and businesses right around the country. The reality is, around the country. The reality is, in the real world, that the 381,000 more people are in work because of this Labour government. Since the this Labour government.

Since the start of 2025. She may have missed that. My department, under my leadership and this team, have set up the Global Talent Taskforce in the Department of Business and Trade, accompanied by a global Trade, accompanied by a global talent visa. We are out there around the world hunting down the best talent, attracting them to the best talent, attracting them to the UK, aligning it with investment, making this the best place to invest, to scale, to grow, to scale invest, to scale, to grow, to scale a business anywhere in the world.
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Kate Dearden Portrait Kate Dearden MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Halifax, Labour )
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whether it is providing those full training costs for young apprentices, 16 to 21 to employers apprentices, 16 to 21 to employers are not required to pay National Insurance contributions for all apprentices under the age of 25. I apprentices under the age of 25. I would say that under their watch, under the previous government, the number of youth apprenticeships cut number of youth apprenticeships cut by 40% and the previous government presided over a massive increase in young people not in education, employment and training. So whilst employment and training.

So whilst I recognise what we are working with, we do want to provide those opportunities for young people. We will not leave an entire generation of young people behind and that's something I and £20 million Youth Guarantee and so much more to provide that employment support and give them a guaranteed job and recognise the sector is vital.

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Mr Speaker six hospitality. Venues are. Closing every single day under this government, and if the this government, and if the government actually asks the sector why that is, they'll tell you. They'll tell the government it's They'll tell the government it's because the jobs killing national insurance tax rises. That is literally a tax on jobs, as well as the red tape and additional costs of the Employment Rights Act. So when is the government finally going to realise, Mr. Speaker, that going to realise, Mr.

Speaker, that these job losses and business closures are not happening despite the work of the government? They're happening because of.
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Vikki Slade Portrait Vikki Slade MP (Mid Dorset and North Poole, Liberal Democrat)
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Vikki Slade Mr Speaker. >> Vikki Slade Mr Speaker. >> Sector needing urgent attention here is road haulage, moving goods, but also people across Europe in but also people across Europe in tourism, education but importantly film, TV, sport and music. My constituent Kamran works mainly in the music sector, supporting European tours and festivals, but he tells me the 9180 rule is leading to cancelled events and job losses, with some firms only employing dual nationals or using European firms rather than British ones, or flying drivers home to swap out on these longer journeys, avoiding breaching the rules.

So although the rules have existed since 2021, as the Minister told me, they have not been fully enforced. So as part of the UK EU reset, really look at finding a way to help professional drivers keep the

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show on the road. So I'm. Very grateful. She does point to one of the areas where the Brexit one of the areas where the Brexit deal negotiated by the other. The Conservative Party let down Britain.

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It is part of the negotiations. We are aware of these issues and we will see what we can do for these sectors into the future. Chelmsford thank.

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Chelmsford thank. You very much, Mr. Speaker. I've heard from so many businesses in Wokingham who have suffered Wokingham who have suffered post-Brexit with masses of red tape limiting their exports, losing key trade relationships in Europe has meant many local businesses have seen their profits evaporate. So what is the government doing to develop and strengthen trade with Europe, so businesses in Wokingham Europe, so businesses in Wokingham can start to grow again? Agreeing a bespoke customs union would be a really good start.

Yeah. really good start. Yeah.
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None Portrait Topical questions: Business and Trade
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for British made steel. We are making highly significant
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None Portrait Speaker's statement Mr Speaker
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lobbies. This Parliament is meant to be respected around the world and should set an example of good behaviour. The behaviour in the lobby last night, involving a group of about half a government, half a dozen government members, including the chief and deputy chief whip, was totally unacceptable. I expect better from hon. Members and right hon. Members. If members are asked to move swiftly through the lobbies, they must do the fact it took 22 minutes to get a vote through is beyond the pale.

I cannot believe the behaviour. It is absolutely not going to be accepted. The sergeant lost his authority because MP said I am not moving, pretending to be ill. By 7:00 they were suddenly well again. If we think that this gives us good standing in the world, it doesn't. It is appalling. We should be ashamed, and I hope that I will be getting letters from the people who were involved in that protest. If the government can't manage the business, they maybe they ought to go on a training exercise rather than disrupting the rules of the House.



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Yeah, yeah. So I say I expect better from honourable right hon. Members, if honourable right hon. Members, if members are asked to move swiftly, they must move and respect the sergeant. There are other ways in sergeant. There are other ways in which the government whips can manage timings of business in the chamber. It is this respectful to chamber. It is this respectful to this House, to the occupant of the chair. The deputy was put in impossible position, and to the impossible position, and to the office of the Sergeant at Arms to behave in the way that they did.

Members, as I say, involved, should be ashamed. I will now call the shadow leader for business

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questions. Jesse Norman. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Will the Leader of the House

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Will the Leader of the House leader? Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The business for the week commencing business for the week commencing the 16th of March will include Monday the 16th of March, consideration of an allocation of consideration of an allocation of time motion followed by all stages of the Grenfell Tower Memorial expenditure Bill. Tuesday the 17th
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Jesse Norman Portrait Rt Hon Jesse Norman MP (Hereford and South Herefordshire, Conservative)
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Leader of the House was himself the Chief Whip. Let me join, if I may, Chief Whip. Let me join, if I may, the Prime Minister yesterday, and I'm sure the whole House today, in I'm sure the whole House today, in remembering the dreadful events of 30 years ago in Dunblane and paying 30 years ago in Dunblane and paying tribute to the victims and their tribute to the victims and their families. On a happier note, last Monday saw the 250th anniversary of Adam Smith's immortal masterpiece, The Wealth of Nations.

I. Members may wish, if they like to consult, works by the shadow leader on this topic, I doubt. I doubt if any other book or any single body of thought has had more effect in improving the lives and livelihoods of people across the world. In the intervening 250 years. Mr. speaker, we celebrate the service of our armed forces, and we rightly treat defence matters wherever possible as bound by a united focus on the national interest. But it is precisely that focus on the national interest, which requires us now to acknowledge that the past two weeks have been a disaster for this country.

Our allies in the UAE, Bahrain, across the Gulf have criticised this country for its, quote, slow and weak response. To date, the Cypriot High Commissioner and the president of Cyprus have publicly expressed their disappointment and dissatisfaction. Why? Because we have exposed their people, our people, to drone attacks as targets, placed weapon systems on their territories, made solemn undertakings over many years to them, and now failed to come to their defence in time. It did not have to be this way, Mr.

Speaker. So we must ask how can this possibly have happened? Let us review the history. It was being publicly reported by January the 15th that America was starting to build a carrier strike force around the USS Abraham Lincoln, targeted at Iran on the 28th of January. I'm sorry, the 26th of January, the Washington Post reported that this force had arrived in the Middle East on the 31st of January. Our own Prime Minister himself told the BBC, and I quote, the aim is that Iran shouldn't be able to deliver nuclear weapons.

And I quote, again, we support the goal, and we are talking to allies about how we get to that goal. Those remarks come close to an explicit endorsement of the United States on this operation, as they were doubtless intended to. But the key point is this all this happened four full weeks before the start of the attack. Last week. At this Dispatch Box, I highlighted the gaps and inconsistencies in the government's position between its supposedly settled legal view and the last ditch political decision reportedly taken in Cabinet on the Friday before hostilities began and secondly, between the Cabinet and the Prime Minister, whose original instinct was to support the USA but who was overruled.

It is now clear that there has also been a disastrous failure of political leadership. The Prime Minister and the Cabinet knew, or should have known for a full month, that the USA was mustering a vast body of forces to attack Iran, that these could not remain on high readiness indefinitely, and so an attack must surely follow. The Prime Minister himself said last week that the government had pre-deployed some weapons to the region, yet he failed to give instructions in time to the Navy to prepare US dragon HMS Dragon.

He failed to notify the Cypriots and he failed to warn our allies and other friends across the region. Now that they are engaged, our armed forces are discharging their duties with distinction. But the result of this political incompetence has been a fiasco which brought shame and dishonour on this country. We have the disgraceful sight now of the government anonymously trashing the chief of the Defence Staff in a desperate attempt to deflect responsibility for its own inadequacies, not just via an anonymous leak in the Spectator reported in the Telegraph, but by a quoted but of course unnamed official to the Financial Times.

I cannot recall that a political hatchet job of this kind has ever been performed on a commanding officer in the course of a military operation. It is deeply dishonourable, and itself a further sign of failure in number ten. So I ask the leader these things, whether he would support an inquiry into these leaks and briefings, and whether he would support an investigation in due course as to how this embarrassing fiasco can have been allowed to happen, and what can be done to prevent it from ever happening again.



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Dear Leader. Mr. Speaker, and can I, first of

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Mr. Speaker, and can I, first of all respond to your words, Mr. Speaker, previously about the Speaker, previously about the events of last evening and endorse everything that you have said about the need to respect staff? That is absolutely correct that you should say that, and I absolutely endorse your remarks. And can I assure you,
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Alan Campbell Portrait Rt Hon Sir Alan Campbell MP, Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons (Tynemouth, Labour)
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your remarks. And can I assure you, Mr. Speaker, and the House that not only has the government heard your words, but they will be acted upon. May I also associate my myself with the remarks that the hon. Gentleman made about Dunblane? We do remember that tragedy, and I have to say, on a personal level, it is one of the proudest moments in my career when I voted for a handgun ban, because that has had that has made a difference to communities and the safety of our communities.

Mr. speaker, the events that are unfolding in Iran are deeply concerning, and I will turn to the specific remarks of the hon. Gentleman in a moment. But the events are deeply concerning, and our thoughts are with British citizens and our brave servicemen and women in the region. The security and safety of British citizens across the region is the government's top priority. The first government charter flight landed on Tuesday morning, with the second landing on Wednesday. We will continue to explore all options for helping our citizens return home swiftly and safely as possible.

Drop ins are being held for MPs with concerns and as I said last week, Mr. Speaker, should members face issues and are not able to get the support that they need for their constituents, I invite them to speak to my office and my officials, and we will help in any way that we can. This week, we've launched the Social Cohesion Action Plan, which sets out the steps the government is taking to improve social cohesion and protect what matters. We will invest in initiatives to which create opportunities for connection across backgrounds, and we will expand the Pride in Place program, which puts more communities at the heart of decision making in their own neighbourhoods.

And we will develop new tools and powers to safeguard organisations that spread extremism, hate and threaten public safety. It's also, Mr. Speaker, I think, correct to reflect on that. Last Sunday was Covid-19 day of reflection, an opportunity to come together to remember those that lost their lives and to honour the tireless work and acts of kindness shown by many during the pandemic. The government remains committed to learning the lessons needed from the Covid inquiry to protect and prepare us for the future.

And as a sign of that commitment, just last year, the government held the largest pandemic exercise in British history. Let me turn now to the remarks of the shadow leader and agree with him on the first point that he made, which is that it is incumbent in this House that parties work together in times of crisis, which we are facing. And I agree that a bipartisan approach, if we can get one, is the best one. It's what we did in opposition, Mr.

Speaker, even though some of those some of those decisions were very difficult. So I am disappointed not just in his remarks today, but I am particularly disappointed and the leader of his party, because she simply doesn't seem to acknowledge the importance and responsibility which comes with her office. In terms of the story that is set out, we did send assets to the region, Mr. speaker, at the beginning of the year, HMS Dragon is dispatched. As I have just said, we take the safety and security of British citizens and servicemen and women very highly indeed.

And the wider issue in which he raises, I'd simply remind him that his government was the one that left our defences in a shocking state, with defence expenditure going down, we are not least in a diminished surface fleet, but our task is to rebuild our defences. We are committed to increasing spending to keep our servicemen and women safe and in terms of any inquiry, we are in the midst of an international crisis. If such an inquiry was necessary in the future, I think it should wait until we ensure that our citizens and our servicemen and women are safe.



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R thank you, Mr. Speaker. Overgrown vegetation is impeding

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Overgrown vegetation is impeding access to footpaths on Strangford Avenue and on Pritchard Drive in Hawkinge in my constituency, when I Hawkinge in my constituency, when I made representation on behalf of local residents to the the local council, I was informed that these council, I was informed that these footpaths are not registered with the town Council, the district council or the County Council because of the. Developers did not because of the. Developers did not consider the long term stewardship of these footpaths. Local volunteers have until now ended up having to keep them clear themselves.

Could the Leader of the House therefore find time for a House therefore find time for a debate on the responsibility of developers in ensuring the proper adoption and maintenance of adoption and maintenance of footpaths and other community infrastructure?
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Bobby Dean Portrait Bobby Dean MP (Carshalton and Wallington, Liberal Democrat)
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nobody noticed. No Minister came to Dispatch Box about this. There was hardly any media coverage at all. hardly any media coverage at all. And when you think about how prevalent this crime is, you have to ask yourself, why was there no noise made about this significant noise made about this significant strategy? And I think the reason why is that a key pre-election commitment that was made on fraud commitment that was made on fraud was quietly dropped. The Prime Minister himself said that big tech companies need to be held companies need to be held financially accountable for their role in fraud, but when the strategy was dropped, instead of enforcing that, we have an industry working group emerging where we're going to talk to the industry and ask them to act more nicely.

Now, the banks and the financial regulators are unhappy about this. The banks, of course, are on the hook paying out compensation to customers when they are victims of fraud. And they say that when they try to get big tech companies to act, they are far too slow, they are not responsive. And the only thing that is going to get them to act is if they are hit in the pocket for this too. So can the Leader of the House organise Minister to come to the Dispatch Box and explain why that commitment was dropped and.

And further, I did raise this house to the leader House in October last year, and I still have not received a reply

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from the Minister on that matter. Yeah, yeah. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. On the point of the launch of the strategy on Monday, and I think the hon. Gentleman was alluding to why there Gentleman was alluding to why there wasn't a statement. The the fact that Monday was particularly busy, there were important statements there were important statements that it shouldn't reflect on the importance of fraud, the fact that there wasn't an oral statement. But
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Martin Vickers Portrait Martin Vickers MP (Brigg and Immingham, Conservative)
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for Gurkha veterans in Westminster Hall next week. There are a number of debates, including productivity and economic growth in the East Midlands and one which I'm sure will be particularly popular. The accessibility of banking services and the. And. And we mentioned the 23rd of March. There will be debates on sudden unexplained death in childhood outcomes for patients with Ehlers Danlos syndrome and Craniocervical instability. I hope I've got that right. And possibly for the potential merits of mandatory body armour for prison officers.

But that one is provisional. We have, as the leader knows, a great deal of potential outstanding debates and the the weekly plea for more time is coming your way. Turning to my own issue, Mr. Speaker, I have many park home owners in my constituency, and the leader, I'm sure, will be aware that the government published some research only this week about park home owners. The backbench committee has a pending debate on this, but perhaps if the leader could be particularly generous with government time, we could bring that forward and satisfy the many

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park home owners throughout the country. Thank you. Mr. Speaker. I thank the hon.

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Mr. Speaker. I thank the hon. Gentleman for his work with the backbench Business Committee and indeed, thank the the whole of the indeed, thank the the whole of the committee, and I note with particular pleasure the debate on accessibility to banking services, accessibility to banking services, which is an issue which has been raised in business questions many times. So I'm pleased that that has times. So I'm pleased that that has been scheduled. In terms of more time. I can't promise him more time at this at this moment, but I do
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Alan Campbell Portrait Rt Hon Sir Alan Campbell MP, Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons (Tynemouth, Labour)
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also recognise that it's important to get confirmation of time as to get confirmation of time as early as possible, and I will endeavour to do that. On the matter that he raises on park homes. We do recognise, Mr. Speaker, the long standing concerns among park home residents about things like residents about things like commission fees, and we have launched a call for evidence and I would encourage his constituents, would encourage his constituents, indeed everyone's constituents, to contribute to this call for evidence if needed.

Mr. Mr. speaker, I should remind the House that Park home residents are entitled to free independent legal advice about their rights through the government picture.

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Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My honourable. Friend in Doncaster Central. And. I have often come here to speak

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I have often come here to speak about the appalling service of audiology at Doncaster Royal Infirmary. Now they have put an action plan in place and first time appointments are improved. But second and third appointments are just not happening and people are waiting for hearing aid, refits and repairs. Will the Leader of the House ask Ministers to set out how they will support trusts to expand they will support trusts to expand capacity to follow up audiology care, including how they could use high street provision where that can be provided under the NHS.
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Alan Campbell Portrait Rt Hon Sir Alan Campbell MP, Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons (Tynemouth, Labour)
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sure that consumers are treated fairly with the option, with the option of investigation into unfair option of investigation into unfair practices if that becomes necessary. But the government is very cognisant of of that of energy cognisant of of that of energy prices in general, but also of heating oil and indeed of fuel. And heating oil and indeed of fuel. And we'll keep that under close watch.

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we'll keep that under close watch. And when appropriate, bring forward and update the House on what we intend to do about it. James Asser thank you, Mr. Speaker. This weekend marks the 50th anniversary of the West Ham station attack, where an IRA bomb exploded on a tube train, injuring nine people. Post office engineer Peter Chalk was shot and seriously injured, and the tube driver, Joseph Julius Stephen, was shot and killed as they attempted to stop the attacker escaping. Mr. Stephen was posthumously awarded the Queen's Gallantry Medal and we are marking his sacrifice at the station this week with the with the Leader of the House.

Join with me in marking this anniversary and sending this House's best wishes to sending this House's best wishes to his widow, Janet. And does he agree? We should always mark these significant adversaries, particularly when it involves public sector workers who have public sector workers who have stepped up beyond, above and beyond the call of duty and sacrificed or risked their own lives to protect the public. the public.
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None Portrait Speaker's statement Mr Speaker
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Together, those reports set out more than 60 recommendations to tackle the series and the wholly tackle the series and the wholly unacceptable levels of abuse and intimidation that was faced by intimidation that was faced by politicians. The scale of the challenges is clear, and no single body can address it alone. The body can address it alone. The conference therefore, call for action across government, law enforcement, political parties, traditional and social media, and several other relevant stakeholders. It also recognised members collective responsibility to lead by example in the way that we treat each other.

Responses on both reports have now been published and notified that all members and members of staff of the earlier in the week, and so therefore they should have seen it. I am encouraged by the clear sense of shared purpose and determination to tackle the issues shown by all partners, and I'd like to thank them for their constructive engagement and positive response to the conference's work. Although the conference has concluded its formal work, I remained committed to monitoring progress closely and will continue to press for delivery of its recommendations were necessary.

With that, I am pleased to be calling the Security Minister today, who will update the House on the work of Defending Democracy Taskforce, which includes action. The government is taking in support of the speaker's conference

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recommendations. Minister. Dan Jarvis. Thank you. Mr. Speaker, for your statement

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Mr. Speaker, for your statement and with permission, I will make a statement on the work the government is leading to defend our government is leading to defend our democracy and those who serve within it, particularly as we approach the local and devolved approach the local and devolved elections taking place in May. And, Mr. Speaker, twice in the last
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Dan Jarvis Portrait Dan Jarvis MP, The Minister of State, Home Department (Barnsley North, Labour)
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abhorrent acts of violence. Each time I enter this chamber, my eyes are drawn to the shields dedicated are drawn to the shields dedicated to Jo Cox and to Sir David Amess. to Jo Cox and to Sir David Amess. They are not simply memorials, they are a daily reminder of the duty we are a daily reminder of the duty we owe to one another and to our democracy to ensure that no one is deterred from public service by fear, intimidation or violence.

It is in that spirit that I come to the House today to set out the challenges we face, what this government is doing, and to make clear what we will not tolerate. Now, Mr. Speaker, the work of elected representatives at every level level matters. It shapes millions of lives and our country's future. That is why those entrusted to serve must be able to do so without fear or favour. Free debate and honest disagreement are the lifeblood of democracy.

But let me be clear harassment, intimidation, abuse and violence are not political expression. And today the volume, breadth and tempo of threats against elected representatives is unprecedented. Across this House, colleagues will recognise the grim reality. Assaults, vandalism, stalking, blockading, a blizzard of online abuse. This is not theoretical. It affects hon. Members, councillors and candidates. It affects our families and our staff, women and ethnic minority representatives report the highest volumes of abuse, including overtly sexualised and racially charged threats, which has a chilling effect on who feels able to stand for public office.

When fear warps debate, when candidates step back, and when fewer people from diverse backgrounds feel able to stand, the damage is deep and lasting. That is why this government treats harassment and intimidation not as an inevitable occupational hazard, but as a serious threat to our democracy itself. Now, I know that you share that stance, Mr. Speaker, and I pay tribute to your leadership, especially through the work of the speaker's conference. And our response is rooted in the Defending Democracy Task Force, which I chair.

Working across government, law enforcement, Parliament, the Electoral Commission and the intelligence community. The mandate of the task force renewed by this Prime Minister is clear. To tackle the full spectrum of threats to our democracy. That means preventing and deterring harassment, ensuring real consequences when it does occur, and providing proportionate, effective security for everyone who participates in our democratic process. This is a year round task, but the upcoming local elections demand that we intensify our focus and, where necessary, go further now.

Yesterday, I chaired a meeting of the Defending Democracy Taskforce with Ministers from the devolved nations. It was a constructive discussion on strengthening our collective security posture ahead of May. We reaffirmed our readiness to support colleagues in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The police are at the forefront of defending democracy efforts and I thank officers and staff across the country for their dedication and diligence ahead of the May elections. We are working with the College of Policing, the National Police Chiefs Council to strengthen guidance for front line officers responding to incidents involving elected representatives.

It is essential that the consistency of police response is improved across all force areas, and I welcome the police's decision to act on the recommendations of your conference, Mr. Speaker. Now, I'm pleased to be able to inform the House today that the Deputy Chief Constable, Chris Balmer, from Cambridgeshire Police, has been appointed to the role as the National Police Chiefs Council lead for Defending Democracy. And I've written to the chair of the National Police Chiefs Council and to DCC Balmer to stress the importance of their work to democracy itself.

I emphasise the importance of keeping pace with the evolving threat abuse poses to democracy, and I will be meeting with them both shortly. Every police force now has a dedicated superintendent coordinator for Operation Bridger, which handles the protection of members beyond the parliamentary estate. Through Operation Ford, an elected official, advisers at working level exist to support both members of Parliament and locally elected representatives. I have extended the Operation Forward offer to cover all elected representatives across England, Scotland and Wales, supported by a full time network of 66 Home Office funded force elected official advisors.

I am also pleased to announce the creation of a new Threat Assessment Centre. This will support Operation Ford by centralising and coordinating intelligence nationally for incidents which target locally elected representatives. This function will be live ahead of the local elections. Now, Mr. Speaker, where the law fails to provide adequate protection, we will strengthen it. We have seen protests deliberately targeted at private homes, timed to intimidate families and children, and designed to exert pressure through fear. That is why the Crime and Policing Bill introduces a new offence to restrict protests outside the homes of public office holders.

Peaceful protest is a cherished right, but the doorstep of a private home is not an appropriate setting for it. In addition, the Representation of the People Bill will introduce a new aggravating factor empowering courts to hand down longer sentences to reflect the seriousness of crimes committed against those who serve our democracy, whether elected representatives, candidates, their staff, campaigners and electoral officials. Now, Mr. Speaker, many members across this House and beyond have faced sustained online abuse and intimidation.

Some have questioned whether to stand again. This is simply unacceptable. Through the Online Safety Act, the UK has established one of the strongest online safety frameworks in the world. Services now have clear legal duties to identify, remove and prevent illegal content, including threats, incitement and non-conceptual. Consensual intimate images such as explicit deepfakes. And as we approach the May elections, government will be engaging directly with major social media platforms to support and inform their elections and preparedness.

Now, Mr. Speaker, countering threats to our democracy is a priority for this government. But I have always believed that this should be a shared endeavour. Therefore, today I am directly appealing to every member of this House and to colleagues across local government and the devolved governments to play their part. Where we see harassment or intimidation, we must act. Where we experience it, we must report it. I know it can be time consuming, but reporting really does matter. The Parliamentary Security Department works closely with the Home Office and the police to assess threats and put protections in place, but they can only do so with accurate information.

Every report, even if the incident is judged to be below the criminal threshold, helps the authorities to build a clearer picture of the threat. So I urge hon. Members, if there is an immediate danger, of course, call 999, reference Operation Bridger and use your SOS form for non-emergency incidents. Report them via 101 or online, but again, reference OP Bridger and inform your Bridger. Single point of contact for Metro mayors, local councillors and police and crime commissioners reference operation Ford and this will be picked up by the local force elected official advisor.

Let me be equally clear about our message to those who threaten, intimidate or harass those participating in our democracy. And this applies to individuals and groups alike. Anonymity is not safety. No one is beyond reach and whether the offence occurs online or offline, those responsible should expect to be investigated and prosecuted. Now, Mr. Speaker, we must challenge every turn the notion that abuse, threats and intimidation are now an inevitability. For those working in politics and in public life across our society, we must never become desensitised to rhetoric about harming those who serve in public life.

When we hear it or see it in our communities, it should be challenged, not shrugged off as some new normal. And all of us in this house must also lead by example. Those entrusted with public office set the tone for our national conversation. If we allow abuse to creep into our exchanges, whether here or on the campaign trail, we risk normalising behaviour that undermines democratic debate by leading with civility. Even in moments of sharp disagreement. We demonstrate to the country that principled argument can co-exist with mutual respect.

Mr. speaker, I can inform the House that an extensive programme of work is well underway to ensure the security of the local and the devolved nation elections taking place in May. This includes support for returning officers to keep polling stations and count count centres secure, alongside expert guidance on personal and cyber security for candidates. Mr. speaker, history shows us that our democracy is precious. So today, together, we should draw a line declaring with one voice that we will not be deterred from serving the public.

We will never tolerate abuse, threats and intimidation, and together we will confront unacceptable behaviour, hold perpetrators to account and defend our democratic way of life. And in doing so, we honour the words of Jo Cox, who taught us that we have far more in common than that which divides us. I commend this statement to the House.

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Can I thank the Minister for the statement and thank him for taking on the recommendations of the on the recommendations of the conference as well? And I'd like to put on record my thanks to those who served on the conference and for all the effort that was put in. I think this is when the House is at its best. Katie Lam Shadow Minister.

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Minister. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There is much to welcome in the Security Minister's statement today. I thank Minister's statement today. I thank him for advance sight of it and more broadly, for his update on the work of the Defending Democracy
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Katie Lam Portrait Katie Lam MP (Weald of Kent, Conservative)
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understand this as well as those in the speaker's office, Mr. Speaker, and all of our Madam Deputy Speakers. So let me take this opportunity to thank you on behalf of all members here for everything you do in public and in private, to keep us all safe, targeted and serious intimidation of democratically elected politicians, particularly where their intimidation escalates into credible physical threats, is a serious impediment to the functioning of our democracy. It is, of course, right that criminal behaviour is prosecuted and punished.

At the same time, we have a duty to ensure that policing of genuinely criminal behaviour does not stray into policing of free speech or free expression. In individual cases, this can be a challenging balance to strike. I trust the Minister will approach these cases with the appropriate caution and sensitivity. While many aspects of the minister's statement are encouraging. I am concerned that other members of this government have failed to approach this issue with the necessary caution or the necessary candour. We must be honest about the fact that while violence against elected politicians can come from a wide variety of groups, the single biggest extremist threat to our country remains the threat of extremist Islamist violence.

That threat is intimately, intimately tied up with a growing tendency towards sectarian politics in some parts of our country. As my right hon. Friend, the Leader of the Opposition, said recently, separatism is on the rise in our country because for too long, Britain has been complacent about our culture and too tolerant of those weaponising identity politics for their own gain. Yet in its cohesion strategy published earlier this week, this government seemed unwilling to deal with this threat head on. The strategy openly acknowledged the existence of communities in the UK living, segregated or parallel lives.

But rather than dealing with that problem directly, the government proposes a package which may only make this problem worse, more dai in the public sector and attempt to smuggle in so-called social engineering under the guidance of social cohesion, under the guise of social cohesion. Advisory boards designed to manage tensions when it was exactly this focus on managing community tensions, which allowed rape and grooming gangs to operate unchecked for so long in towns and cities across our country, and a new rebranded Islamophobia definition to be issued as guidance to public servants, which will have a chilling effect on their behaviour.

This will make it harder to have open public discussions about subjects like female genital mutilation, grooming and rape gangs and extremism, including any threats it may pose to our democracy. We have already seen that creating conditions in which people fear being branded as racist for keeping the public safe can create horrific outcomes. We must never again allow guidance like this to create a culture of fear which breeds inaction, cover up or denial. The cohesion strategy is a recipe for further suppression of discussion of the threats that face us today and their root causes.

We will not make the truth disappear by discouraging people from talking about it. That has never worked and it will not work now. So again, I thank the Minister for his statement today and his work on tackling criminality towards elected officials. Can he assure us that his colleagues in government are as committed to dealing with this problem at its root, as he

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himself seems to be? Minister. Dan Jarvis.

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Dan Jarvis. Madam Deputy Speaker, Let me firstly join with the Shadow Minister in expressing our Minister in expressing our collective thanks to Mr. Speaker, to all the Deputy Speakers and all the staff in this House for the important work that they do. It's hugely appreciated and I know that we are very grateful to it. Let me
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Dan Jarvis Portrait Dan Jarvis MP, The Minister of State, Home Department (Barnsley North, Labour)
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we are very grateful to it. Let me try and find a point of consensus, difficult though that may be, to do given what we've heard. I'd very much wanted to take the opportunity today to do this on a very much a cross-party basis, and in fact, I had intended and will continue to take the opportunity to thank the work that was done by the previous government in particular. I want to take the opportunity to pay tribute to my predecessor. The right hon.

Member for Tonbridge, who set up the Defending Democracy Taskforce. It didn't exist before. He was the security Minister. He set it up. It is a very strong legacy for him because he invested a lot in it, and I hope that he will see how seriously we take that work. He passed the baton on to me, and I hope that he will see that, having taken the baton gratefully from him, we have sprinted forward with it. I was particularly pleased this week to chair a meeting, the Defending Democracy Taskforce that brought the whole of the system together.

That was always his intention, that it would provide that fulcrum point to bring together the different constituent parts of government and law enforcement and the Electoral Commission to provide, if you like, a single version of the truth and make sure that we are properly resourcing all of those who work to keep us safe. I think, and I hope that he would be proud of the work that the taskforce is doing. He understands it's not just about periods of electoral activity. This is activity that takes place the whole year round.

He knows how seriously I take it, and I was really grateful the other day to be reminded of the work that he'd done in terms of getting us to where we are now, and I hope that he will be pleased to acknowledge the progress that we've made in recent times, which I referenced in my introductory remarks, not least, the government has introduced new legislation. It's important to bring forward legislation where it's required, which will restrict the protest outside the homes of public office holders.

I don't think anyone really thinks that it is appropriate that MPs and their families should be targeted at home, and we are taking legislative action to prevent that from happening. The relationship with the right hon. Gentleman will know with the police is a very important one, and we work very closely with them to ensure that they've got the appropriate guidance that they need, particularly for police officers on the front line. When responding to incidents involving elected representatives. And I'm particularly pleased to be joined on the front bench by the Minister for democracy.

She has other responsibilities, but that is very important part of her remit, and I'm really grateful to her for the important work that she has been done, been doing. In terms of the Representation of the People Bill, which will introduce new measures to create a very powerful deterrent for those who would seek to intimidate those who serve in our democracy. Now, the shadow Minister opposite, she did raise a point about policing priorities, and I understand why she would seek to raise that particular point.

She will understand, not least from her time previously working in the Home Office, that the police are operationally independent. But it is important that we work closely with the police. That's why I particularly took the opportunity this morning to welcome the appointment of a new national lead for defending Democracy. This is someone that I intend to work very closely with, and I think will provide an important focus for policing activity around the country. Now, Madam Deputy Speaker, I am very sorry that the hon.

Lady opposite then chose to segue into matters that were not within the scope of this statement. I'm genuinely so sorry that she decided to do so, because, not least I'd given the the frontbench opposite ample warning of my intention to come forward and bring a statement to this House today. I did so on the clear understanding that this is something around which we can unite as a house, that on this of all occasions, as we stand and sit in the shadow of the shields.

If we can't cooperate on this, then what can we cooperate? So I hope the

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hon. Lady will reflect on her comments. Dawn Butler. Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker.

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Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. Madam Deputy Speaker, I hope the Shadow Minister will get to her feet and correct the record, because there's a far greater because there's a far greater threat from the far right than there is from Islam. And, you know, there is from Islam. And, you know, in this holy month of Ramadan, I'm sure Muslims all over the country will be praying for her soul, whether she deserves it or not. whether she deserves it or not. Madam Deputy Speaker, I sit on the speaker's Commission on AI, which
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Max Wilkinson Portrait Max Wilkinson MP (Cheltenham, Liberal Democrat)
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again, and that representatives at every level feel secure when they are discharging their democratic are discharging their democratic duties. Many members have received death threats and harassment and feared for their families, particularly women and those from minority backgrounds. Having experienced threats myself, not from radical Islamists but from right wing extremists, I know how right wing extremists, I know how important these protections are. I also remember, as the Cheltenham MP, the bravery of Andrew Pennington, the bravery of Andrew Pennington, who died defending my late friend Nigel Jones in an attack on the Cheltenham Liberal Democrat office.

I welcome the steps that the Minister is taking to ensure that the elections in May are free and fair. Our democracy is precious and it must be carefully protected by those in power. To that end, we welcome the existence of the taskforce and the work that it is doing. We do worry, however, that the taskforce is perhaps not working fast enough to address the threat of foreign interference in our democracy. Hostile states are increasingly using social and traditional media to spread disinformation to undermine democracy and our elections.

So what steps are Ministers taking to tackle that threat? As the Member of Parliament for Cheltenham, home to Gchq, I know the vital work our intelligence agencies do to counter those threats. But that must be matched by political leadership from this House as well. We will all remember, Madam Deputy Speaker, with disgust the case of Nathan Gill, the reform politician convicted of working for the Russian government, which received remarkably little attention. Yet it shows the very real threat to our democracy from within.

We are all scarred also by the revelations that there were agents of the Chinese Communist Party working in this House for hon. Members, and we were outraged, rightly, that Peter Mandelson shared market sensitive information with Epstein among elements of many elements of disgraceful conduct that poses a threat to our democracy. So it is not now time. So is it not now time for a dedicated crime and corruption unit in Whitehall? And would the Minister agree with me that it is time for legislation to ensure all electoral candidates declare any donations or gifts from Russia? Does he also agree with me that it's time that rules are introduced around donations made to political parties via cryptocurrencies? This method obscures the source of donations, and this loophole must be closed before it is exploited more widely to the detriment of our democracy.

We will all have noted the recent endorsement of crypto by the leader of the Reform Party, the Member for Clacton, who does so, Madam Deputy Speaker, while maintaining, and I quote that he does not do computers. There is much work to be done to protect our democracy, and the Minister and the government has our

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support to speed that up, because there is nothing more important than we can do in this House to protect those values. Minister Dan Jarvis.

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Minister Dan Jarvis. Madam Deputy Speaker, I'm very grateful to him for the constructive nature of his tone this morning. I'm also very concerned to hear about the threats that he has faced, and he knows I'd that he has faced, and he knows I'd be very keen to work closely with him if there's any further support that he thinks that is required. that he thinks that is required. And I also join with him in remembering his lost colleague. He's right to raise the important
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Dan Jarvis Portrait Dan Jarvis MP, The Minister of State, Home Department (Barnsley North, Labour)
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work that his constituents do in his constituency of Cheltenham, and he knows that I am a huge supporter and a fairly regular visitor to meet with them. And he's right to raise concerns about foreign raise concerns about foreign interference. He will know, and I'm pretty certain that his party have provided a submission to the Roycroft Review that the government commissioned Philip Rycroft to do an independent piece of work to an independent piece of work to look at the nature of interference in our democracy.

I know that Mr. Rycroft is finishing his work and will report to Ministers in the near future, and will do so in a way that will allow Mhclg to incorporate any of the recommendations that they think is appropriate into forthcoming legislation. He cited a number of particularly egregious examples of interference in our democracy, and he made a number of what I think are entirely reasonable and helpful suggestions. I hope he knows that my door. I'm sure the door of my fellow Minister is always open to

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him should he wish to discuss these matters further. Rachel Hopkins thank you, Madam. Speaker, and I should.

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Speaker, and I should. Mention that I'm a member of the Speaker's Committee on Electoral Commission, where we work very collegiately cross-party in support collegiately cross-party in support of that important work. I thank the Minister for his statement today. And like the women who encouraged And like the women who encouraged me, I aim to support any young women, particularly those from Black and Asian minority backgrounds in my constituency, to put themselves forward to represent their communities in local
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Dan Jarvis Portrait Dan Jarvis MP, The Minister of State, Home Department (Barnsley North, Labour)
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specifically why I referenced the creation of the new threat assessment, which will provide a greater granularity around operational intelligence that we think will deliver real benefits at think will deliver real benefits at a local level. She's absolutely right to highlight the concern about the threats, intimidation and harassment, both online and in person of those participating in public life. And there are some particularly egregious examples of that in recent times. We've got to do everything that we possibly can to support those women who want to step forward.

And I'm particularly concerned of the chilling effect that some of these threats and intimidation have on extremely talented women who might want to step forward in public life, but will look at the circumstances that they might have to deal with and think, well, why would I want to expose myself to that? We should all collectively be very concerned about that, and collectively we should redouble our efforts to stand against it. And that is precisely why I made the point, hopefully, as clearly as I did,

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that wherever we encounter this kind of activity, we must report it. My neighbour, Tom Tugendhat.

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My neighbour, Tom Tugendhat. Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. May I start by thanking my hon. Friend for his kind words at the Friend for his kind words at the beginning? And may I also extend praise to Lord case, who has Cabinet Secretary was so important in setting this up. He's absolutely right to, of course, have mentioned Jo Cox and Sir David Amos, both of whom are at various different whom are at various different points were in my mind when this was set up and I am indeed extremely impressed with what he's
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Tom Tugendhat Portrait Rt Hon Tom Tugendhat MP (Tonbridge, Conservative)
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done in taking forward the Defending Democracy Taskforce. May I perhaps unfairly challenge him, I perhaps unfairly challenge him, however, to go a little further and to answer some of the questions that I didn't answer when I was in that I didn't answer when I was in his place, but I hope that he may be able to answer now that things have progressed a bit. And that's really to do with foreign influence. really to do with foreign influence. When we're looking today at what China has done in our democracy.

And I don't just mean in this House, And I don't just mean in this House, but I mean online. When we're seeing the threats that organisations like TikTok bring in terms of disinformation and the way in which they actively promote or demote stories that promote division. We can see that the nature of the threat has changed. And this is really a question about influence. Now, yesterday, I had the good fortune of meeting the director general of Taiwan's Ministry of Justice Intelligence Bureau, who is he knows I was the first Cabinet Minister to meet a Cabinet Minister from Taiwan in a non trade capacity.

They have a lot to teach us about the way in which China plays in our democracy and tries to influence it. Has he looked or has he considered any of that yet? And the second area I was interested in his thoughts. Again, an area that I didn't get to, I would have liked to have got to, but I didn't get to. And I was in his position, which is on the protection of journalists. Because while it is of course important to protect the freedom of elected members of whatever organisation, whether council or national, that in which they speak, it is also important to protect journalists in their freedom to speak now.

I was made aware only recently of a very unpleasant threat against Constantine Kissin, relating the attack on Charlie Kirk, who was murdered only a few months ago. Now, this happened to come from a left wing extremist, but as we know, there are extremists of various different colour and creed in our community. Various different political opinion. So has he looked at how protecting journalists may be able to be brought into the

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Defending Democracy Taskforce. Minister Darlington. Well, Madam Deputy Speaker, let me extend my thanks to him again me extend my thanks to him again for the work that he did, and he's right to raise the important contribution that was made by the then Cabinet Secretary. Now, Lord then Cabinet Secretary. Now, Lord case, in terms of setting the Defending Democracy Taskforce up in the first place. I genuinely the first place. I genuinely welcome the points that he has made. He's been very good about providing
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Dan Jarvis Portrait Dan Jarvis MP, The Minister of State, Home Department (Barnsley North, Labour)
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He's been very good about providing helpful bits of information and intelligence over the past 18 months or so, and I always really appreciate that because it's it's well meant and well received. I understand why he raises the particular concerns about China, which have been very well debated across this House. I believe that he does understand how seriously I take those threats. There is a huge amount of activity taking place across government, for reasons that he will know very well. We don't often get into the detail of all of that, but I hope that he will understand that that activity is underway.

And a crucial part of that is, as he described, working with our allies. And we do that on a very, very regular basis. He's right to raise the important role that journalists play. He will remember from his time in the Home Office and working with colleagues across government, that a lot of resource and a lot of time is invested in our protective security regime. We don't tend to say much about it, but I give him an assurance, the seriousness with which we take these issues, and I agree with him about the importance of free speech and the role that journalists have to play.

It is completely unacceptable that anyone in this country should be intimidated by any foreign power, and this government will always

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stand against that activity. Lola McEvoy thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker, and I'd like to put on record my personal thanks to the Minister for the support that he has given many members of this House, including myself as newly elected members, and welcome a elected members, and welcome a newly elected female member to the House today. And would the Minister House today. And would the Minister elaborate a little bit on the Defending Democracy Taskforce and any focus that, or any time that
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Dan Jarvis Portrait Dan Jarvis MP, The Minister of State, Home Department (Barnsley North, Labour)
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we want to work very closely with them to make sure that they feel properly supported, in that she's right to raise concerns about algorithms. I can give her an assurance that that is a subject assurance that that is a subject that has been discussed on a number of occasions within the Defending Democracy Taskforce. I know that Democracy Taskforce. I know that she will understand that DSIT are the lead department department for that activity, but I heard someone that activity, but I heard someone make the comparison the other day that in days gone by, people would go into a library and they would choose the book that they want to read now online, often people's content is being directed by forces way beyond their control.

I think we should all be very concerned about that. Certainly I am, and it's a matter that I work very

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closely with colleagues. DSIT on Greg Smith. Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. I welcome the minister's statement I welcome the minister's statement this afternoon and entirely concur with the domestic elements of protecting our democracy. He protecting our democracy. He announced. If I can return to the issue of foreign influence, of course, those countries that seek course, those countries that seek our democracy harm do not recognise the value of democracy themselves. My right hon. Friend has mentioned My right hon. Friend has mentioned China.

We have debated at length in this House. Russia and the Minister was in his place yesterday when I
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Dan Jarvis Portrait Dan Jarvis MP, The Minister of State, Home Department (Barnsley North, Labour)
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There are some extraordinary people, quite literally, working around the clock to keep our country safe, and we owe them a debt of gratitude. we owe them a debt of gratitude. He's right to raise concerns about the current situation in the Middle the current situation in the Middle East, and he's right to ask questions about what the government's response is to it. I know that there is often a know that there is often a temptation to reach for the prescription tool, and sometimes that is the right response.

We talk a lot in government about toolkits. There is quite a lot in our tool kit, and I give him in the house an assurance that I will use

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everything that is in the toolkit to stand against the threats that we face. Luke Myer thank you, Madam

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Luke Myer thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. We've heard today from members across the House about two twin evils that are driving two twin evils that are driving online abuse, one being the algorithms of social media giants, which are promoting content, which makes people feel angry and makes people feel afraid. And the other is the influence of hostile states is the influence of hostile states who deliberately sow disinformation designed to undermine our democracies. I've heard the Minister say that this is DSIT role primarily to deal with, but please, will he ensure that Ministers keep will he ensure that Ministers keep all of us updated on the work that is going on to address this? Because unless we all work together Because unless we all work together across parties and across departments, then this issue will continue to proliferate and there will not be a democracy for us to defend.
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Dan Jarvis Portrait Dan Jarvis MP, The Minister of State, Home Department (Barnsley North, Labour)
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as organised and resourced as it needs to be. He specifically asked the question about what we can the question about what we can collectively do, what more can we do together as parliamentarians? My do together as parliamentarians? My response to that is to echo the remarks that I made earlier, which is to report it. I know that we're is to report it. I know that we're all busy people. Our staff are busy, but we mustn't let anything slide. We must take every opportunity, even if it falls below a legal threshold, to report matters to the

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police. We can use Kirsty Blackman. It is an honour to serve on the speaker's conference, and I've speaker's conference, and I've tried to, in all of the work that I've done around security, be a voice for the smaller parties and particularly for people that are further away from Parliament as well. One of the biggest strengths of the speaker's conference was the amount of listening it did to members and members experiences. I appreciate the huge amount of work that's been done to improve the data gathering, and the fact that we're much better at pulling together, understanding on threat.

But with the Minister give us a reassurance that member's reassurance that member's experiences will it be listened to, in addition to just looking at the data so that we can build on those data so that we can build on those strengths that we had during the speaker's conference? Yeah.
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Seema Malhotra Portrait Seema Malhotra MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities) (Feltham and Heston, Labour )
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Yay! move that this House has considered the matter of International Women's Day 2026. It is an honour to open Day 2026. It is an honour to open this International Women's Day debate, held for the first time debate, held for the first time since 2020 in government time, International Women's Day was forged in the labour strikes of the early 20th century, as women came together to call for better pay, shorter working hours and voting rights. It has become an important milestone which celebrates the achievement of women, promotes gender equality and acts as a call to action.

In this debate, I have no doubt we will hear about pioneering pathfinders, including women who smashed the glass ceiling in Parliament too, and paved the way for us today. Constance Markievicz, the first Reinforce also behind the Labour Women's network. Hon. Members will mention, I'm sure, the first woman Prime Minister in 1979. Labour has seen the first female chief whip, the first female Chancellor, the first black woman MP. The inspirational right hon. Member for Hackney North and Stoke Newington.

We've also seen Barbara Castle, Ellen Wilkinson, Jenny Lee and, of course, Baroness Harman in the other place. And not to forget yourself, Madam Deputy Speaker, the first non-white deputy speaker and the first female Muslim Minister. I also have many greats and firsts sitting behind me and probably in front of me, Madam Deputy Speaker, including the hon. Member for Brent East, the first female black Minister in the first black woman to speak from this despatch box. And I'm also proud that many are also Fabian women, and proud that this year we mark 21 years of the Fabian Women's Network.

I will give

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way. Talking of strong women, Madam Deputy Speaker, my mum, my wife, my three daughters in law and my three grandchildren, three girls at a very young age. But I'll tell you very young age. But I'll tell you what, they have the potential to be leaders as well. And they're fierce women. They're strong. And I'm very, very pleased to see that. But does the the the Minister please ever mindful on the day we're mindful on the day we're celebrating Women's Day across Northern Ireland and the Minister will know this.

Another lady was killed last week, and that shows the highest number of women have been murdered in Northern Ireland, the whole of the United Kingdom. Does she share my concern? When we celebrate women, we also have to protect women and our society must

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do that. Thank you so much. I thank the hon. Gentleman for his for his comments and indeed, I wish all the women in his family a very happy International Women's very happy International Women's Day and every girl is a leader. Let that message ring out from this that message ring out from this House. And he is absolutely right that we all must also must look at where women come under threats where women come under threats through whether that is online or through violence.

And we must make sure we do everything to protect women and girls across the UK and across the world. Madam Deputy Speaker, we speak today about the agenda of women's progress, but we must remind ourselves that whilst we have made progress, men and women are still not equal, not equal at home and not equal abroad. And indeed that we face a new challenge, a misogynistic insurgency that is determined to roll back women's rights. And when we look at the level of online abuse, sexual harassment and intimidation, it is horrifying to see us in a situation with products that appear designed to make money out of the sexual harassment of women.

So today, I want to make three main arguments that women are still not equal, that we must be uncompromising in resisting the backlash on women's rights, and that in these fragmented times, women must work with women around the world. Madam Deputy Speaker, In a world where inequality persists in society, in the economy, and in power, I am proud that Labour, led by a Cabinet that is 46% women, is putting progress of women at the heart of its missions.

That isn't a coincidence. Women's representation in politics drives new conversation and puts wider issues on the agenda. Of the 695 women ever elected to the House of Commons, 405 or 58%, were first elected as Labour MPs MPs.

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I and the hon. Member for giving way. I'm proud to have joined this way. I'm proud to have joined this Parliament in 2024, as part of a record number of women elected for record number of women elected for Plaid Cymru, and of the record, 40% of women being elected in that same year. We're clearly on our way for gender equal parliament. So with this historic milestone within this historic milestone within sight, would the Minister commit a government to centenary actions? Call to enact section 106 of the Equality Act, which would require political parties to publish diversity data on candidates to increase transparency?

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I thank I thank the hon. Lady for her question and indeed that I think comments about our 40% of women in the House of Commons today women in the House of Commons today is an important milestone, but we know we're not yet at 50%, and I'm know we're not yet at 50%, and I'm proud that the Labour Party has got close to that. And in fact, pretty close to that. And in fact, pretty much reached that level. And it is important that we continue to look to the centenary, as she describes, and look at a range of measures that we can see to make sure that we push forward the progress of women's representation and the role of political parties in that, but also that we look forward to the progress of women in every part of society and every part of our economy.

I do want to also recognise, Madam Deputy Speaker, about the choices we make, because Labour's manifesto committed to action to tackle gender inequality, from strengthening rights for women in work and reducing the gender pay gap, to halving violence against women and girls, our groundbreaking violence against women and girls strategy begins a decade long whole of government, whole of society effort to halve violence against women and girls and is backed by over £1 billion worth of funding. That is a goal.

I know that every member of this House will be wanting to get behind. I also want to acknowledge the incredible efforts of my friend and colleague, the Minister for safeguarding, who I am proud to stand alongside in today's debate and. Exactly. And we're not just acting at home. We have made tackling violence against women and girls a priority in our foreign policy, too. Recently, the Foreign Secretary launched all in a new international coalition to scale up action to end violence against women and girls.

It brings together global leaders, experts and campaigners and focuses on preventing violence before it happens. Labour is working to prioritise women's health with a refreshed women's health strategy to be published soon. Our plans to make work pay are putting in stronger protections for pregnant women and new mothers at work and tackling maternity inequality. We are reviewing parental leave and making flexible working more easily available. And with two consecutive years of minimum wage rises,

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putting more money in the pockets of working women. The hon. Lady give way on that point.

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point. I will give way very briefly. I thank the hon. Lady for giving way, and she's giving a brilliant way, and she's giving a brilliant speech that lots of us will be feeling very emotional about. Would the hon. Lady agree with me and members across the House that members across the House that whilst increasing the minimum wage is really important, disproportionately does affect female workers? We need to restructure how we value women's restructure how we value women's work as well, and the workforce that is predominantly made up from women.



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I thank my hon. Friend for her comments, and indeed, that is a debate that continues to be ongoing and indeed will be be relevant and indeed will be be relevant issues to that that I will touch on issues to that that I will touch on in my remarks. Madam Deputy Speaker, Last week, I was also proud to launch our voluntary action plans launch our voluntary action plans alongside the Secretary of State for Women and Equalities Employers, for Women and Equalities Employers, with 250 over 250 employees will be asked to submit action plans as part of the Employment Rights Act, showing how they will reduce their gender pay gaps and support employees going through the menopause.

We are working with business leaders, civil society and trade unions because we cannot reach workplace equality without the support and the commitment of all, and removing the two child limit will also lift 450,000 children out of relative poverty in the final year of this Parliament, a poverty we know impacts women who, the Women's Budget Group describe as the shock absorbers of poverty. On business. Madam Deputy Speaker, the Chancellor has backed the Invest in Women's Taskforce, launching a funding pool of over £600 million to be invested in women led businesses, including 130 million from the British Business Bank.

That is the largest fund of its kind globally. Addressing the enormous access to finance barriers that exist for women and alongside this, government, is supporting more women in the UK's tech sector. Every year, the economy loses an estimated 2 to £3.5 billion because women leave the tech sector or change sector due to barriers that should not exist. Men outnumber women 4 to 1 in computer science degrees, a subject I also studied, Madam Deputy Speaker. Women are likely less likely to enter tech, stay in the sector or rise to leadership.

I will give way very briefly.

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I wonder if she would be able to talk about not just the tech sector, but in my constituency, there's a but in my constituency, there's a huge number of engineering jobs and there's such a glass ceiling when it comes to engineering that women it comes to engineering that women rarely manage to make it above. It's a similar issue with race equality when it comes to the

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higher tiers of engineering. Madam Deputy Speaker never a

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Madam Deputy Speaker never a truer word was spoken. What I will say, Madam Deputy Speaker, is that building on the hon. Lady's comment, it is worth the House knowing that at the current pace it will take 283 years for women to achieve equal representation in tech. That is why I am proud that the Secretary of State for science, Innovation and Technology has launched the Women in Tech Taskforce to champion diversity in the UK tech sector, with a pipeline strengthened by stronger engagement with tech in the classroom.

There are spaces in which our economy is going to grow, and we need a plan for women to be part of it because through history, Madam Deputy Speaker women have consistently been the backbone of our communities, giving their power, their time, their ideas and more. And they have done this in our classrooms, our offices, our hospitals, our military, and in the home. History has taught us that despite giving so much, women don't always gain equally to men. Every day, women and girls across the UK challenge the stereotypes so often thrown upon them.

But they are our scientists, our teachers, our business leaders, our astronauts, our athletes and so much more. There is nowhere that women and girls should not be able to reach. But while this government has women's equality firmly on the agenda, the battle is not yet won. Increasingly, loud voices attempt to dismiss the necessary protections for an inclusive culture at work. Some argue that our existing equality framework has gone too far, that it hinders progress. Let us be clear, Madam Deputy Speaker.

These protections embody British values that women should be treated equally with men, or that you should be treated equally regardless of your race. That is a core British value. It was fought for the Equality Act last September, was described by a now reform MP as fuelling a corrosive culture of grievance in a Westminster Hall debate, who then called for it to be abolished. But it is not a grievance. To recognise that a woman made redundant for being pregnant, or who leaves work because her employer doesn't make reasonable adjustments for the menopause, leaves us poorer as individuals, as an economy and as society.

And this battle, these voices, they are taking up space online too. When we look at the level of online abuse and intimidation, we must tackle this misogynistic insurgency that threatens to roll back women's rights and is having a huge impact on the wellbeing and aspirations of women and girls across our country, too. Online abuse of women athletes is set to be discussed at the next Women's Sports Task Force meeting, and I'm proud that the offence of creating intimate images without consent was signed into force last month, and that our female Secretary of State announced it will be made a priority offence under the Online Safety Act, delivering the strongest protections for users from such content.

But this only happens against a backdrop of changing, but this happens against a backdrop of changing social attitudes, which we are only just beginning to address. New research from Ipsos Mori and the Global Institute for Women's Leadership at King's Business School shows that 31% of Gen Z men born between 1997 and 2012 agree that a wife should always obey her husband, and one third, 33% say that a husband should have the final word on important decisions. According to a new global study of 23,000 people in 29 countries, we are in a renewed battle of ideas and new conversations about progress and rights with pressures and influence.

We also see through online social influences. It demands that we engage and it is through conversation, legislation, education and campaigning that this government is determined to keep us moving forward. But with the challenge to women's equality now being international, so must our response be. In the year 2000, we led the first UN Security Council resolution on women, peace and security. It was a simple but transformative idea that peace is more durable when women help shape it.

UN women's statistics show that when women meaningfully participate in peace processes, the resulting agreement is 64% less likely to fail and 35% more likely to last at least 15 years. Women and girls are disproportionately affected by conflict and are likely more likely to see their rights curtailed. 60% of preventable maternity maternal deaths and 53% of under-fives deaths take place in settings of conflict and displacement. We continue to use our voice at the United Nations to push for women to be embedded in peace processes, resolutions and humanitarian responses.

Indeed, this week Baroness Smith of Maldon and the UK Special envoy for women and Girls, Harriet Harman, are leading our delegation at the Commission of the status on the Status of Women in New York, because this government stands in solidarity with women and girls, not just in the UK but around the world. For. So to conclude, Madam Deputy Speaker, International Women's Day marks the beginning not only of a month long celebration of women's history, but also, I hope, a year of progress and action.

The theme for this year's International Women's Day is Give to Gain. The aim of which is to emphasise power of reciprocity and support, whether through advocacy, education, mentoring or time to help create a more supportive and interconnected world. Building new networks in our communities to bring hope, leadership, and change. Renewing our determination. Connecting with our sisters at home and abroad will give us a renewed front line to resist the rollback of our rights and push forward for the progress of women and girls for generations to come.

But this month is more than about reflection. It is about maintaining momentum. As Ruth Bader Ginsburg said, women belong in all places where decisions are being made. That isn't an observation. It's a directive. It is for us, Madam Deputy Speaker, to hold the light up, to highlight progress and

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to keep fighting for a better world for women and girls everywhere. Yes.

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The question is that this House has considered International Women's Day and I call the shadow

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Minister Joy Morrissey. Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. It is a privilege.

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To be represented, to be representing today the International Women's Day debate International Women's Day debate and to follow the hon. Lady. And it is wonderful to hear the hon. Lady talk about her passion for fighting for inequality and for the rights, and to fight the gender pay gap as well. And I hope very soon to see you in Shadow Cabinet to see the member and shadow Cabinet. Yes. Yeah. I mean real Cabinet. Yeah. Not not us. Yeah. That would be
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Joy Morrissey Portrait Joy Morrissey MP (Beaconsfield, Conservative)
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terrible for you. You wouldn't like terrible for you. You wouldn't like that. And I and that that topic is what unites us today in this chamber, that we may have differences of opinion on every topic and come at every ideological topic and come at every ideological point of view. But we are united in our ability to exercise that right, to debate and to stand up for women. to debate and to stand up for women. And I am so grateful to be part of this country and to be able to have those rights that so many women no longer have across the world.

And I'd like to pay tribute to Madam Deputy Speaker for not only her career, her amazing work here in the chamber of keeping us all under control. But but which is a full time job for anyone. But it is more. I just wanted to highlight the incredible work that Madam Deputy Speaker has done to champion Uyghur women and girls. When everyone was turning their back on Uyghur women and girls. Madam Deputy Speaker, you led the campaign, you tirelessly campaigned across the world to make sure that their story was heard and that their voice was heard.

And you worked across party for that. So thank you from everyone across this house for your

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incredible work. Please. Please. I'm incredibly grateful, which is why I was then sanctioned which is why I was then sanctioned by the Chinese Communist Party. But there's a lot of very powerful women in this room that won't be deterred by any sanctions

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deterred by any sanctions regardless. So please continue. Joy Morrissey. I feel. That if one has received sanctions, it is a badge of honour. And firstly, to honour the international scope of this debate. I would like to take this moment to think about the women of Afghanistan who have suffered under the Taliban, the life of all human beings is intrinsically valuable and should always be remembered. An Afghan women whose rights have been systematically dismantled 100 degrees to restrict their freedom of movement, education, work, expression, visiting a doctor, financial freedom and there is no protection against violence, beatings and forced child marriage.

May we remember them today. And how quickly the rights we take for granted can disappear. Both across this House and throughout our great country. Women have shaped our community, strengthened our institutions throughout the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth, and led with courage, determination and resilience. Women are leaders in business, in education, in science, in armed forces, in charities and volunteer organisations, and of course, here in Parliament. We must also recognise the women who contributed, who are often not recognised, the carers who support their families every day with no thanks and no recognition.

The volunteers who hold our communities together the mothers, the daughters, the sisters, the friends who provide strength and stability in the time we need it most. I have often spoken in this House about the importance of service, service to our communities and service to our country. That spirit of sacrifice and service is embodied by countless women across the United Kingdom who quietly make an extraordinary difference in the lives of others. May we recognise

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their contributions today. I will I thank my honourable. Friend for giving way, and I

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Friend for giving way, and I just wondered if she would join me in thanking and celebrating the women, the fantastic women in Bognor Regis and Littlehampton who do exactly what she has just described in businesses in our local democracy, in our third sector, and in shaping the futures sector, and in shaping the futures of our girls in community groups and schools.

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Thank you. And I, I wholeheartedly agree with the wholeheartedly agree with the comments to praise the UN praised volunteers, the community organisers, those that make our our organisers, those that make our our our towns and villages what they are today. And it is so important that we highlight their that we highlight their contributions today and. We in my contributions today and. We in my constituency of Beaconsfield Malo in the South, Bucks Villages, I see inspiring and dedicated women every single day.

Carers fighting for their disabled children like Hazel, fighting for the Burnham Day Centre to remain open. Health care professionals at Wexham Park Hospital, entrepreneurs like Ali and Lizzie McIntosh, who are now global presenters for F1 and leading the way in lifestyle influencing and I wish I had their social media talents and volunteers dedicating their time to strengthening our communities. Their contribution should should remind us that leadership is not confined to these corridors of power, but exists in every town, village and neighbourhood across the nation.

And may I pay tribute to the Taplow Burnham Hitchin Women's Institute for their tireless service to our community and their wonderful 100 year celebration to their branch and the opening of their building 100 years ago by Lady Astor. We owe a great debt to the women who went before us, and none more so than Nancy Astor. Nancy Astor was a pioneer for women in Parliament, and with her early pioneering. It brought early exposure to the American accent in this place.

And it has taken this place 100 years to recover from that. And, Madam Deputy Speaker, it will probably take another hundred years to recover from this. Yes, yes. But we live in hope. And she was a pioneer in other ways. Madam Deputy Speaker, fighting for children and more importantly, the vulnerable. She supported initiatives to protect children, including raising the age of consent, fought to tackle children living in appalling conditions, helping countless women and girls. What we saw in Nancy Astor was a female leader prepared to confront the uncomfortable and endure the hostility.

Many and many opposed her campaigns, but she carried on even Churchill. But she carried on. She carried on. And it is wonderful to follow in her footsteps today. That leadership and determination to fight for the voiceless lives on in many

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outstanding women. Today, I will give way. On the point of raising Nancy Astor. There is a statue of Nancy Astor. There is a statue of Nancy Astor in Plymouth, and in my constituency of Chichester, we have 11 statues that are available for people to view, and none of them are of women. And does she think that it's so important that when we think about how we represent women through history, they need to be represented not physically, but represented not physically, but also in statue form? And would she join my campaign to get a statue of an amazing suffragist erected in Chichester outside Chichester Cathedral? Margaret Ethel Turner, affectionately known as Madge Turner, who was our own suffragette in Chichester and this campaign has been launched by the Chichester Women's History Group.

Does she

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agree with me that it's a campaign we should all get behind? Absolutely. Do agree, and I

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Absolutely. Do agree, and I support the member in pursuing this wonderful statue for Madge. And you have and I lend you my full support in that campaign. And it is fitting that on International Women's Day, the UN's theme is rights, justice the UN's theme is rights, justice and action for all Women and girls. Three important words that matter to women and girls rights, justice, action. It is fitting because there are many areas where those rights and that justice and the call to action have been pursued by inspirational women in the face of hostility, not dissimilar to what Nancy Astor faced in her time.

And many members across this House have faced similar challenges. And no matter what party we are from, I must respect, Madam Deputy Speaker, the courage that many who have gone before me have have blazed the trail for coming to this chamber, fighting for our rights, fighting for the right to be heard and on their contributions and sacrifice. We are allowed to to debate today. And I'd like to start by mentioning a member in this House that has battled for safe spaces for women and sex based rights, and that is the foundation for which true protection for women and girls needs to start.

And none have fought that battle with more energy, resilience and determination than the hon. Member for Canterbury, fighting tirelessly to protect children and women and girls. She deserves our thanks and our respect for all she has done in the other place. My noble friend Baroness Jenkin of Kennington and Baroness Davis of Devonport, led the way in protecting women and girls again facing much hostility, but never once deterred from doing what they believe to be right.

A champion of women only spaces and defence of biological sex is. And of course, outside of this house is J.K. Rowling, a woman who has been nothing short of inspirational, facing down personal threats to her safety, determined to ensure the rights of women are heard, and the Leader of the Opposition, who firmly took a stance to protect women and girls for years when very few joined her to stand up for those safe spaces. It is for that reason that we must also be clear that we as a society, have failed

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many young girls for far too long. I will. Thank the hon. Lady for giving

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Thank the hon. Lady for giving way, but I'd also like to make the point that there are many people with different views across this House, and many of which I agree House, and many of which I agree with, and she makes a very good point in naming some of the individuals. But there are many, many other women that stand up for many other women that stand up for sex based rights. And I'd like to say that on the floor of the House, and I thank her for her, her words.



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and I thank her for her, her words. Thank you for that. And there are many women from all different ideological perspectives who have contributed to this debate. And I want to thank them. Of course.

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For giving way. Thank you, Madam Speaker. I thank the hon. Member for giving way. And in her speech, for giving way. And in her speech, we should also recognise that some people have also been transphobic. We must be very mindful that there are a lot of people who are trans, who feel very vulnerable at this who feel very vulnerable at this time, and some have committed suicide. So in this debate. Can we

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also hold them in our thoughts? And may I thank the Member for that very nuanced response and contribution, and may I thank her for being the first female of colour at the despatch box leading the way, and also a chairman of a Select Committee and someone who all members of this House, from every party, respect and admire and thank you for everything that you do. And as we try to protect young women and girls, no clearer or more scandalous a failure than the rape gangs scandal that we are now confronting here.

I want to pay tribute to the hon. Member for Rotherham and the hon. Member for Keighley, and who have both raised this in Parliament, along with Alex Stafford, who is no longer in this place, and the hon. Member for Ashfield across party effort of raising this issue time and time again, while very few other members of this House did so, may I commend them for being brave enough to do so. And yes, may I thank. There are so many that I'm not able to thank today, but I want to recognise them as best that I can.

And Baroness Casey said too many shield away from the issue of ethnicity in the rape gang scandal. These hon. Members did not. That is real leadership from cross party members for protecting women and girls. This International Women's Day, let us unite in clear determination that where Nancy Astor led in confronting injustice for the voiceless, parliamentarians of today will follow. Speaking up for the rights of women to women only spaces, making sure that no matter the community or ethnicity or religion, we will never again let a scandal like the rape gangs go unchallenged.

And Madam Deputy Speaker, as someone who has fought for women and girls and abuse, sexual abuse and child sexual exploitation, I think that this is something that we can every every member of this House can support and look at how we can protect women and girls, no matter who they are, no matter where they are from moving forward. And I believe that that is something we can all agree on. And for International Women's Day to Matter, it must be more than symbolic.

It must combine celebration with action. It must be a further catalyst for rights, justice and action for women and girls. It must harden our resolve to ensure safety for all women and girls. It must set in clear focus our collective determination that this will be a country where women and girls from every race, religion and creed are able to contribute their talents to our country with the certainty that we will keep them safe for rights, justice and action.

Our women and girls deserve nothing less.

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Thank you. Tulip Siddiq thank you. And thank you to all the you. And thank you to all the inspirational speeches we've heard so much this year. International Women's Day feels particularly Women's Day feels particularly poignant to me for two reasons. The first is watching the women in Iran. And the reason why this is And the reason why this is particularly affected me is because many of you, including you, Madam Deputy Speaker, will remember the

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fight for six years to bring back my constituent, Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe. Yeah.

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During that time, I encountered the brutality of the Iranian regime. Whenever we tried to negotiate her Whenever we tried to negotiate her return to our country and the way that they treated her and treated her like she was nothing, in all honesty, and the worthlessness that was attached to her identity. And now watching women who are fighting now watching women who are fighting just for education, just for the right to dress the way that they want, just for the right to live.

want, just for the right to live. Bombing primary schools full of little girls is something that's really hard to fathom. And every morning, no matter what happens, we wake up feeling very lucky because we know we can walk to work, get on
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Tulip Siddiq Portrait Tulip Siddiq MP (Hampstead and Highgate, Labour)
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the tube, and we will be safe. And our thoughts today are with the people who are in Iran, especially people who are in Iran, especially the women who are fighting for justice. The second reason that International Women's Day this year particularly feels poignant to me particularly feels poignant to me is because of the case that I'm dealing with in Bright Horizons Nursery in my constituency, which some people in the chamber would have heard me speak about. And Vincent Chung operated for seven Vincent Chung operated for seven years undetected, preying on little girls and babies and toddlers, inflicting pain on them and conducting sexual abuse, something that he had already done in his previous workplace and was undetected, given a job in the place where parents entrusted people to look after their children when they went to work and came back and found out, and they only found out because he had been reported by a brave whistleblower for acts of cruelty towards children, for bullying, not for sexual abuse.

And it's only when police decided to seize his devices, including nursery iPads. So he had filmed himself acting sexual acts of violence against little girls in the nursery itself used it to airdrop the images to his own devices, and that's how he was found out. It makes you think about how much work we have to do to combat violence against girls and women, and that the fight is not over. And I'm pleased to be here today surrounded by women who have been fighting that.

And I hope people like Vincent Chan do get the absolute justice that they should get and do end up behind closed doors and behind bars as well. And I just want to pay tribute to all the mothers of the children who were affected in the nursery, who have made sure that this never happens again. They are the ones at the moment who are fighting for mandatory CCTV. They are the ones who are fighting to make sure that there's a two person rule per child in every room in nurseries.

They're the ones who are now fighting for a fair system so that whistleblowing can be done properly and without fear, and that it's not nurseries marking their own homework. But every time I speak about this case, I also want to say that for all the cases that have happened of sexual abuse in nurseries and early years practitioners, they are a thousand and million other babysitters, staff members and nursery staff worker who look after our children day in, day out and make sure they love and protect it.

So let's make sure we don't tar everyone with the same brush, but we do need to take it seriously and something does need to be done. But today I want to talk about my brave constituents. Shunju Poole, who is in the gallery today, the focus of the UN this International Women's Day, as the opposition spokesperson said, is rights, justice and action. And because across the world, women and girls just have 64% of the rights of men. And that's why I want to concentrate on Zungu's case today.

Some of you in the chamber would have heard me mention her before, because after six years of fighting a legal battle against her former employer, a management consultancy firm, she won a landmark case against unfair dismissal at the Employment Appeal Tribunal in London. Her case sets legal precedent for endometriosis to be considered a disability under the Equality Act 2010. Madam Deputy Speaker, I hope you'll indulge me a bit while I talk about Sian Berry Paul's case, because I feel like everyone in the chamber, including everyone in the world, should be listening to what she had to go through.

In 2018, Shunju was diagnosed with severe endometriosis, which she had large fluid filled cysts on both of her ovaries. This required an immediate operation. She returned to work a month later in severe pain. She told me she was bleeding. She could hardly walk because she had been pushing herself too much for promotion to senior manager, she told HR. She told them in explicit detail how much pain that she was in. After three months after her, Fes returned to work ended without any warning, Sanju was sacked.

She was told to leave the building immediately. Do not contact all the colleagues that you had been working for for ten years now. Just get out of the building, be quiet and leave. She had worked there for ten years and she told me categorically that life, her entire life, was based around her work and making sure that she looked after people that she was serving at Accenture. She was sacked for not being ready for promotion within a required time frame. This is known as the up or out policy used by many corporates, where employees can be dismissed if their manager believes they cannot be promoted.

The termination letter, which, by the way, she received minutes after the meeting that she had, did not state any actual reason for her dismissal. It also didn't inform her about the right to appeal or refer to the policy that was being followed. Now, if you'll excuse me for saying, as a Camden girl through and through who went to Camden School for girls, she decided not to take this lying down. She took it to internal Tribunal, where the High Court later found out that the panel had completely disregarded what she had written in her impact statement.

When she took it to tribunal, it ruled that Sanju had not proved that her illness had an ongoing substantial effect on her daily life, and stated that many women with endometriosis had mild or no symptoms at all. The tribunal rejected her claim for disability discrimination and lacked any understanding of the physical impact of her health condition on her own body. She appealed this decision and High Court eventually ruled that she was unfairly dismissed from her job without her employer following a fair capability procedure or providing any reasonable adjustments after she was disabled because of her health condition.

I am so proud of Shunju for her tireless campaigning since her unfair dismissal in 2019, and employers now must follow this judgement on considering endometriosis as a disability and providing reasonable adjustments. More needs to be done to ensure that this does not happen to other women who are physically left disabled by this condition and other gynaecological conditions. And I know my friend, the MP for Erith and Thamesmead has done some brilliant work in this area for years now, but we need a collective voice.

We need everyone in the chamber to stand up and speak about this, because it has been taboo for too long now, and it is shocking if the Minister is listening that not a single gynaecological condition has introduced in the disability guidance of the Equality Act, this basic change could have saved Shunju her job. So much time, money and anxiety that she spent six years fighting for this unfair dismissal. It could have made a huge difference for countless other women that we haven't heard about, who are facing the same discrimination in the workplace.

Across the country, 1 in 10 women are suffering from endometriosis. 69% of sufferers say that they face discrimination at work. Cases like this are far too common, and it's left us with 1 in 6 women with endometriosis unemployed because of their condition. Women should not be forced to go to tribunal just to get the rights that they deserve. And that's why I believe women with endometriosis should be given specific workplace adjustments and the right to reasonable adjustments to their condition.

And alongside that, endometriosis should be listed under reoccurring and fluctuating impairments in the guidance for the Equality Act so that employers actually understand their legal duty to provide reasonable adjustments to women who are suffering for this condition. And finally, oh yes.

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I thank my hon. Friend for giving way. You may be coming to this, but it is an incredible sorry,

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this, but it is an incredible sorry, Madam Deputy. Don't want to wish to correct any one of our fantastic female parliamentarians. But you means me.

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parliamentarians. But you means me. Butler. Thank you. And you are amazing,

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Thank you. And you are amazing, Madam Deputy Speaker. My hon. Friend may be coming to this, but Friend may be coming to this, but my friend Elaine Banton was the lawyer in this case, and I just

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wanted to also put that on record constituents. Well done.

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Well done. Thank you to my hon. Friends. And Elaine Madam Chair definitely deserves a mention in the workplace deserves a mention in the workplace as well. There's a lot more I'd like to say about this case because I think it's so important, but I'm very conscious that I don't want to take up too much time, because there's so many women who want to speak today in the debate. But I speak today in the debate. But I just want to mention that growing up and I did grow up in a Muslim Asian household, but even then, I didn't hear anything about endometriosis.

I never heard the word menopause growing up. If I was ever on my period, I was told to quickly move away and listen and change and make sure my brother didn't hear anything. There is a point at which we need to change that. My mother was very forward in other ways. Growing up in a Muslim Muslim household on Friday nights, we always had dinner with our Jewish neighbours. She was very clear about the fact that in our house you could celebrate Christmas Eve, Durga Puja, Hanukkah, you could do whatever you wanted because we were citizens of the world.

But if you ever mentioned your period, menopause or endometriosis, that was simply not allowed. So for the sake of Shaun Davies case, but also for all the South Asian mothers who are listening out there, this is the time when we need to break the taboo. We need to talk about conditions that affect women, particularly when it affects young girls as well. So they don't feel

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ashamed and they don't feel like they have to hide it if they're workplace. Good. Why?

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Good. Why? I thank my hon. Friend for giving way. She's making an giving way. She's making an incredibly powerful point. But if we are going to really change we are going to really change things, we actually need fathers to speak to their daughters. And I recall making a very deliberate recall making a very deliberate point when my daughter started menstruating and standing in the supermarket trying to assess and understand what I was faced with, with the wall of, of things and people coming up to me and saying, do you want some help? And saying, no, I need to work my way through this.

And we need men to advocate and understand these things as well.

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Yeah, absolutely. Thank you very much for that point. And I wholeheartedly agree with my hon. Friend, who is a staunch feminist, and which is one of the reasons why he's in this debate, speaking today. But I'll debate, speaking today. But I'll finish now by saying that the justice that was served to Sanju is not just a victory for herself, not just a victory for herself, it's for the countless women across the country who fought so hard to get reasonable adjustments in the workplace, and I hope the Minister will consider this case and will.

Legislation will follow from the Labour Government to ensure that

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women never have to face discrimination in the workplace again. They.

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Fantastic speeches to stop me interrupting them. You and your. Unless you're referring to the chair should not be not be said at chair should not be not be said at all. Now come to the Liberal Democrats. Spokesperson Alex Brewer.

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Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. This year's theme, as we have heard, is Give to Gain. And that prompted me to think about feminism on a global scale and how interconnected we truly all are. Our globalised world is far from isolated borders, bounded by iron, isolated countries bounded by iron borders. We exist in physical space and online. Our geopolitical landscape is shifting constantly and feminism must move with it. The experiences of women are shaped by overlapping factors of race, class, disability, migration, status, sexuality, faith and geography.

Feminism policy cannot be effective if it only reflects the lives of the most privileged. Some of the gravest injustices faced by women globally include physical violence, forced
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Alex Brewer Portrait Alex Brewer MP (North East Hampshire, Liberal Democrat)
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marriage and economic exclusion, and these fall hardest on those at multiple intersections of disadvantage. Progress for women is never a zero sum game. When we lift up the most marginalised, we all up the most marginalised, we all rise, which is why Give to Gain is such an important theme and has made me reflect on how we as a made me reflect on how we as a country and as a society, must give through overseas aid if we are to help build a more progressive, fair and stable world.

So today, Madam Deputy Speaker, I want to raise one of the most difficult and taboo subjects in the area of violence against women and girls, but it is one we must confront, that of female genital mutilation, commonly known as FGM or cutting. This is a sensitive and distressing topic, but to break taboos we must start to articulate the problem. Female genital mutilation comprises all procedures that involve partial or total removal of the external female genitalia, or injury to the female genital organs for any non-medical reasons.

It is steeped in misguided ideas of a woman's virtue, ideas which are pervasive and which manifest in all cultures in different ways, of which FGM is, I believe, one of the most insidious and violent. In January, I travelled to The Gambia as part of a delegation with the Parliamentary Commonwealth Association. FGM was made illegal in The Gambia in 2015, yet the practice continues. In fact, in order to avoid detection, cutting is now carried out on younger and younger girls and sometimes even on babies, with devastating, sometimes fatal consequences.

The practice has no health benefits and causes lifelong problems, including severe bleeding, incontinence, infections, long term pain, menstrual problems, complications in childbirth, and an increased risk of newborn deaths. Beyond this clear physical trauma, many women live with depression, flashbacks, and lifelong psychological scars. It is a form of torture. FGM is a serious violation of human rights and bodily autonomy, not a cultural inevitability, and more than 4 million girls are at risk every single year. Yet in The Gambia, I also saw hope.

I saw the profound impact of not for profit and grassroots organisations working creatively and sensitively within communities to remove economic and cultural barriers to change. Data gathering is difficult in a country with such severe levels of poverty, but initial estimates suggest the prevalence of FGM has fallen from around 76% to around 51% of girls, NGOs and grassroots women's organisations are uniquely effective because they are trusted by families and embedded in communities. These organisations are part funded by British Overseas Aid, which this government is now reducing.

Their funding runs out this year, just as the message is starting to get through. Reduction to aid like this tears holes in the safety net for the world's most vulnerable communities and leaves young girls more exposed. The government's decision to reduce the United Kingdom's official development assistance from 0.5% to 0.3% of gross national income will have real world consequences. It represents the lowest United Kingdom aid contribution as a share of gross national income since 1999, and diminishes our long standing reputation as a global leader in humanitarian assistance on the Women and Equalities Committee.

In our report on FGM, we were clear the government must protect funding for programs that prevent FGM and set out its plans for future investment in this vital work. Instead. In its response, the government confirmed that its flagship program to end FGM will finish in October 2026 and that there are no plans at all for what comes next. This is not just disappointing, it is deeply irresponsible when Britain invests in the freedom and wellbeing of girls globally. We gain a safer, fairer and more stable world.

Which is why when the Liberal Democrats were in government, we secured a commitment of 0.7% of gross national income for overseas aid. FGM is, of course, illegal here too, but in today's global society, British girls are being taken abroad to undergo cutting in areas with fewer protections. In the last decade, more than 41,000 women and girls had FGM identified at an NHS appointment in this country. And yet in the five year period between 2019 and 2024, there was just one conviction under the Female Genital Mutilation Act.

Protection must not stop at the border. Intervention must happen before a child boards a plane and after she lands. Frontline NGOs in source countries are often best placed to prevent FGM before it happens. The practice of FGM is rooted in gender inequality, control of girls bodies and forced silence. True solidarity means recognising that their struggle is our struggle. By supporting global efforts to end FGM through aid and diplomacy, the UK helps meet its international commitments and reduces the chance of FGM happening to people who live here.

This government must not be complicit in removing the progress that is preventing such violence against girls, no matter where they are born, Madam Deputy Speaker, understanding intersectionality is vital to feminism today, and I am calling on the government to recognise that in our interconnected world, solving violence, violent crime against women and girls everywhere is everyone's responsibility.

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Hey, Sarah.

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Hey, Sarah. Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. It's a privilege to speak in international women's debate. We international women's debate. We reflect the women who have created International Women's Day and the women who have marched every day women who have marched every day since. Women across the world of politics, trade unionism, business, politics, trade unionism, business, science and arts making strides forward in the face of ignorance and misogyny. Women taking a sledgehammer to the glass ceiling, smashing through the barriers and making space for those who have followed.

I reflect on the women who have lit the pathway to my own place in Parliament, the right hon. Member for Hackney North and Stoke Newham, the Mother of the House, is an inspiration to so many of us. I'm also thinking of Baroness Harman and Baroness Amos in the other place. Yeah, and of course you, Madam Deputy Speaker, and of course, on the frontbench, my hon. Friends, the equalities Minister and the Minister for Safeguarding and Violence Against Women and girls, you have such a long title.



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She she can't complain. And all the women I've met through my years leading the Labour Women's Network, these are the giants on the shoulders. We stand. giants on the shoulders. We stand. They lift us up and in turn we must lift others in Parliament and in lift others in Parliament and in our communities and globally too. We have heard in this debate about We have heard in this debate about the status of women globally. Across the globe, women are denied
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Abena Oppong-Asare Portrait Ms Abena Oppong-Asare MP (Erith and Thamesmead, Labour)
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rights, basic rights to school, have a job, be paid equally, enjoy have a job, be paid equally, enjoy equal legal rights and exercise basic freedoms. For example, basic freedoms. For example, Afghanistan 2.2 million girls are banned from secondary school by the banned from secondary school by the Taliban. Only a quarter have jobs. In particular, cruelty of Afghan In particular, cruelty of Afghan women are barred from entering the medical professions, but the Taliban ban women being treated by men.

So women are denied the basic right of basic medical care in Iran. In Iran, women hold only 64% of legal rights enjoyed by men. In Iran, women are required permissions from husbands to get a passport or travel abroad. Girls as young as 13 can be married if a male judge judge decrees it. There are no criminal offences of rape within marriage or violence in the home. It is women who are leading the resistance to the ayatollahs in Iran, risking everything from justice and liberation.

And we should take inspiration for women standing up for their rights around the world and here at home. So I'm proud that we've passed the Employment Rights Act because it's women who will benefit the most, especially low paid women, women of women of colour and working class women workers will have a right to guaranteed hours for the first time, which means clarity on how much you will be earning and the ability to plan childcare and family expenditure. This will be life changing for millions of families, and none of these steps forward come from a clear blue sky.

They come from decades of struggle and argument reversal, reversals and defeats and step forwards and progress. They come because of the suffragettes campaigning for political rights and the likes of Barbara Castle, campaigning for economic rights. So, yes, we've seen the progress in social, political and economic fronts. But equality is still a distant dream. As the Minister said. Take pay. According to the office for National Statistics, median weekly earnings for female employees working full time were £710 at April 2025, compared with 100 Witham, with 815 for male full time employees.

Equal pay remains some way off and then also take health care. The harsh truth is that women continue to get a raw deal in the healthcare system. We do not enjoy true equality within the NHS. We have a system shaped and largely run by men, with women's health as secondary concern. There is still a male by default culture within the healthcare, and I've been campaigning for faster treatment for endometriosis and fibroids, where 1 in 10 women suffer from these painful and incurable conditions.

Yet on average, the length of time women are waiting for diagnosis has gone up to nearly ten years. It has gone from an average of eight years to nine years and four months. And if you're a woman of colour, that is literally a double whammy of racism and sexism, where it's gone up by 11 years. So women are waiting in pain for years, their concerns are dismissed and their pains are ignored. And I've said it before, and I'll say it again, if 1 in 10 men suffered a painful, incurable disease, no offence.

There will be faster treatment and research into cures, times of work and systematic and sympathetic hearing from society. So as it is, women face ignorance, discrimination and stigma when they present crippling, blinding pain and heavy bleeding. So on International Women's Day and this debate, I wanted to pay tribute to Georgie Wileman for creating her brilliant, brilliant film. This is Endometriosis. I was delighted to see it win Best Short Film at the Bathurst this year. It is a truly well deserved recognition.

I also like to commend the work of the chair of the Women and Equalities Committee and the chair of the APPG for endometriosis and of course, my hon. Friend for Hampstead and Highgate, who has been supporting her constituent who was dismissed for working in her organisation for after ten years because of her condition with endometriosis. Sanjoy Paul, you are an inspiration to us all here and thank you for the work you have done with your MP in making sure this hits us nationally.

Yeah, I have argued that the solutions must include enhanced training for GPS to speed up diagnosis and improving the education of young people and women on menstrual cycle. I'm looking forward to the new women's health strategy, and I hope it places women front and centre in the strive for equality for women within the NHS. I already welcome the shift to use greater use of technology towards local diagnosis hubs, and to greater awareness about women's health conditions. But of course, we have far further to march.

I take enormous inspiration from women and girls I meet in my constituency who are fearless and driven and dedicated women who want to live out their potentials. So I want to take an opportunity to name a few. Tim Roca Malinki. Apologies. I pronounced it wrong. She is a dedicated wife, mother and community champion in Thamesmead who supports others through healthy cooking workshops. Jatinder Rai, who is the CEO of Bexley Voluntary Service Council who supports charities and communities and local people in my constituency and beyond.

Chantal Morris, who I met in one of my constituency surgeries, who shared her experience of homelessness and spoke about her aim to provide support to local people and families facing eviction living in temporary accommodation. So I was delighted to see her organisation hit the ground and I was delighted to attend her launch of the Morris Mission in Erith last October, where she now provides training to young people to to support local people. Jo Dunkley at the Off Ropes, who has done incredible work bringing the brilliant charity to life through her passion of boxing shared by so many.

They support local adults facing mental health challenges to build confidence, resilience and lasting connections through sport. So I was delighted to cut the ribbon at their new gym in Abbey wood last November, and since then it has gone from strength to strength. And huge credit to Jo for making this happen. I also like to pay tribute to the staff at the community hospice, where I'm patron, in particular Anita Saunders, who stepping into the CEO role role from the director of Income generation, and Doctor Leslie Bull, the medical director, who is also helping to steady the team through the leadership transition.

And finally, although I've mentioned her in previous speeches on International Women's Day, I wanted to mention once again the brilliant Kate Heaps. Kate has been the chief executive of Community Hospice after nearly two decades with her team, she has grown the hospice work and fought hard to improve hospice care locally and nationally, and I want to pay tribute to her and wish her the best steps, best luck in her next steps. Madam Deputy Speaker, This is International Women's Day debate, and I want to highlight that I'm proud of what this government has achieved so far towards a fairer, more equal society and economy.

I'm lifted up by my sisters in Parliament and amazing women that I meet here on a day to day basis in politics and around this place. So even in the darkest times and amidst times of uncertainty, we support each other and we uphold our convictions and our passion and uplift each other in representing our constituents and beyond, and fighting on

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campaigning issues which are important to our constituents. Thank you.

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Thank you. Wendy Chamberlain. Thank you very much, Madam Deputy Speaker. And on this International Women's Day, I rise to say a few words about the women and girls in Afghanistan, as I am the chair of the APPG for Afghan Women and Girls, the APPG for Afghan Women and Girls, and I reflect some of the comments that the hon. Member for Erith and Thamesmead just made in relation to Thamesmead just made in relation to their experiences. I saw comments in the Telegraph at the weekend that stated the fact that International Women's Day is marked in Afghanistan shows that the day is meaningless, and I beg to differ with that assessment, particularly given the number of us that are here on a Thursday afternoon.

But factually, it is not listed as a holiday in Afghanistan, and we are not seeing celebrations or protests, debates or marketing based on the day itself there, simply because that is not possible for women and girls in Afghanistan. Afghanistan remains a member of the UN, which marks the day. But you do not need to formally indict banning something to effectively do so, not when women cannot gather and they cannot speak, not even in their own homes, if they can be heard outside of them.

But nonetheless, there is a value to International Women's Day. Madam Deputy Speaker And I believe even in the darkest of circumstances, there is still value in this day to the women of Afghanistan. As we are hearing in this debate, International Women's Day is about so many struggles, but also about celebrations and the women of Afghanistan struggles and the celebration of their resilience has equal value today. And when they cannot speak for themselves, those of us with voices internationally can do so.

And indeed, elevating the voices of Afghan women is what the APPG is set up to do. But there is no sugar coating it. Madam Deputy Speaker, It is bleak. In Afghanistan, a new penal code was introduced in January that has effectively legalised domestic violence, including sexual assault within marriages. Their husbands are explicitly authorised to discipline their wives for non-specified transgressions, and the only crime in the books is for a husband who beats his wife with a stick in such a way that it causes severe injury, such as a broken bone.

The burden of proof for this offence lies on the woman, and the punishment, if proven, is just 15 days in prison. Injuring animals in Afghanistan carries a greater penalty, and I doubt if we will ever see a
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Wendy Chamberlain Portrait Wendy Chamberlain MP (North East Fife, Liberal Democrat)
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prosecution under this law, given that gathering the proof that required would involve the husband required would involve the husband who has committed the assault, chaperoning his wife to hospital to get the evidential X-ray required. And on the other hand, if a woman tries to leave a marriage by visiting her father or relatives visiting her father or relatives and does so without her husband's consent or refuses to return, you can imagine circumstances where can imagine circumstances where somebody would look to do that in order to escape domestic violence in their house.

Then that woman can go to prison for three months. And if a woman is found to have abandoned Islam, and I believe here we are talking about the Talibans interpretation of the faith, which many disagree with. Then she can be jailed indefinitely with ten lashes daily until she chooses to return to the religion. There are severe restrictions on working which the hon. Member for Erith and Thamesmead referred to. Some organisations in some areas have negotiated the right for women to keep their jobs.

Women still can provide health care, though. Increasingly women are being denied the right to be trained in healthcare, which means that you can very easily see what that means for the future of maternal and female care in Afghanistan. But we are certainly a long way away from there. Being a freedom to work and financial autonomy is simply not a reality. And the future for the next generation is even bleaker for girls now. Growing up without completing their education and without women being able to have medical training, there will be a point where there are no women left to provide that healthcare.

And the reality is that in a country at war, at the forefront of the climate crisis, where 17 million people faced acute hunger this winter, and with millions of displaced people returning from its neighbours, including Iran, it is women who are bearing the brunt of the desolation. And I am aware that in setting out this reality, I am not elevating the experiences or feelings or voices of any one woman. There are 25 million women in Afghanistan, and each and every one of them should have the right to speak, to live freely, and indeed to live at all.

And prior to 2021, they were able to do so. So on this International Women's Day, I would like to see commitments from the government to the women and girls of Afghanistan. I put on the record that I do not agree with the government's decision to close the door on safe and legal routes to refuge or to study or work. I was told on Monday here in the chamber by the Minister responding to the statement on the government's response to immigration, that it was about ensuring that universities were not making the decisions in relation to who got to stay here.

But if there are no other ways for people to come and seek safe refuge, it is not surprising that people take that opportunity and if they no longer have that opportunity, it will not be surprising if they revert to circumstances such as irregular routes. And by that I mean the small boats that we all say we want to prevent. But having made those decisions, I call on the government to do more in Afghanistan, much more. The Minister at the outset, in her remarks, talked about the work this government does overseas.

But I beg to differ in that assessment. Afghanistan is not one of the ring fenced countries that the government has featured as it looks to cut Oda spending, but Afghanistan is apparently a priority. I would really like to understand what that means and what that looks like. I think it is important that we also recognise the strength of Afghan women. The APPG has had the privilege of healing hearing from several Afghan women in the past year, as well as NGOs and academics who have spent time on the ground.

We have heard a lot, unsurprisingly, about the loss of hope, but we have also heard about resilience, the unbelievable resilience. Afghan women live in unthinkable circumstances for any of us here, but they keep on. And whilst this is a speech setting out terrible things, I am not asking you to pity the women and girls in Afghanistan. In talking about them, I am asking you to take action and I know, Madam Deputy Speaker, you were previously a member of the APPG in the last Parliament and how supportive you were and continue to be.

But to end, I want to share the remarks that the APPG heard last year from a female medical practitioner on the ground, who told us that she was speaking to us as parliamentarians, as a witness to the quiet, suffering and untold strength of Afghan women. These stories are not just tragic, they are powerful, and they must inform policy decisions and humanitarian priorities moving forward. I urge

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the government to heed those words. Thank you. Madam Deputy Speaker. It's my

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Madam Deputy Speaker. It's my absolute pleasure to rise to speak in this year's debate to mark International Women's Day. The important day that it is does give important day that it is does give us an opportunity not only to reflect on how far women have come, but disappointingly, how far we but disappointingly, how far we have yet to go. But it also allows us to recognise the women who continue to shape and strengthen
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Samantha Niblett Portrait Samantha Niblett MP (South Derbyshire, Labour)
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continue to shape and strengthen our communities every single day. And I want to use my time today to celebrate some of the remarkable women across South Derbyshire who are making a real difference. It's my absolute favourite thing to do to make sure people feel seen in this place. Firstly, Khaleela story Khaleela is my right hand woman in the constituency. She runs my office and I honestly do not know what I would do without her. I'm sure many of us across this House will probably share the experience with with some incredible women in their teams.

Also, I'd like to give a shout out to Lib AWM and correct a mistake I made in business questions this morning when I didn't give recognition to her as being the founder of I Love Swad, which is a Facebook page which has got almost 46,500 members, incredible achievements, and also Leslie Ashby. Now, I hope Leslie Ashby feel seen by me for the woman. She is both in the constituency as her MP and in this place. She will know why. I've mentioned her name in Melbourne.

Sharon Brown is the driving force behind the wonderfully vibrant Melbourne Festival of Arts and Architecture, which last year celebrated its 20th year. She also manages the Creative Melbourne Gallery. Through her work, she has brought art, culture and creativity to the heart of her community, creating opportunities for artists and inspiring residents and visitors alike, also, using creativity as a force for good is duly Baton. She's the director of People Express. Julie has led the organisation since 1992 and under her leadership, it has used the arts as a powerful tool for engagement, working with a diverse range of people across our community and and enabling them to become the writers, filmmakers and artists of their own stories.

Her work help ensures the creativity is truly accessible to everyone. Supporting local enterprise is Kelly Briggs, a marketing expert who provides networking opportunities for businesses across South Derbyshire, particularly in Swadlincote. She is a passionate champion of small businesses and organises the annual Small Business Showcase, giving local entrepreneurs a platform to grow and succeed. Entrepreneurship is also embodied by Elaine Pennel, the founder of Lemon and Lime Interiors, whose business has grown into a highly successful company supporting homeowners and property professionals alike.

Supporting that growth with her is Katie Lavis, who started her own business and now works with lemon and lime as it continues to expand. Another fantastic local entrepreneur is Tracy Payne, whose work and dedication exemplify the determination and creativity of women running small businesses in our community. Public service is another area where women across South Derbyshire make an enormous contribution, and Angela Archer, chair of South Derbyshire District Council, is a passionate advocate for children with special educational needs and disabilities.

As a parent of ten children herself, she co-founded the charity shout to support families navigating the challenges that send can bring. There are also people like Teddy Bailey, who quietly supports families of Sen children, demonstrating the compassion and commitment that empowers families at times of significant challenge in the voluntary sector. I want to recognise the work of Hollie Benton, chief executive of South Derbyshire CVS and Petra Parker, who manages their food hub. Together they support local people to access food parcels.

Befriending services help to return home after a hospital stay and a wide range of support, ensuring that no one in our community feels alone when they need help the most. Ingrid van der Velde, editor of the local publication Rochdale, keeps residents informed about what is happening across Swadlincote and the surrounding area. She also leads the wonderful Swadlincote Festival of Words, taking place later this month, which celebrates literature, storytelling and creativity for all ages. Our cultural heritage is also being preserved thanks to Becca King, the museum manager at Sharpe's Pottery Museum, who works tirelessly to ensure that our local history is accessible, engaging and celebrated.

I would also like to recognise Peggy Moore, whose dedication to remembrance in our community is truly extraordinary. Peggy has spent countless hours knitting poppies, creating a life sized knitted Tommy soldier and collecting donations for the Royal British Legion Poppy appeal. Her dedication ensures that the sacrifices of those who served are never forgotten. I also want to recognise Maria Hanson MBE, founder of charity me and D, since founding the charity in 2006, Maria has dedicated herself to supporting families facing life changing and life limiting conditions.

Her vision, compassion and determination have helped thousands of families across the UK, and this remarkable work has been recognised, with the charity being awarded the Queen's Award for Voluntary Service. In my constituency, there are also women whose leadership continues to inspire long after they've left public office. One such person is Edwina Currie, the first female MP for South Derbyshire. To this day, residents still speak fondly of her to me as a dedicated constituency MP who worked tirelessly on their behalf. I'd also like to give a special mention to Margaret Garner, an absolute gem in our community in Repton in particular.

Margaret, now in her 80s, is an incredibly loyal and supportive friend, a volunteer for many activities in Repton and swears like a trooper. She is the kind of person who lifts those around her, brings humour and honesty wherever she goes, and remind us all of the strength and spirit that runs through so many women in our communities. And of course, none of us would be here today without the women who came before us and fought to open the doors of democracy. One such woman from my constituency is Hannah Mitchell, a suffragette who lived in Nuhal in the early 1900s, an activist, a rebel and one of the many women who challenged inequality and fought for women's rights to take part in public life.

Madam Deputy Speaker, the women I've mentioned today come from many different walks of life from business, the arts, public service, charity work and community leadership. What unites them is their determination to make the places they live better for others. There are, of course, so many incredible women across South Derbyshire. Giving a few shout outs today inevitably means I have missed someone, but I hope this speech goes some way towards recognising the extraordinary contribution that women make across our communities every single day.

Thank you.

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Lewis Atkinson right. We now have a maiden speech. Can I first of all say and remind everyone of all say and remind everyone there is no interruptions during this maiden speech. Alice Spencer.

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this maiden speech. Alice Spencer. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Four weeks ago today, I was in college, weeks ago today, I was in college, a plumber learning how to plaster, and today I'm in Parliament as an
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Hannah Spencer Portrait Hannah Spencer MP (Gorton and Denton, Green Party)
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MP. And being here is the honour of my life. But I don't want this to be unusual or exceptional. I truly believe that anyone doing a job like mine should get a seat on these benches. And where I'm from, we're taught to look after each other, to look out for each other, to stick up for each other and to stick together, to see each other as human. And I'm so proud of that humanity, and that people in Gorton and Denton and Burnage and Levenshulme and Longsight and Abbey hey, feel that way too.

It's in our blood and in our bones. We see each other as human. Where I'm from, we give a nod to the statue of Emmeline Pankhurst. We remember the farm worker and seamstress Hannah Mitchell, the trade unionist Mary Quayle, and the mill worker Annie Kenney, and, of course, Elsie Plant, who who's from just down the road from me and who I named one of my beautiful greyhounds after. I think of these brilliant women a lot, and especially today, as we debate International Women's Day, and I think of many others too, from pits, slums and factories, the women who changed the system so that I could be here, the women of colour, whose names we will never know.

Because history. It didn't bother to recognise or remember them. But we do today. Because without their struggle and their fight and their determination stick together, none of this could be possible. And it's bittersweet to recognise these brilliant people, but to be reminded that we still need to try and be them. The constituency that elected me is the 15th most deprived constituency in the country. It has suffered decades of neglect and broken promises, and we see this every day right in front of us the litter, the fly tipping, the state of housing, the struggle for a job that you can build a life on the filthy, polluted air and the reduced life chances, the sheer unfairness of it all.

And my constituency has been hit hard by the ongoing cost of living crisis. And now none of this is fair. None of this is right, and none of it happens by accident. So I very much share my predecessor's strong commitment to tackling health inequalities and putting local people and all of our communities at the heart of decision making. That's how we begin to turn things around, to give people, agency and a genuine chance of a better today and a better tomorrow.

And to the girls who I saw photos of, sorry, who went to school on International Women's Day dressed as Hannah the Plumber in their overalls, spanners and trademark hair to the ten year old boy at hideout who Rock climbed an incredibly high wall with me and who saw me suddenly become very terrified of how how far up I was, and who said to me, don't ever give up. And if it's scary looking down, then just look at what's in front of you.

To the women in my life who've had my back, who fought for equality alongside me, and to the men that I work with, especially the lads on my plastering course who dealt with my newfound spotlight in the middle of our training very well. But those men who will suffer the effects of this unequal society through their mental health. To the veterans I know who were willing to risk everything and come home and find that society was turning its back on them to the white working classes, who are always lumped into one group and never appreciated.

To everyone who will have nowhere to sleep tonight, or will barely exist in a cold, damp and insecure home. To my trans siblings who get blamed for everything. To the Muslims everywhere. Who are constantly and often violently scapegoated. To the disabled people who can't access the world because of structural inequality that is completely fixable. To the people of colour who have to work harder at everything. I don't always get it. I won't say I always understand it, but what I do know is what it feels like to be looked down on, to be let down and left behind, to be less worthy because of something about me.

And our struggles may be different, but our humanity is the same. We always stick together. We always fight for each other. And that is what I want us to take forward from International Women's Day. And to do that every single day. The cleaners, the bus drivers, the nursery workers, the foster carers, the home carers, the unpaid carers, the teaching assistants, the bin collectors, the warehouse workers, the delivery drivers, the school dinner staff, the lollipop wardens, the supermarket workers, the posters, the library staff, the kitchen porters, the farm workers, the mechanics, the ground workers, the scaffolders, the electricians, the plasterers and the plumbers.

We deserve to be here, every single one of us. And I will make space for you to come and join me, to get to have your say. And from the bustle of Longsight market to the many Irish pubs in Lovey, Sue's Chippy and Toni at California Wines and Gordon, the amazing young people at Hideout at hideout, the best hash brown butter at Cafe Plus in Denton and the women led social enterprise at Dalia Cafe on Burnage Lane. You are the best of our brilliant communities.

I want to put Gorton and Denton on the map by championing the positives about our community, the spirit, the warmth, the grit and the way that we help each other out every single day, whether that's our neighbours where we live or our siblings in places like Afghanistan, Gaza, Sudan, Iran, wherever we are, we deserve to live freely as the human beings that we all are. We do things differently in Manchester, and it makes me proud every single day. And now I want to make Abbey.

Hey, Levenshulme, Burnage, Longsight, Gorton and Denton proud of me. Thank you so much for putting your faith in this plumber and newly qualified plasterer. Together we can make hope normal again and we will look after each other, whoever we are. Because where I'm from,

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that is just what we do. Thank you again.

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Can I just say. And at least you can cross the football political divide by being a Bolton Wanderers supporter.

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supporter. Melanie Ward thank you, Mr. Speaker, and let me start by congratulating the hon. Member for Gorton and Denton on her first speech in this place. I welcome her speech in this place. I welcome her to her place, and I don't know if she's noticed that the Palace of Westminster is in need of some maintenance. And so it's entirely. Possible that both her plastering and her plumbing skills will come in useful in the very near future. I rise to speak in my first international women's debate, and I have followed this particular
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Melanie Ward Portrait Melanie Ward MP (Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy, Labour)
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debate, Mr. Speaker, since before I was elected, and so it's a true privilege to take part today. And I privilege to take part today. And I have to say and forgive me, Mr. Speaker, but if the composition of this chamber, by which I mean the this chamber, by which I mean the number of men and women relative to each other, was like this, more often, I feel like we might have some different kinds of debates in this chamber. Today, we celebrate women in our communities and across women in our communities and across our country and our world.

We celebrate extraordinary women who achieve incredible things for the good of humanity. And in that context, it is a great but sad honour to sit opposite the coat of arms of my late dear friend Jo Cox, with whom I served on the board of the Labour Women's Network, and think of her every time I come to this place and see her coat of arms. We miss her and her contributions dearly. I previously mentioned Jennie Lee and my contributions. A proud Fifer who grew up in Cowdenbeath in my constituency and served as a Labour MP for two different spells.

As well as having been the first ever UK Minister for the Arts and the creator of the Open University, it is less known that Jennie served in the Ministry of Aircraft Production during World War Two, keeping aircraft factories running during the blitz, and she was called to do so because of her no nonsense attitude and her ability to get things done. That is something that I take inspiration from. I am proud to follow Jennie as the 595th women amongst many thousands of men elected to this Parliament, together with an unprecedented number of women MPs, our Labour government has important plans to advance women's equality from having violence against women and girls to transforming women's experiences of maternity care, a subject about which I met Right Honourable the Baroness Amos just this week.

But as well as the women who are recognised for extraordinary achievements, we must be clear that the unseen work that women across the world do every day does not receive the recognition it deserves. According to the UN, women and girls do 16,000,000,000 hours of unpaid care work every single day. Their work is the very glue of families, communities and economies. Countries could not function without it. Yet this work remains, remains largely invisible, undervalued and unequally distributed. Today I want to sound a warning.

We know that violent struggles are being fought for global power. But around the world, and increasingly at home, the struggle for power is being expressed as a struggle for control over women and our bodies. My hon. Friend the Member for Aylesbury and I have written about this together this week. There are many shocking examples of the battle to control women's bodies in Iran. As my friend the Member for Erith and Thamesmead mentioned, the oppressive regime has been desperate to prevent women from dressing the way that they want to, despite the incredibly brave protestations of amazing women there.

In the wake of Mahsa Aminis death in Afghanistan. As the hon. Member for North East Fife spoke about so eloquently, the Taliban have tested the limits of whether the world would stop them from enforcing gender apartheid, forcing women out of schools and workplaces, and into the home they looked for and found the answer that they wanted. That indeed, the world does not care enough to stop them. In Sudan, the world's worst humanitarian crisis, rape and sexual violence is routinely used as a weapon of war.

At the Munich Security Conference, which I attended recently, our Foreign Secretary, my hon. Friend the Member for Pontefract, Castleford and Knottingley spoke powerfully about her visit to Sudanese refugee camps and the horrific accounts she heard there, including the systematic rape of girls as young as eight. I am proud to be a former chair of The Circle, the global feminist organisation founded by Annie Lennox. Only this morning they shared data with me, which shows that sexual violence in conflicts worldwide has increased by 25% in the past year.

Madam Deputy Speaker, In conversations about a shifting global order, there is an increasing subtext of the need to control women's bodies. We see this in some of the attacks on the legitimacy and funding of the United Nations. I have worked with the UN in my previous work, and make no mistake, there are many reforms that would benefit from. However, starving its institutions of funding to do work that no one else will do for people no one else will help is a grave error work like providing contraception to women in war zones and refugee camps, so that they have some basic control over their bodies in situations where they have control over almost nothing else.

And in the context of domestic cuts to our own aid Budget, which is a source of concern to many of us, we must do everything possible to preserve support for women and girls. And I know that the Foreign Secretary is doing important work on this, but we must not content ourselves by believing that this misogyny only exists abroad. Matt Goodwin, the reform candidate in the Gorton and Denton by election, said that women who do not have children should be taxed more and that young women need an education and fertility.



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Shameful. As if The Handmaid's Tale was something that we should aspire to, something that we should aspire to, he seems to believe that women who choose not to have children or cannot, are somehow failing in cannot, are somehow failing in their duties. Reform have said that where they. In government, the Equality Act, the basis for much of the progress we have made on women's rights in the UK would be repealed. Shame on them.

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repealed. Shame on them. Yeah, yeah. Online British women are stripped of the agency we have over our own bodies, exemplified by grok weaponising women's bodies through notification apps, which our Labour government is right to crack down on. My hon. Friend the Member for Lowestoft had the truly awful experience of someone using this technology to make a fake video of her being chloroformed and prepared for rape. This makes the opposition

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frontbench comments in the previous statement all the more unacceptable. Hey, hey.

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Hey, hey. The intended humiliation of women online is not simply cruel or misogynistic, although it is certainly both. It is intended to instil fear and to signal that some instil fear and to signal that some violent men believe they are entitled to dominate women. It is to try to normalise this abhorrent behaviour. Last week, ahead of International Women's Day, I met with the Fife Violence Against Women Partnership. We discussed the more than 5000 incidents of domestic abuse and over 1100 crimes of indecency reported to the police in Fife last year, and we know that there will be many more unreported.

They also shared with me their concerns about social media and the misogyny spread online by so-called male influencers. I heard shocking reports about some of the things that local school boys have said to female teachers, comments that they have learned online. These included female teachers being told by boys that they teach. And I quote, you are so ugly, I wouldn't even rape you. Male influencers online also seek to spread the idea that the role of the tradwife is what girls and young women should aspire to in life.

This is the idea that women belong only in the home, and that we should all take our fulfilment simply from cooking meals for our husbands and rearing children. This online misogyny is spread by the likes of Andrew Tate and the late Charlie Kirk, and far too many others, and it is aided by harmful algorithms. Perhaps it should not surprise us that a new global survey has found that younger men increasingly believe that a wife should obey her husband, and that men are expected to do too much to support equality.

This is not an accident. There is transnational organisation to make it happen. The European Parliamentary Forum for Sexual and Reproductive Rights found that $1.18 billion was pumped into European movements dedicated to rolling back women's rights between 2019 and 2023. This funding came from 275 different actors, including church run NGOs and far right populist parties. Russia was the biggest source of donations, and the United States the second biggest. It came especially from American Christian nationalists. This American funding is now accompanied by financial help from the US government, which has set aside $200 million to support Maga friendly think tanks in Europe.

Let us be clear that this is designed to spread their ideology, including here in the UK. So when we. The decent majority, both in this House and outside of this House, confront the grassroots arms of the far right local groups acting in our communities, let us be clear that they are not just isolated local groupings of people, they are the grassroots arm of a well-organised international effort to reverse women's rights. Madam Deputy Speaker, our government is doing a huge amount to drive forward women's equality on closing the pay gap on childcare, on tackling violence against women and girls and so much more.

I am proud of that work. But we face a dark threat to the fabric of our society. From this organised misogyny that I have described, we must defeat it

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and we have much to do here. Lincoln Jopp thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. And can I start by paying tribute to the Member for paying tribute to the Member for Gorton and Denton for her maiden speech? She spoke with grace, poise speech? She spoke with grace, poise and purpose, and I think that her constituents are very lucky to have constituents are very lucky to have them, her representing them here, whether they voted for her or not. Members on these benches will know that I am not overly competitive.

I just have to win everything. And so I was rather devastated that the the new member made a far, far better maiden speech than my own meagre offering after the general election in 2024, she said she
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Lincoln Jopp Portrait Lincoln Jopp MP (Spelthorne, Conservative)
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wanted to put Gorton and Denton on the map, and she certainly put it the map, and she certainly put it on my radar because I was wondering when she was listing the number of distinguished people from her constituency whether she would get round to mentioning Ethel Sunny round to mentioning Ethel Sunny Lowry, who was the first British woman she was born in in Gorton, and she was the first British woman and she was the first British woman to swim the English Channel in 1933.

And I know what hon. Members are thinking. Surely I have got some neat segue to other women with water based heroics from my own Spelthorne constituency, and I wouldn't like to disappoint hon. Members because in 1903, at 111 White Hart Lane in Barnes, young Amy Gentry was born to a Cockney father who had worked his way up and become a publisher, and they bought a plot on an island called Hammer Island. Now, Hammer Island is the southernmost point of the River Thames, and it is also the southernmost point of my Spelthorne constituency.

You can get camping plots there. And she went there from the age of one and her dad got a boat and they used to love messing around in boats, and before she was ten years old, the people on Hammer Island used to have these gymkhanas and she was entered into a dinghy racing contest, which I think she won. And so she clearly got a taste for competition. The war then intervened in her growing up, and obviously hon. Members will be only too aware that in 1918 we passed in this place the representation of people, the people act and the tide was turning in terms of.

Votes for women, women's individuality, women expressing themselves. And in 1920, Weybridge Rowing Club decided that they would form a women's section. This was considerably revolutionary at the time, and they formed a women's rowing section. They got a group of young ladies together and trained them in how to row properly, and had the whole women's rowing movement began in 1925, young Amy Gentry went over to the charity regatta in in Belgium or in the Netherlands, where she competed against France, Belgium and Holland, and in 1927 the sport had developed that much further that the.

They had an eight competition on the Oxford and Cambridge course between Putney and Mortlake. She wrote at the time that she felt like she was rowing backwards at times, I mean, not I mean, obviously literally she was rowing backwards, but she didn't really feel like she was going anywhere. So dreadful weather conditions in 1932, her father went to a boat builder and said, if you build my daughter a boat, will she win? And the boat builder said she will.

And indeed she did. And she carried all before her. From 1932 to 1934, she became the the Secretary of the Weybridge Rowing Club, and by 1939 was its chair and she was the driving force on in women's rowing in the country. One of the clubs which had been useful and had adopted this with some enthusiasm was the Vesta Rowing Club, and they set up the first women's regatta, and a gentleman from the Vesta Rowing Club said at the time while I do not approve of rowing for women as they will do it anyway, the best thing I can do would be to help them do it properly, so you can see the sort of attitudes that RAF at the time.

Nevertheless, she was fantastic at it and she retired from the highest level of the sport in the late 30s. Obviously, the Second World War came around and in 1939 she became the secretary to Barnes Wallis. And for those members who are not familiar with the Dam Busters, I have to remind hon. Members that Barnes Wallis was instrumental in developing the bouncing bomb, and the way in which he did it was that he and his secretary, Amy Gentry, would go to Silvermere Lake, and he would fire various projectiles from a catapult across the lake, and then he and Amy would row out to collect them in order to see how they fared.

Sort of a very high grade stone skimming competition. And at one stage, Barnes Wallis was a pretty serious guy. And Amy had to point out to him that they were rowing out to one of the projectiles. She said, Wallace, you may be in charge, but I am in charge in this boat. Sit down. So after the war, rowing went from strength to strength. We were represented in the European Championships in 1952 and in 1954, carrying all before us at the national and international level.

As a slight aside, in the 1954 European Games, which Amy Gentry went over to, she handed out some prizes to one of the crews to a young lady called Betty Shubrook, and Betty Shubrook was a member of the London Rowing Club, and she had met her soon to be husband at the London Rowing Club on Regatta on Boxing Day. His name was Graham Hill. She went on to be Betty Hill, and she became the only person to be married to and be the mother of a Formula One World racing champion.

So Amy was awarded the. She. Sorry. She was instrumental in bringing the euros here, the European Championships here in 1960, and she was awarded the OBE in 1969. She died in June 1976 in Stanwell in my constituency. And the significance of that date is a sad irony because she didn't quite live to see the moment. One month later, when women were allowed to compete in rowing in the Olympic Games in Montreal. And so if when hon.

Members in a month's time, if they happen to be watching the Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race, when the. The women's crew goes under Barnes Bridge in the latter stages of the race, they will pass a huge pub on the south bank of the River Thames and it is called the White Hart, and that is at the end of White Hart Lane, where Amy Gentry was born. And so when hon. Members see that moment, perhaps they would join me in raising a glass to the remarkable woman, Amy Gentry.



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Dawn Butler thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker, and I'd like to thank the government for having thank the government for having this debate in government time. I had put in for a backbench business had put in for a backbench business debate, as I normally do, as backup. I think that now that we have a Labour government, I could probably Labour government, I could probably stop doing that now. To speak. I
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Dawn Butler Portrait Dawn Butler MP (Brent East, Labour)
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stop doing that now. To speak. I need to apologise for my voice. I was going to blame it on a cold, but actually I was at the transmission concert yesterday at Wembley Arena and I was shouting that trans rights are human rights quite loudly, and also singing along to Beverley Knight's Everything's Going to Be All Right, and it reminded me of a saying that everything will be all right in the end. And if it's not all right, it's not the end.

And Madam Deputy Speaker, right now, things are not all right for women. As the Minister stated in her excellent opening speech, women are currently at our most vulnerable globally. It feels worse than it has felt in a very long time with the influencers and the brain rot of social media and the increasing lack of legislation around bodily autonomy and men influencing boys, as we've heard many times from MPs today, on what a perfect woman should be, with detailed instructions of how to abuse women and girls, we are in serious danger as women and we need protection.

So today is the day on International Women's Day, Madam Deputy Speaker, to tell some truths because for many of us, progress has not been made by us being welcomed in the room. Progress has been made by us taking up room. Progress has been made by us taking up space. And I want to thank all the women in my constituency in Brent who have taken up space even when, as women, we're told you don't belong here or we're told they're letting anyone in nowadays, which was said to me by an MP once on the terrace.

And that is not the only thing that's been said to me as an MP. I've been told, Madam Deputy Speaker, that I'm too serious and that I've also been told that I'm not serious enough. I've been told I need to dress up, then been told I need to dress down. I should smile more or I smile too much. I'm too confident or I'm not confident enough. I talk about black issues too much, and then I don't talk about black issues enough.

Or I talk about women's issues all the time, but I don't talk about men's issues. And the reality is, Madam Deputy Speaker, I've been here for all of the International Men's Day debate when there's been nobody on the back benches from the other side. So nobody can accuse me of not being an equal opportunity debater. But the truth is this that you can't win and you will never win if you're trying to fit into anyone else's expectations. Some people try to make you feel so small that they try and strip away who you are, so that you no longer recognise yourself and some people.

And the hallmark of those people are the people who are unhappy in their own lives. They often have small appendix and they will try to put others down. And the worst thing we can do to yourself is to allow that to happen. Because in life, as women, we need all the strength that we can get just to survive. I recall, Madam Deputy Speaker, after my cancer diagnosis and whilst writing my book, A Purpose of Life, deciding that I wanted to be Mayor of London, there were many positive responses to that for which I am eternally grateful, and I'll be tapping them up for the campaign.

But of course, that was mixed with, oh, there's never been a black mayor and oh, there's never been a female mayor. And what makes you think you can do it? What have you done? What have you delivered? So as that somebody else was saying that to me. It's a man's job, isn't it? And I should stay in my lane. Madam Deputy Speaker, the truth is, my lane is wherever I say it is. And I will stay in my lane and I will achieve my ambitions because I have learnt something important on my political journey, that when you give your voice, when you give our voice, when we give our time, when we give our courage, we don't lose.

We learn and we gain. And I have gained so much. I have gained friends, I have gained knowledge, and I've gained the power to change things for the better. And I have made it my mission to pave the way for others. I don't always succeed and sometimes people let you down. But that's just life. But sometimes I do succeed, Madam Deputy Speaker, and there are two female MPs in

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this place who I gave their first jobs to in Parliament. Oh.

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Oh. My dear friend, the MP for Stratford and Bow and the MP for Stratford and Bow and the MP for West Bromwich, two women who are now doing a phenomenal job for their constituents. That is what their constituents. That is what can happen when you give, when you can happen when you give, when you give, you and others gain. I know what it feels like, Madam Deputy Speaker, not to be taken seriously, to have my experiences dismissed, my views belittled, and for people not recognising the struggle or your greatness.

So this International Women's Day debate is time to tell the truth. I have been in many rooms where I've not fitted in, so I've come to accept that, and I have come to embrace standing out. I will wear my bright clothes. Madam Deputy Speaker This one is from Deborah. I will smile when I am happy, and I will act confident, even when at times I may not feel it. The truth of the matter is, when women rise, the system gets better.

Women are failed by the system and by some men and women time and time again, whether it is the courts system or whether it is in Iran, Gaza, Afghanistan, Sudan, UK or or America, women and girls lives are in danger all over the globe. And, Madam Deputy Speaker, I find it strange that we have misogynistic men who are part of the biggest, wealthiest paedophile gang we have ever seen, and yet no one is in prison, even though the evidence is there in the files.

Hardly anyone has been arrested. And where they have been arrested, it is not for raping little girls and teenagers. And we should ask ourselves, why is that? How is it that people can protest outside hotels, but they're not protesting outside the Sandringham estate? No matter the colour of your skin or how much money you have in the bank, if you abuse and rape little girls and teenagers and young women. If you're part of a grooming gang, large or small, you should be punished and you should be in prison.

And I believe it is our duty in this place to speak up and to ensure that paedophiles are punished without fear or favour. I don't care who they are, I don't care who they're friends with. I don't care if they're royalty. I don't care if they're influential people. It's time to tell the truth and not to pretend that you care about women and girls. When you're being selective. A woman is killed every three days in the UK and every ten minutes globally.

A woman is raped every eight minutes in the UK and just seconds globally. I want women and girls to be safe, not just in the UK but globally around the world. This International Women's Day, I would love for people to give comfort to women who are struggling everywhere, whether it is at war or in the workplace. There is no hierarchy of women. None of us are free until we are all free. None of us are safe until we are all safe.

Madam Deputy Speaker, the truth is, you don't know how strong you are until that is the only thing you have left. But you shouldn't need to be strong. You should just be safe. It is also true that women of colour are expected to be strong all of the time, and we are tired. Tired of not being supported, tired of being overlooked and tired of our pain not being recognised. Whether it's in the UK or globally. And as we pour unprecedented amounts of money into AI systems that makes women's lives less safe, let's refocus our efforts on protecting women and girls.

And if we do that, if we protect the most vulnerable women, if that is our starting point. Madam Deputy Speaker then the outcomes will be better, stronger,

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fairer, more equitable, and safer for all. Thank you. Kirsty Blackman thank you very

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Kirsty Blackman thank you very much, Madam Speaker. It's always difficult to follow the member from Brent East, whose speeches I am Brent East, whose speeches I am generally in awe of, and that was yet another one, a speech that I yet another one, a speech that I was also in awe of was the one from the Member for Gorton and Denton. the Member for Gorton and Denton. Like the member over here, I wish I had delivered a maiden speech that was anywhere close to as good as that.

That level of passion for her constituents was very clear. And that feeling, that understanding of constituents as well. There are so many MPs in here who are first elected, who do not understand their constituents or their constituencies, and it's very clear that the new member for Gorton and Denton is one of her people in her constituency and really understands how her patch feels. I think they are very lucky to have such a representative. And, Madam Deputy Speaker, I thought about how best to do this speech today, whether I would go on a kind of political thing raging about all of the injustices, whether I talk about all of the unseen women that there are that are doing all of the heavy lifting that we don't talk about and we don't notice.

I thought about how best to to put this across, but honestly, Madam Speaker, I have had about the busiest week in Parliament that I've ever had, and I am going to try and give a speech in which I don't cry. And that's my bar today. So if we get to that point, I'll have. I'll have one. One of my team is called alma and is one of the most wonderful humans I have ever met, and she has. Was born in Denmark.

I spent a lot of time in Denmark and was telling me that in Denmark, International Women's Day is called Camp Dag, which I probably pronounced wrong, but it means Women's Struggle Day or Women's Fight Day. It's about recognising the fight and the struggle that women face, but it's also about fighting and struggling for those women. And I thought that that was such a good thing to think of. For all of us in here about the fact that that fight and that struggle is ongoing.

It is not one. And as a member from Brent East said, things are not in a good way right now. Things are less safe than they have been in a very long time. I think we need to continue to support, recognise and fight for those unseen women. We talk about that unseen work. Sometimes we talk about the fact that there are women doing jobs that nobody notices. Nobody. I'm telling you, you would notice if they weren't doing them. You would notice very quickly if they weren't doing them because things would not work.

The reason that we one of the reasons that
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Kirsty Blackman Portrait Kirsty Blackman MP (Aberdeen North, Scottish National Party)
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we're all standing here today, and the reason that we are able to have this debate today, is because this debate today, is because there's a member of House staff who make sure that we have these debates that make sure that debates happen. It's her birthday today, happen. It's her birthday today, and I'm not going to say her name because she'll probably kill me. But I want to recognise that she's But I want to recognise that she's one of the many unseen women in this place who ensures that we can this place who ensures that we can do what we do, who ensures that we have got that time and space to be able to stand up and make those speeches.

Who has made the time on this Thursday for us to be able to speak about the issues that are affecting our constituents, the issues that are affecting women around the world. A number of people have spoken about oppressive states and what is happening in so many countries around the world, with the situation systemically, the situation run by the state becoming worse for women. Some of that is because of religious expectations from various different religions requiring a having a very strong interpretation and extreme interpretation of some of the religious texts, and requiring women to act and behave in a certain way.

Some of it's not. Some of it's just because we have got we continue to have patriarchal societies throughout the world, and men are historically bigger and stronger than us and able to keep that in place. We've got huge amounts of gendered expectations on young women growing up. It is made worse by the fact that they are on the internet. The fact that the gendered expectations are not just happening in the school classrooms, they're not just happening in television shows that they see.

They're happening in games that they play online. They're happening in online spaces that they inhabit. They're happening everywhere that women are expected to be subservient to men. And a number of us have spoken before about how women have got to be better than men in order to get to the same position. I've spoken before a lot about the the phrase hard working families. And sometimes when people say the word, the phrase hard working families, they mean middle class families.

They mean people that are earning 40 or 50 grand a year. They don't mean people who are working as carers. They don't mean people that are trying to get four kids out of the door in the morning with the right shoes on, on the right feet. They don't mean that. They don't mean the people that are doing those everyday jobs that we desperately need. They don't mean the bus drivers. They don't mean the people working to ensure that all of our lives run smoothly.

I think the member from Darlington mentioned the earlier on the way that we look at society and the value that we give to roles, and I've been thinking for a long time about the fact that we should really tip this on on its head. We should think about which jobs actually do we need, which jobs do we need people to be doing? We need people to be carers. We need people to look after children in nurseries. We need people to be teachers. We need people to be nurses and doctors.

We need people to do all of those public sector roles that we desperately need. But we don't value them. We don't pay them more than the living wage in a lot of cases. You know, actually, those are the people whose jobs we desperately need or society would fall apart. Yet for some reason, we continue to think that that's OK, that they continue to be bottom of the pile. These jobs are overwhelmingly jobs that women are in overwhelmingly. And I think that we need to think about that gendered expectation that women will continue to do all of the hard work and will pay them very little for doing that job.

Imagine they didn't imagine the women went on strike. Imagine every woman that we know that's working in every job that we know went on strike. How quickly society would fall apart if the women stopped doing all of that work that we don't see, which is why we need to fight for them. We need to fight for all of those unseen women doing those unseen jobs, and we need to fight so that we can ensure that it's not just women who are filling those roles.

We need equal opportunities at the top of the pile and at the bottom of the pile. We need to be able to lift women out of some of those roles, but we need to be able to ensure that men can take up some of those roles, and then perhaps we'll get more pay for carers. If there are more men being carers, there are some. Absolutely. But you know, I think that would tip things in a good way. A couple more things in relation to Parliament.

I thought it was really interesting having the Defending Democracy Taskforce just before this debate. I struggle more than I ever have telling young women to come to Parliament, telling them to become an elected representative. It is harder than it has ever been. Part of that is because of social media. Part of that is because of the toxic climate that there can be, particularly out there, particularly out in the world, where, you know, there's so much polarisation and ideological position taking that results in the abuse that women face, the abuse that members from ethnic minority backgrounds face, standing up in front of a class of young women, a class of people from a variety of different ethnic backgrounds, it's very hard to say to them, this is a great job.

You should do it. What you need. What I find myself saying to them is, look, this is a really hard job. This is a job where you will face abuse. It is worth it to make a difference. It is worth it to do that. And I think cross-party, we are genuinely all working together to try to ensure that democracy is defended, that younger people thinking about going into politics or older people thinking about going into politics, can truly consider that and take that on without fear that they will be abused again.

The Member for Brent East talked about those expectations on women, and I remember watching a Queen's Speech and I was doing BBC TV when I was, I think it was a Queen's Speech, and I was sitting there and the journalist turned to me when Theresa May got out the car and said, what do you think of Theresa May's outfit? And I was like, she looks very resolute, you know, and, and he says, he said, OK, you're right. I shouldn't have asked you that.

I'll ask the man on the panel instead. What do you think of Theresa May's outfit? So that's not the point. That's not the point. It's not about what Theresa May is wearing. It's about what she's doing. It's about the importance of this moment. You know, whether I agree or disagree with the conservative Prime Minister, she was stepping out of the car as Prime Minister. It was really important. And talking about what she was wearing was not the right thing to do in that moment.

As I said, the Member for Brent East talking about those expectations was talking about being too too smiley or not smiley enough was talking about the fact that we just simply cannot win, no matter what abuse is thrown at me. I guarantee you I have said worse to myself, right? I am my own greatest critic, as many of the women that I meet and that I know across Parliament as the only woman in the SNP right now, because of because of being wiped out by you guys.

Frankly, it's not that we didn't. It's not that we didn't stand lots of women. We stood lots of women. It's just bad electoral luck on our part in relation to that and losing lots of seats. As the only woman in the SNP, finding that fellowship across the house is really difficult right now, finding that fellowship and support. And so I'd be happy to support and to work with people who are doing, organising the women's caucus, trying to get that off the ground for people like me and women in other parties that are particularly small parties who don't have those relationships naturally within our parties, you can't find those those people, unless we happen to bump into each other in the tea room.

We don't get that in group meetings. I think it's really important that we push forward with the women's caucus in order that women can have that place where we get support, and I commend all of the members that have worked really hard on trying to bring forward the the women's caucus in. The last thing I wanted to touch on was menopause, because members are right. It's not talked about enough. It's not something that I ever would have heard discussed in my home when I was a child.

It's not something that I knew existed. I mean, I'm sure I knew that something happened at the end, but I, but I but I didn't know, you know, I'm sure I knew that period stopped at some point, but I didn't really know much beyond that. The more I the more I've got groups of women that I speak to that are growing older, getting past their 30s. The more I've learned about menopause. And I just want to say, how unfair is it that itchy ears are a symptom of menopause? I mean, you know, you've got everything else to deal with.

You're dealing with so much rubbish, right? I'm just telling you all, if you don't know, itchy ears are a symptom of menopause. And I think that's my kind of public service announcement for for the day. So if you hear women in your life talking about having itchy ears, just be kind to them. Give them a bit of support. Madam Deputy Speaker, I think it's really important that we hold each other up, that we support one another, that we work on a cross-party basis to further the rights of women, to ensure that those unseen women are supported, and to ensure that people working in traditional women's roles that are historically belonging to mostly held by women, that we pay them an awful lot more money in order to recognise the contribution that they deliver.



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Yeah. Katrina Murray. Thank you. Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker.

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Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. It gives me great pleasure and pride to contribute to this debate pride to contribute to this debate today. This is probably OK. I've only been here 18 months, but this only been here 18 months, but this this is like one of my favourite debates in the chamber because it debates in the chamber because it gives us that privilege of being able to listen to the experiences from across the house, to recognise the women who make a difference in everybody's local communities.

The difference globally. And it's always inspiring. And it also gives me great pleasure to follow on from the member from Aberdeen North. Because of the conversation that we had earlier on in this week where I think I uttered the phrase that we in this place, we cross paths more
15:07
Katrina Murray Portrait Katrina Murray MP (Cumbernauld and Kirkintilloch, Labour)
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often than we cross swords and OK, the proverbial verbal swords, not the physical ones. I'll leave those the physical ones. I'll leave those with the master of arms, but a recognition that we are not whilst recognition that we are not whilst we are here as women and this is the most diverse parliament Parliament ever that has ever been. Parliament ever that has ever been. We are not homogenous. We have different. We all bring different different. We all bring different things to this place.

We all bring a different perspective. And this Parliament is stronger for it. And that's why I really, really also

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feel really privileged to be able to hear the maiden speech of the Member for Gorton and Denton. Yes.

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Yes. And welcome what she brings to this place as well, and welcome her this place as well, and welcome her to our place. This the this year's theme for International Women's Day theme for International Women's Day has been said is Give to Gain, but also UN theme of recognising rights, also UN theme of recognising rights, justice and action for all women. It reminds us that we must never accept that the work is done. We must never forget that what what advances we have made can still be lost.

There are still far too many women and girls across the world who do not have rights, who cannot access justice, and who are not, who are denied education, healthcare and financial independence. In the short time available to me today, I want to highlight some of the women of my constituency of Cumbernauld, Kirkintilloch, who embody that theme. The women who work every day for the rights, well-being and opportunities of others. Women like Linda, Lorna and Christine, and all the women at Tony's Safe Space, an organisation which was founded four years ago today to provide support for those affected by suicide and bereavement and mental health.

A group of women turning personal tragedy into compassion and practical help for others is an extraordinary act of strength in itself. Women like Anne Miller have senior citizens, and the old library management group, a real force of nature in the community, working tirelessly to ensure older people remain connected, active and supported. I have been known to chase me down when I've been doing my surgeries and who somebody. I always love to see women like Isabel Hughes and the welcome group at Saint Patrick's in Kilsyth who provide support, respite and friendship for people living with memory loss and for their families.

And while Grace is a woman's name in itself, this also stands for the Group Recovery Aftercare Community Enterprise in East Dunbartonshire, where Leonie and Overt support adults who are in recovery from life trauma. It is an organisation rooted in lived experience, providing therapy, recovery support and aftercare, and a fundamental belief that the need for aftercare never stops is standing as a powerful force for good and those who building their lives, those women and so many others across Cumbernauld and Kirkintilloch, give their time, energy and compassion to support others that work.

As the member from Aberdeen North said earlier, happens quietly without recognition and its impact is profound. They strengthen communities, they lift people up. They remind us all of the power of kindness and solidarity. And that is why International Women's Day matters. It allows us to celebrate those contributions. Pause. Remembering that progress has never been inevitable. Every right a woman today enjoys has been hard won by those who came before us. And as we celebrate those achievements, we must also recognise the work that still to be done.

Tackling violence against women and girls, closing the gender pay gap and ensuring every girl has the right and the opportunity to live, lead, learn and thrive. So today I place on record my sincere thanks to the women across Cumbernauld and Kirkintilloch who give so much of themselves in service to others. Their work reminds us that progress. Progress is not just delivered by government, it is built every day in our communities by the people who choose to care, choose to support and choose to stand up for others.

If we truly want a world where women and girls gain equality, justice and opportunity, then we must continue to match their commitment with our action.

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Hey Clive Jones. Thank you very much, Madam Deputy Speaker, and I congratulate Deputy Speaker, and I congratulate the hon. Member for Gorton and Denton on her maiden speech. It was Denton on her maiden speech. It was an eloquent speech that actually made us think that you've been here made us think that you've been here for several years. I really enjoyed your description of your constituency and the people and organisations that you are now representing, and I hope that the hon.

Member doesn't get involved in fixing the plumbing and the plastering in this place. Her place is in this chamber, and I'm sure in
15:13
Clive Jones Portrait Clive Jones MP (Wokingham, Liberal Democrat)
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being here, she'll make a name for herself and be a really good herself and be a really good champion for her constituents. This debate is an opportunity to mark the progress we have made to the progress we have made to improve gender equality and empower women in all areas of life. It is women in all areas of life. It is important that we also monitor the progress and assess whether there progress and assess whether there is much work to do. The Gender Equality Index is a helpful tool which looks at gender equality across all authorities in the UK.

Wokingham scores in the top 10% of local authorities for for women's outcome, meaning women Wokingham generally held better equality in pay, life expectancy, job progression and skills compared to women nationally. However, specifically Wokingham, there is still a significant gap in pay between women and men in job far behind the outcomes of men. That is why there is still so much work that needs to be done to ensure that the gender equality is improved and then strengthened for this generation and for many generations to come.

A very serious issue is where gender equality plays out in shocking and violent ways through casework. I have seen many women in Wokingham are victims of abuse and violence, often linked to an imbalance in financial and physical power. It is a great shame that many women who are victims of domestic abuse for unsupported and neglected by the police, the courts and other services and are often left relying on charities. That is why the government needs to ensure survivors of violence against women and girls are properly supported in the criminal justice system, with mandatory training for police and prosecutors on the impact of trauma.

The government must also ensure that there is sustainable funding for services that support domestic abuse survivors. On this I must, I must highlight the vital work done by Vicky Robertson and her charity kaleidoscopic UK, who are based in Wokingham, and help women who have experienced domestic abuse across the Thames Valley. I have also seen through casework that so much of homelessness stems from domestic abuse. This is because of a financial imbalance, as women often have to care for their children, and the accommodation offered is unsuitable for a family.

The government must take action to ensure that victims are not forced to return to perpetrators due to inadequate temporary accommodation. It is clear that while some progress has been made to close the gender gap, there is still so much more to do to make our community

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safer for women and to level the playing field. Thank you. Tonia Antoniazzi.

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Tonia Antoniazzi. Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. It is a real privilege to be here to speak today to mark to speak today to mark International Women's Day. And also, I'd like to pay tribute to the hon. Member for Gorton and Denton on her Member for Gorton and Denton on her maiden speech. I remember when I made my maiden speech here nearly made my maiden speech here nearly nine years ago, time flies. Nearly nearly nine years ago, I remember just above me here were my mum, my brother, my younger brother and my son, aged just 13 at the time, and I.

I don't know who she has with her today. However, I'd like to pay tribute to family members. My mother, who we lost our September. I just wanted to say if it wasn't for other women supporting women and their brothers and sisters and children, we wouldn't be able to stand here today to do our job. So I wish her all the very best. In her career, there have been many advances, Madam Deputy Speaker, in the fight for women's equality in recent recent decades and indeed much welcome and needed action on male violence against women and
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Tonia Antoniazzi Portrait Tonia Antoniazzi MP (Gower, Labour)
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girls since this Labour government came into office, there has, however, been a frustrating status however, been a frustrating status on some issues, meaning that they have worsened. Sexual exploitation have worsened. Sexual exploitation has been shown a clear and sustained rise in the United Kingdom, with increasing numbers of Kingdom, with increasing numbers of women identified as victims. We're seeing more UK national victims of sexual exploitation and at a younger age. Yet women and girls exploited in the sex trade remain to be amongst the most neglected in our policy discussions and reforms.

And so it is of them I want to talk about today, because these women matter, Madam Deputy Speaker, and the harms they experience are extreme. Technological change has reshaped our world, but it has also created new opportunities for sexual exploitation to proliferate on a scale we have never seen before, because our legislation has not kept pace and is not capable of keeping pace, despite it being illegal to place a prostitution advert in a phone box. That same advert can legally be published for profit on a website.

Into this gap, traffickers have moved quickly, pimping websites which act as a vast online brothel, demand, drive demand and supercharge the sex trafficking trade by making it easier and quicker for pimps to advertise their victims. They make it as easy to order a woman to abuse as it is to order a takeaway, and they operate freely and openly because our legislation allows this. A report published just weeks ago by the independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner shows how adult service website don't just host exploited and trafficked women, they provide the infrastructure to initiate, scale and normalise their abuse.

Nearly 63,000 listings for women were recorded across 12 of these sites at one point in time, which attracted almost 41.7 million visitors in a month. And this, Madam Deputy Speaker, is just a fraction of an even larger marketplace because additional sites are available to users, nearly 60% of the adverts analysed displayed three or more indicators of trafficking or exploitation, which, for example, include multiple ads linked to the same phone number and new to area language. Behind these numbers are real and severe harms endured by women exploited on these sites.

Survivors interviewed for this report talked about how they were groomed, controlled and advertised online without their knowledge or consent. A survivor who was exploited alongside other women said none of us had access to the emails from buyers. They came directly through him. He answered as if he was us, and then he would send me a message saying, oh, this person, you know, this is where you're going to meet them and this is what you have agreed to do. This use and abuse of women is directly enabled and amplified by these sites very design, which for example, enable third party facilitation.

Survivors spoke of how traffickers and abusive partners created profiles, arranged bookings on made profits while women themselves were controlled and intimidated. Despite third party facilitation being a known red flag for trafficking, Ofcom guidance ignores this and portrays it as a safety measure. Profiles on these sites also give the illusion of independence to mask deeper exploitation. Another survivor said she was being raped on webcam, essentially. And of course the people watching aren't aware of that. The profile is written, so it sounds as if I'm independent and enjoying it.

How do you go behind a webcam to make sure that that woman isn't being coerced? Meanwhile, buyers on some forums openly discuss which women are controlled and the benefits this has for them. As another survivor explained, you will see men sharing about these girls are trafficked. You can get away with doing this to her. It's just right there on the page. This is the selling and abuse of women in plain sight on an industrial scale. Madam Deputy Speaker enabled by our legislative framework.

This is totally unacceptable. These women deserve so much better. The independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner is absolutely right in saying that these websites are ready made tools for abuse, and that the toughest action must be taken against them. The all party parliamentary group on Commercial Exploitation, which I chair, has been sounding the alarm on pimping websites and their harms for quite some time. And the truth is that current legislation and regulatory guidance are not acting or preventing this harm. And it is traffickers, pimps and punters operating with near total impunity who benefit women are abused as if they are objects and suffer acutely.

We, Madam Deputy Speaker, are failing them, so I urge the government to pay close pay close attention to the report's findings and to act urgently on its recommendations for a robust review into them, one that includes survivors. And this needs to be a prompt one. There's a lot of evidence already out there, and the longer we wait, the more women and girls are suffering as a result. And what's more, the scale and ease of access of this online market is not just facilitating exploitation, it is also more widely fuelling the dangerous rise in misogyny.

By normalising the idea that women exist to be bought, used and discarded in an age where prostitution is glamorised, boys and men are repeatedly exposed to platforms that present women as sexual commodities, and it inevitably shapes their attitudes. The scale of demand for pimping websites should give us serious pause for thought in that respect as well. Shutting these sites down has a fundamental role to play, not just in preventing horrific exploitation, but also in shifting the attitudes of men and boys to promote healthy and respectful relationships.

If we are. Madam Deputy Speaker to tackle male violence against women and girls,

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these websites have to be shut down. John Grady. I'm obliged. Madam Deputy

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I'm obliged. Madam Deputy Speaker, May I start by paying tribute to the Member for Gorton and Denton for what was a profound speech? Remember used the phrase speech? Remember used the phrase our humanity is for sale, and in that there is a profound truth and that there is a profound truth and we must recognise in this House that there are people who disagree with that and want to tear us apart. And as someone who has a diverse constituency covering many different races, faiths and differences of views, I treasure that diversity because I do believe our humanity is the same, and we in this House must be very careful to fight against those who want to shatter that, and who want to tear us apart and take us significantly back in time and argue.

Manatee is the same as those women and girls. But my friend the Member for North East Fife spoke of, and as a fellow office bearer on the APPG for Afghan women and girls, we must do much more to support women and girls in Afghanistan, and we must
15:25
John Grady Portrait John Grady MP (Glasgow East, Labour)
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look afresh at things like international law to criminalise international law to criminalise the mistreatment of women and girls to such evil degrees. And the to such evil degrees. And the Minister rightly mentioned the fight by trade unionists for equal pay. Now, the first socialist in my pay. Now, the first socialist in my party was my great Auntie Nellie, who led equal pay strikes in the 30s in Pontefract in the factories, 30s in Pontefract in the factories, and she became friends with Barbara Castle, who of course, is responsible for the Equal Pay Act.

And we should all be very angry. But the fact of the matter is that women now are paid less than men. There are still considerable structural inequality of pay. But now our fight for equality, which I believe is shared by all of us and we must all share faces new and much more dangerous threats. And we must redouble our efforts. And we shouldn't just be angry about it. We are legislators. We must legislate and then see that legislation acted on, because otherwise the future for women and girls, my daughter and the other children in my constituency and across the world will become bleaker when we want to see progress.

Now, Madam Deputy Speaker, I want to speak about domestic abuse. Today. 1 in 4 women in the UK will experience domestic abuse in their lifetime, and in Glasgow East, I work with survivors and I see how in particular, housing instability is a barrier to my constituents fleeing abuse, and I'm very dismayed at the lack of support provided by the housing sector in Scotland to survivors. Survivors do not receive trauma informed care and are not supported into safe, settled homes.

Instead, I've met women who have suffered from terrifying sexual violence, who have been forced into social housing in an awful condition and then faced months of unknown male workmen coming to their new home. And the social landlords have been aware that the women in question have suffered and for women shouldn't have to ask for female work. People to come to work in their homes should be a matter of course. Women in my seat waiting months for house transfers, meaning that their abusers know exactly where they live.

A particular legal problem is when women are not included on the tenancy for their rented home. This means that they do not have legal rights to stay in their home. And when the relationship comes to an end for women to face eviction and homelessness, and this is why the Scottish Parliament passed part two of the Domestic Abuse Protection Scotland Act 2021 almost five years ago. Madam Deputy Speaker. This gives social landlords powers to transfer tenancies from abusers to survivors.

But almost five years after it was passed, we are still waiting for this to be made legally enforceable by the Scottish Government. I have been pressing the Scottish Government on this and in January I wrote to the press about this disgraceful delay and the next day the Scottish Government announced they would finally bring these provisions into force. Despite this five year delay, social landlords have had no formal guidance from the Scottish Government about how the provisions will operate in practice. They do not know how the courts or the police will approach this, and this is essential for social landlords.

A poorly thought out implementation will put survivors at further risk. I have raised these concerns with the SNP, Scottish Government and I am still awaiting a response. Now. Madam Deputy Speaker for organisations who do fantastic work to ensure survivors housing stability, the Domestic Abuse Housing Alliance does provide the infrastructure training and monitoring necessary for social landlords to recognise and tackle domestic abuse. This works very well in England, just north of here, Islington Council have very successfully worked with data and significantly improved the outcomes for survivors of domestic abuse.

And in Glasgow, social landlords need help and support to make the improvements that they must make. And for social landlords, I recognise, do recognise the importance of this. I am determined to see survivors of domestic abuse get much better help and support. And so I've asked social landlords to meet with data and I am pleased that two housing associations in my seat, Wheatley and Governance Hill, as well as the Scottish Housing Regulator, have expressed an interest in learning more and are willing to meet with Darren.

In agreeing to do so. They are demonstrating their commitment to supporting survivors of domestic abuse. I will encourage others to do the same. Madam Deputy Speaker, We must do much, much better in Scotland for the survivors of domestic abuse, and I am determined to continue to work hard on this. Madam Deputy Speaker, I wish to speak about one other topic on my seat. I am very proud of the work of one of my local charities, Scottish Sports Futures.

They do great work with young people in my seat. In particular, they encourage young women to speak up about their experience of violence against women and girls. And this means that the young men in their programmes learn about what they have to do to treat women as their equals and to treat them with respect. I cannot praise Scottish sports Futures enough for working on this and giving those young women a voice, and several of those young women in their programmes spoke with bravery about this at their annual awards event last week.

At the event, a young woman from Barrowfield, just round in my seat, spoke courageously about violence against women and girls and the issue of youth violence more generally, which has a profound impact on girls in my constituency in particular. Following the killing of a young boy in my seat two years ago called Corey McCrimmon, his family face their grief, by the way, with profound dignity and courage. I'm proud of all my young constituents, Madam Deputy Speaker and politics is a matter of morals and it's a moral issue.

And my moral obligations for our Member of Parliament is to do everything within my power to tackle violence against women and girls.

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Scott Arthur Marie Tidball. Thank you. Madam Deputy Speaker, and to all

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Madam Deputy Speaker, and to all the women in this chamber who really have stayed in their lane in really have stayed in their lane in the debate today, when they amputated my leg, they amputated a amputated my leg, they amputated a part of me. I see my body and I feel disgust, repulsion. I fear feel disgust, repulsion. I fear that my amputation took away my femininity, my ability to be yearned for, my womanhood pauperised trapped in a body that does not reflect my mind or my self.

Anorexia, unplanned, like an addiction, crept upon me. I ate less and became thinner. My wish that nobody would notice my disability and I would simply disappear. A physical escapism. For the first time in my life, the eating disorder gave me control over my body. The way it looked, the way it felt, my frustration about my physical form turned into obsession. The obsession fed me where food did not. It gave me power. Success became feeling bones left behind under taut skin.

Knowing my pelvis protruded below a small waist. Cheekbones were prominent on a smileless face. Anorexia was about the relationship between a despised body and a disciplined mind. Eventually, that mind was consumed to a warped wasteland where fear and anger roamed. There was no escape from or for myself. Wait for stone, £10. My body was breaking down. I was losing my hair and my period stopped. My menstruation ending ultimately saved me and my life.

Somewhere at the back of my head, I knew I wanted to have children. Eventually, I took the pill. My period started again, I ate more. My desire to be a mother gave me a reason to get better, signalled a future and made me no choice. Once
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Marie Tidball Portrait Dr Marie Tidball MP (Penistone and Stocksbridge, Labour)
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again, I wrote these passages 20 years ago, in my early 20s, while years ago, in my early 20s, while recovering from my last major surgery to my legs. I was anorexic surgery to my legs. I was anorexic for four years from being age 14, and whilst I was physically better and whilst I was physically better by the time I went to university, it took me until my mid 20s to have it took me until my mid 20s to have a healthy relationship with food.

And I'm not alone. Over the years, I've spoken to other disabled women about their experiences of eating disorders linked to their own body image and identity. Devastatingly, 20 years later, two decades after I wrote those passages, social attitudes towards sex, relationships and disability remain an enormous taboo, which means disabled women are still going through this anguish, anguish, damaging their mental health, causing them to self-harm and eroding their self-esteem. Actor and disability activist Melissa Jones, who has an upper body limb difference, shared her story how she has a strong history of loathing her body, but that never came from her.

It came from society telling her that her body was wrong too often. Madam Deputy Speaker, Disabled women's bodies do not count mum, social media influencer and wheelchair user Sophie Bradbury Cox showed me just some comments made on her social media about the fact that she is a disabled mother, including there's something horribly unethical about having children when you're not able to care for yourself. These damaging attitudes and the lack of awareness of these issues are leading disabled women to face barriers in public services, including accessing sexual and reproductive and maternity care.

In the last year, I've met two incredible disabled women, Karly, a Paralympian, and Sarah, an occupational therapist. Both have cerebral palsy and neither found out they were pregnant until their second and third trimesters, respectively, because none of their clinicians considered that they might be pregnant. Carly Tait, who competed in the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, soon discovered she was pregnant after retiring from professional sport. This was immediately followed by a lot of questions about whether she was capable of giving birth.

A line of conversation she faced throughout her pregnancy. Some people seem to ignore her pregnancy altogether. On the last day before her maternity leave, a colleague approached her saying, oh my gosh, you're pregnant. Sharing an ableist view that someone like Carly couldn't possibly be pregnant. But disabled women are making babies, having babies, and being brilliant mothers against the odds. Odds that mean we face a 44% higher likelihood of stillbirth. That's why I've called on the Secretary of State for health to put inclusive maternity care for disabled women at the heart of our women's health strategy, so that our womanhood no longer remains invisible.

But we need to go further and finally embed the social model of disability into women's healthcare and implement the recommendations for the UK government made by the United Nations Committee on People with disabilities in 2017, that committee found the rights of disabled women and girls have not been systematically mainstreamed into either the gender equality or disability agendas. With disabled women facing multiple barriers to accessing sexual and reproductive health services and professionals, I've lost count of the number of disabled people I've ended up mentoring who self-harmed and attempted suicide because of these issues of sex, relationships and disability not being discussed, and the lack of services and absence of professional expertise to support them.

I'm proud that our government's reforms will engender a high quality and inclusive curriculum for all, but this must include the representation of disabled people in PS lessons in school. We must turn the tide of public attitudes towards disabled people, particularly empowering young disabled people to have more positive perceptions of self. But there are reasons to be hopeful. Green shoots of representation are appearing on our screens. EastEnders is currently covering a storyline about a pregnant woman who is a wheelchair user.

This season's Bridgerton featured a subplot with Hazel, a maid played by Gracie McGonagall, and her love interest with dashing footman John. Without the series ever even mentioning Hazel's limb difference. Instagram has become a burgeoning social media platform for brilliant disabled women, supercharging representation of disability and desire of being proud and empowered about the intrinsic beauty of our bodies and our selves. They are boldly forging the conversation about us being loved and in love, powering the narrative around disability and dating, elucidating new language about being in inter abled couples, navigating difficult conversations and acceptance.

Disability no longer cast as absence, but complete full bodied presence. To be loved is to be seen. It is high time our society sees disabled women's whole selves, for only then will we create a society which treats disabled women with the dignity and respect we deserve.
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Dave Robertson Portrait Dave Robertson MP (Lichfield, Labour)
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Dave Robertson thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. Earlier on the Deputy Speaker. Earlier on the Member for Aberdeen North, as part of her speech, mentioned that it can be difficult at times to advise can be difficult at times to advise people to come into the roles that we all do. I actually think she would be well served by just would be well served by just playing people. What we've heard in the House today, this debate has been of the highest quality, and I thank everybody for their contributions so far.

It's been a genuine pleasure to be here and listening. And part of it, we've had the the whole gamut of everything. We've had people just taking the opportunity to pick up their own constituencies. The Member for South Derbyshire, the Member for Spelthorne, I think, did excellently, and I'm not going to get everybody, by the way, because I can't remember everybody's constituency, but I'm going to do my best. But we we took we had people just taking the opportunity just to celebrate wonderful things in the country and those wonderful people who saw a glass ceiling and jumped higher.

And it was wonderful to be part of that. But we've also had a debate where people didn't shy away from the really difficult things that we must do. And I'd like to thank the Liberal Democrat spokesperson for her intervention as well as my hon. My hon. Friend for Glasgow West Glasgow East Glasgow East. It's not gone well already, but but two members who took the opportunity to go to actually talk about some really difficult things as well. And obviously, I am absolutely going to thank the hon.

Member for Penistone and Stocksbridge for her powerful personal testimony. She is always, always somebody who I enjoy listening to in the chamber, and I thank her very much for her contributions today. The debate today serves many of those purposes. It gives us the opportunity to celebrate what is great, but it also gives us the opportunity to talk about where our society and our systems have failed women for far too long. Unfortunately, that's my role today, because I do want to come and raise the issue of what a.

The system has let down far too many people for far too long, and that is in the crimes of Mohammed Fayyad. And I'm very specifically talking about the crimes of Mohammed Fayyad, because I do not want to talk about him. Today is about the proud survivors who have done all they can to bring his crimes to light. Fylde is the former owner of Harrods, Harrods. He was a sexual predator. He trafficked and sexually abused hundreds of women over decades with near complete impunity.

Well over 400 survivors have already come forward, and every day more women take the brave decision to do so. Yesterday, the hon. Member for North East Fife powerfully described fired as Britain's Epstein. It's a characterisation that I and she have heard many times from survivors, particularly as we now co-chair the all party parliamentary group for the survivors of Fylde and Harrods. It's also very good to see another other officers. No, I do not know your constituency, so I'm just going to welcome you to your place.

Apologies to the hon. Member and the scale of the crimes committed by this predator, and I will not call him a man because real men respect women. The scale of the crimes by this predator is staggering, but it is a mistake to think that it is the work of one bad human. Fired was supported by a network of enablers. He died having escaped justice. But there are scores of people who can and must be held to account. They include employees who identified, groomed and trafficked women for the abuse, security staff who harassed and intimidated survivors into silence.

Lawyers who churned out nondisclosure agreement after non-disclosure agreement after non-disclosure agreement, and nobody thought to do anything.

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Doctors who performed invasive medical exams and reported. Order, order and apologies for interrupting the.

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interrupting the. Hon. Gentleman, as there is one live civil case. Can I just live civil case. Can I just encourage the hon. Gentleman to exercise caution in what he says is perfectly OK to say anything about

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perfectly OK to say anything about Mr. Fayed, who is dead? I thank the chair for her

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I thank the chair for her guidance there, and it is really important, and I thank her for that because there are some cases still ongoing. I will be talking about the Metropolitan Police in a minute, but it is clear that we must do better. For far too long, survivors have been ignored and that can't continue and it must not continue. And I'm really grateful to the Minister for safeguarding, who is set to meet with survivors very soon, and I welcome the Prime Minister's commitment yesterday to meet survivors as well.

It's taken far too long to get to this stage, but I'm very glad to see that things are finally starting to move, and I've had the privilege of meeting dozens of women who have taken that very brave step and come out and been able to put themselves in a place where they can disclose to parliamentarians and people they've never met before, because it is their tenacity and their strength. That is that has been been fundamental to driving this agenda forwards and to seeing the advances that we've made recently.

And I'm very grateful to all survivors, as I'm sure everybody in the APPG is also. But we must never take the trust that they have given us for granted. And so far, the APPG has run a consultation with survivors, and we're really pleased that we've seen dozens and dozens and dozens of responses to that, because we are very clear that there is a huge network of people who have been wronged in so many ways by so many systems. And it is astonishing how almost every time we have a meeting, there is something else, because the scale of the failings here cuts right across civil society, across enormous parts of the state, and there is a huge amount that needs to be done to give recompense to some people who have been so poorly served for so long.

I must also place and thank on record my thanks to the Survivors Trust who have been working with us and have provided invaluable support to ensure that we are working in a safe way, bearing in mind the trauma that survivors have suffered, I'm very eager to, in coming months, work with people from right across this house, right across the other place, and actually, anybody who wants to be involved to make sure that we keep up a drumbeat of evidence about the scales of these

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crimes. The hon. Member absolutely. I'll give way, hon. Member, for giving give way, hon. Member, for giving way. He is rightly and powerfully talking about the testimony of survivors and giving thanks to Survivors Trust who have given us such invaluable support as we navigate how we manage a very difficult APPG. Can I also talk difficult APPG. Can I also talk about just two amazing women, our researchers, Catherine and Jessie, who keep us right, keep us grounded and have done a huge power of work while we work out how we will get

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get the APPG forward and take the Secretariat forward. I am so thankful to the hon.

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I am so thankful to the hon. Member for raising both Jesse and Catherine, who are acting as the Secretariat in a very difficult space and in and around other very busy jobs. And I think it's very, very, very clear to certainly to me and I know to the hon. Member that without their hard work, we would not have been able to to they are not have been able to to they are far too good. I've completely lost my place.

Now give me a second. As we move forwards, we are regularly reminded by survivors that for far too long, parts of their stories were ignored for far too long. Actually, often their entire story was ignored. They're very clear that things do need to change. A thing needs to move fastly. One of the things that comes up most regularly is the police investigation. I'm really glad that the met, along with forces in Scotland and in France, are investigating. The met has now confirmed that it is interviewing suspects on suspicion of trafficking and that is vitally important because of.

I was really regularly bring up that that was not being taken seriously enough. I'm very, very, very glad that it now is that focus is vitally important to maintaining the trust of survivors, and what trust is left between survivors and the met. They do still need reassurance, though, that the force is truly grasping the scale of that issue, that they are truly working on this as fast as they can. And there is an oftentimes a frustration raised with us that the updates from the met appear to be.

We'll give you another update in three months. And that update is there'll be another update in three months. Three months is not a short amount of time. And when it's the third or fourth or fifth time that happening, it undermines people's trust that this will ever come, come to a head and allow justice to happen. Just before I close, I would like to thank all members who have spoken about fires, crimes in this chamber, and there's been a number of people in various different formats, and all those people who've joined the APPG, all those people who've spoken to me about this, it's been a real learning curve for me over the last year or so.

It's been really challenging. And that's not to say it's not more challenging for for other people, but it's been really challenging for me. But it's also been a place where I think I've really appreciated people coming to that and showing that trust. And hopefully I want to be able to repay that as time goes by and move things forward in this space for them. Earlier on, though, the few members mentioned that the theme for International Women's Day has been rights, justice and action. And I think that we can really show here that this predator took rights away from far too many people.

They deserve that justice, and it really is time to see that action to get that justice delivered. Thank you. Madam Deputy Speaker.

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I'm expecting the frontbench to be called round about 4:30, maybe a be called round about 4:30, maybe a little later. And I have one, two, three, four. It's either 6 or 7 members waiting to speak. So members waiting to speak. So perhaps members who are still waiting could find their remarks to 6 or 7 minutes so that everyone can get in. Doctor Lauren Sullivan oh, thank you, Madam.

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Deputy Speaker. It's my privilege to speak in this debate today, and I want to pay tribute to the women here, the men here, particularly to member of Penistone and Stocksbridge, for her powerful and moving account and sharing her experiences. You're a voice to so many and there will be action because you are here. Thank you. So
15:52
Lauren Sullivan Portrait Dr Lauren Sullivan MP (Gravesham, Labour)
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International Women's Day from Gravesham. In my community, I've met with obviously many amazing women. I just want to mention a women. I just want to mention a couple before I move on to the substantive part of what I want to speak about. So Nagina Hussain is speak about. So Nagina Hussain is an absolutely phenomenal woman, and last week I recently met with over last week I recently met with over 100 women and had a very beautiful, wonderful evening together where we wonderful evening together where we shared in in food the breaking of the fast and just it was just phenomenal.

So I just want to pay tribute to her as well as our business leaders. So Susan Hassan from Nell's CAF, who I nominated for the MP heroes, heroes, which is Cervantes program in partnership with NatWest. And just to say that she's an institution, a business and a business leader, as well as Sylvia Meade, who brought a wonderful grace and businesses up to visit me in Parliament this week. Again, it's about women coming together, bringing communities together. There are many, many more.

And women in Gravesham do great things and Madam Deputy Speaker and just one. I'm going to tell you a little bit about. So Catherine Green, she grew up in Gravesend, went to Gravesend Grammar School for girls, went on to university, completing natural sciences. She earned her PhD and completed many fellowships, was part of the team at the Jenner Institute, who developed the AstraZeneca Covid vaccine, and she worked with Sara Gilbert, and we thank them for using their talents, their expertise, when the world needed them, they were there.

So I'd like to thank and recognise them for that. Thank you. Now, not all women in science have been recognised and in celebrating women and science, I just want to pay tribute to some women that haven't been recognised. So Ada Lovelace, who is the mother and inventor, founder of computers. She was only recognised 100 years after. Absolutely. Rosalind Franklin, who was the chemist and X-ray crystallographer, not credited or valued for her research. But it was her X-ray image that showed that DNA is a double helix.

Alice Ball, who was an African American scientist chemist who found a leprosy treatment that. But that was stolen and written up as the Dean method later retracted. But still. And Marie Tharp, who is the mother of plate tectonics. So literally these women are absolutely incredible, but their names and contributions need to be recognised. The UN research shows that global scientific community, only a third of women make up that science community, and only 1 in 10 of those researchers leadership roles.

Why? Why is that? Well, women face a set of different challenges. Now. One of those challenges is the motherhood penalty, and that's from pregnancy and beyond. So there are structural issues. So in science, PhD students receive a stipend and they are not employed. So they don't get those access to maternity rights or government childcare. Currently, as postdocs and as my maternity time is not really factored in their two year contracts. So if you need to step out for six months a year, what do you do your research on? Pause.

Somebody else comes in and finishes it. What that means is that there is a less papers, less impact, less likely to see progress. Now it is possible, and there are many women that have suffered through it, waited and delayed having families until they have tenure in that that permanent position. But it doesn't need to be this hard. And then when when, when children grow up. So that's the pregnancy part. Half of responders in the UK report for carers in Stem report that they had to cancel their travel plans because of caring responsibilities.

I've had it myself. An experiment. You spent months planning nurse rearing up. Come and collect your child. Ariel are OK. Researchers in the field say that they don't travel to those international conferences where they network, where you bring the ideas together because of caring responsibilities. It's fine. We do it because we look after our families, but all that means is we are then one step behind, now others like me, took a career break. Now I just want to declare an interest here.

I was not currently was a recipient of a Daphne Jackson fellowship. And why are they amazing? Madam Deputy Speaker they are phenomenal because they help women and men return to science now. It was named after Daphne Jackson, an English nuclear physicist, the first female physics professor in the UK University of Surrey, the age of 34. Phenomenal. And she thought that qualified women who are unemployed or underemployed following a career break for family commitments represent an appalling waste of talent and investment in their initial education.

I couldn't agree more. Many such women are eager to return to their original careers or to field activity for which their initial education is relevant. Daphne Jackson fellowships provide that retraining so that they can return on a part time basis. And here I just want to pay tribute and thank the Daphne Jackson Fellowship, as well as the Francis Crick Institute, for supporting many women back into research. Now, after a meeting with the Secretary of State for science, Innovation and Technology about my career and the choices of leaving science to raise a family, then try and return and just wiggle, wiggle everything through and try and make it work.

She launched yesterday a new charter to support women in research, and this is a call for funding bodies, all funding bodies to step up to include 52 weeks maternity leave for PhD funders that the Ukri also supporting. It's about raising the bar, lifting a rising tide lifts all boats and it's to improve paternity leave as well. She also announced an increase of £4 million now to Daphne Jackson's. That's over 50 over 100% extra. How many returns to science will that will that mean it's incredible.

Now, this charter is a direction of travel. It's a marker. We're not done. This is a call for women researchers in the UK to tell us what else can we do? How can we work together to make those changes, to keep science and scientists improve science for everyone? Now, in my concluding remarks, I just want to speak to all those young women and girls who are curious about science. You want to help people save the world. Do not doubt yourself. The country needs you.

And finally, to the men who support us, who embrace our. Let us embrace our talents. Thank you. Good men never finish last, but they help us all improve everybody's quality of life. I believe the profession of science has the ability to improve lives beyond measure. Thank you to the scientists who are making a difference. We see you and we thank you.
16:00
Amanda Martin Portrait Amanda Martin MP (Portsmouth North, Labour)
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R Amanda Martin. I want to thank all of those who've contributed in this and other debates this week, including my friend from Penistone and Stocksbridge and my hon. Friend Stocksbridge and my hon. Friend from Warrington North, who this week have shown true bravery and it should be an inspiration to us all. Also want to welcome the hon. Member from Gorton and Denton to her place and for her passionate speech. Madam Deputy Speaker, I want to start by thanking and celebrating the amazing women who have played and still play a part in my life, including friends, family and my fabulous staff.

They are truly inspirational in the love, support and grounding that they give to me, and I hope that they know that I would not be here and could not do this job without them. Madam Deputy Speaker, this International Women's Day, I want to celebrate the women of Portsmouth, my city and a city celebrating a truly special milestone of 100 years as a city this year, 100 years of community resilience and remarkable women getting on with the job and making our city the place it is.

Madam Deputy Speaker. Portsmouth has traditionally been a city that celebrated its people's achievements, but documented by its naval dockyard. Its history has often been a masculine one, but the women have always been there. And as my hon. Friend from Aberdeen North said, we'd certainly notice if they weren't teachers, doctors, nurses, city councillors, factory and shop workers, small business owners, faith leaders and volunteers all pioneering equal rights at work and all quietly cracking on and holding their families and their communities together.

They didn't. They just didn't and often still don't get the recognition that they should deserved. Some of you may notice that I often wear a necklace and it says, Madam Deputy Speaker Pompey Bell. When I was teaching a group of girlfriends in the new T and I began wearing them together, partly in tribute to the women who, during the First and Second World War, kept my city's heart beating whilst the men served abroad, but also as a quiet reminder they were never facing things alone and that together we can achieve so much more.

Now, whenever I put on this necklace, I feel like I'm carrying the support of those women with me. Women who are kind, intelligent, determined, and women who get things done. These necklaces are also made by hip hip. Hooray! A brilliant woman owned local business. And that's local creativity celebrating our women. So, Madam Deputy Speaker, to mark our city's century, I'm proud to be joining forces with others, including my hon. Friend from Portsmouth South to launch the 100 Pompey Bells, a campaign to truly recognise the unsung, amazing heroines of our city.

100 Pompey Bells. Who are the women who show up every single day, the women who don't seek the spotlight, but the women whom without Portsmouth simply would not function? These women, Madam Deputy Speaker, are in all parts of my city and of all ages and of all backgrounds, and I'm privileged to meet so many of them in this role as the Portsmouth North member of Parliament. And I'm so often very humbled, many times reduced to tears at all of the very proud ness and the strength, the openness, the trust and the resilience that they demonstrate day after day, night after night, week after week.

So, Madam Deputy Speaker, with this year's theme of Give to Gain, I want to give recognition to the absolute queens in my city because my city really does gain from them. Nominations will be open soon, and I'd love to see as many local women as possible get involved. I'd love to see their friends, their families, their colleagues, their neighbours put their names forward because we know too often they will not do it themselves so that we can celebrate them and all that they do.

From bacon, berries and science to running food banks, teaching and coaching our children, caring for our most vulnerable, running our small and large businesses and simply holding our communities together. Madam Deputy Speaker, Portsmouth women have always been extraordinary and they've always been proud. So I'd like to place on record to every Pompey Bell in this House and beyond. Thank you for being you, for all you do for

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others and for our city. Here. Amens. Thank you, Madam Deputy

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Amens. Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. It's been. with. but. There.

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There. Are three in particular I would just like to single out. The first is the hon. Member for Gorton and is the hon. Member for Gorton and Denton on an absolutely brilliant maiden speech. I am sure she will maiden speech. I am sure she will continue to make many colourful and inspiring contributions in the years ahead in this place, and it's
16:04
Julie Minns Portrait Ms Julie Minns MP (Carlisle, Labour)
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always a joy to welcome another northern woman to this chamber. Also to my hon. Friend the Member for Brent East pick whatever lane she would like. I will gladly she would like. I will gladly follow. The important thing is she keeps driving ahead and the third keeps driving ahead and the third one is to the Member for Aberdeen North, who reminds us that whatever our differences, we always have more in common than that which divides us. Though, Madam Deputy Speaker, you were not here for the member's remarks.

She talked of strike action by women. I would just like to caution, please the three deputy speakers not to go on strike, because I really dread to think what would happen to this place. With the greatest respect to Mr. Mr Speaker, I'd also like to put on record my thanks to Megan Redhead, who is my senior caseworker and week in, week out strives to deliver great results and improve the lives of the people of Carlisle and who, in the last couple of weeks has achieved the most remarkable outcome for one woman in Carlisle in particular.

It's my privilege today on in this International Women's Day debate to speak about another remarkable woman, an overlooked figure from the Victorian era, Angela Burdett-Coutts, a woman whose compassion, generosity and determination helped shape modern philanthropy. A woman who embodied give to gain. She was born on the 21st of April 1814 in Piccadilly, the youngest daughter of Sir Francis Burdett and Sophia Coutts. She inherited not only her family's name, but in 1837 she inherited her grandfather, Thomas Coutts immense banking fortune, making her one of the wealthiest women in England.

Deeply influenced by leading social reformers, including Charles Dickens, with whom she collaborated for many years. But Dick Coutts dedicated her fortune to tackling poverty, education and social injustice, earning her the name Queen of the poor. Her philanthropy was extraordinary in its breadth. She helped fund ragged schools, built model housing in the East End, developed Columbia Market to bring wholesome but affordable food to the poor. She co-founded innovative projects such as the Urania Cottage, a home for vulnerable and homeless women seeking a new start in life.

In 1884, she co-founded the London Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, which later became the NSPCC. She championed the protection of animals, becoming president of the Ladies Committee of the RSPCA and commissioned the commemorative statue and fountain to Greyfriars Bobby. Her humanitarianism reached far beyond Britain, endowing bishoprics in Cape Town, Adelaide and British Columbia. Back home, she funded drinking fountains and animal troughs right across London. She financed Charles Babbage's early computing efforts, and she contributed significantly to hospitals and churches.

I first came across her when I discovered she had funded the building of Saint Stephen's Church in Carlisle in 1864, having learnt that the new Saint Stephen's Church in Westminster, just a stone's throw from this place, had been financed by Miss Burdett-Coutts, the then Bishop of Carlisle wrote to her to inquire whether she would fund the building of a new church in one of Carlisle's poorest areas, Wapping. Not only did she agree and personally select the stained glass for the church, she also gifted a peal of eight bells that were on the church's demolition in the 1960s.

Installed in the new Saint Elizabeth's Church at Harraby and where they remain to this day. In 1871, Queen Victoria recognised her immense contributions by granting her a peerage, making Baroness Burdett-Coutts one of the few women of her era to receive such an honour in her own right. Like all female pioneers, she was unafraid to challenge convention. Possessing considerable wealth, she was beset by suitors. Many men propose marriage to Miss Coutts, and she declined all of them. She did, however, propose marriage to her friend and advisor, the Duke of Wellington, when he was 79 and she was 33.

He gently declined her, but that was nothing to the scandal her eventual marriage caused. When she was 66, she married 29 year old American William Lehman Ashmead Bartlett. In doing so, she not only caused an outrage in Victorian society, but she triggered a clause in the will of her grandfather's second wife, which stipulated that she must marry an Englishman, and in doing so, she lost much of her multi-million pound fortune. Madam Deputy Speaker. Since discovering Angela Burdett-Coutts, I have mused not just on how her stories like Angela's deserve to be more widely known, but how we should celebrate the female philanthropists and changemakers that did so much for people and wider society.

So in closing, Madam Deputy Speaker, I would like to invite you, the Minister and indeed all colleagues from across the House to support not simply a statue or a plaque to female changemakers, but to an audible celebration featuring the coots bells from Saint Stephen's Church in Carlisle in a new national monument to the social change that women like Angela Burdett-Coutts and so many that we've heard about today have made possible.
16:10
Josh Newbury Portrait Josh Newbury MP (Cannock Chase, Labour)
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Josh Newbury thank you, Madam >> Josh Newbury thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. It is a pleasure to speak in today's debate marking speak in today's debate marking International Women's Day alongside so many remarkable women across this House, including the hon. Member for Gorton and Denton, who I thought gave an inspiring maiden speech. Although she's no longer in her place, I particularly want to thank her for her words of solidarity for our trans community, including trans women who should never be forgotten in this discussion.

I think it's appalling that the hon. Lady has already experienced intimidation just for standing shoulder to shoulder with our trans siblings, but I hope she knows that many of us on all sides of the house will have her back on that. Now, as a man, I approach this debate with a little hesitance because I am acutely aware that the experience is being discussed today are not my own. But I also remember how many women across this House contributed so thoughtfully to the debate on International Men's Day, and it reminded me that progress on equality has never come from working at cross-purposes to one another, but from working together.

The women who shaped my life, particularly my mum and my sister, raised me not only to respect women, but to champion them, to raise women up, to challenge barriers whenever we see them, and to take that responsibility seriously in the work that we do in this place. Since becoming a father to my daughter, these issues have taken on an even deeper meaning for me. When you look at the world through the eyes of your child, you start to notice things that you might have taken for granted.

My daughter is only six years old, and yet I've already heard her say things like, I can't do that. It's a boy's job. And describe certain roles as ones that require you to be brave and attribute that she associates with men. Now, I can assure the House that my husband and I made sure that she knows exactly what she can do, which is any job she wants to, and that she is exceptionally brave herself. But hearing that from a six year old reminded me that despite the progress we celebrate on International Women's Day, the messages that children absorb about what women and girls can or can't do can still shape our ambitions.

From a very young age, and as a parent and as a member of this House, that is something that I feel a responsibility to challenge. Every girl in this country and beyond should grow up believing that her ambition is limited only by her talents and her determination. One issue that I want to touch on, and it has been touched on by other hon. Members, is the perception of masculinity and how that shapes the experiences of both men and women. For a long time, I've spoken about the challenges facing young men and boys, but doing that should never be seen as being in opposition to championing women and girls.

In fact, the two go hand in hand. If we want a healthier society, we

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have to address both sides of the equation. Absolutely. The Member for giving way. He made me remember something very important. When Sarah Everard was murdered and a number of us were lighting candles, I remember having lighting candles, I remember having a conversation with my son and daughter where my daughter, who was 15, told her brother about all the 15, told her brother about all the times that she'd been called and harassed on the street as a 15 year old. So I absolutely agree with him that it is really important that this is not just about educating girls or educating boys.

It is about educating the human beings

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that we are raising. Does he agree? Completely agree with the hon.

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Completely agree with the hon. Lady. I think that allyship across many different characteristics is essential, but to me, I've always essential, but to me, I've always felt that anything that men can do to to echo, raise up. As I said, the voices of women is incredibly the voices of women is incredibly powerful. It's something that we should very much take seriously and not shy away from. In debates like this, where we perhaps feel that this, where we perhaps feel that our voice isn't as important, it absolutely can be, because too many men and boys today feel disillusioned with politics, with opportunity, and what positive masculinity can look like in modern Britain.

That's a real issue, and it deserves serious attention. But the answer to that challenge is not to exploit those frustrations by turning men against women. The answer is not to seek votes by weakening women's rights. Yet that is exactly the direction that some would take us. For example, as we've heard, the reform candidate for the Gorton and Denton by election suggested that people without children should be taxed for it, placing pressure on women to have children. That misogynistic view of women's role in society should be rejected in the strongest terms.

I am proud of everything this Labour government is championing for women, including on closing the gender pay gap. British women still earn 13% less than men. But the pay gap isn't just about numbers on a spreadsheet. Large employers are required to publish gender pay gap data, but this alone won't close it. This isn't just fiscal, this is cultural. Thanks to the Employment Rights Act, employers will now have to publish clear action plans showing how they will close the gap and support women to progress.

But before they even go into work, as my daughter has shown me, girls can already feel that there are things that aren't for them, certain ambitions that are out of reach. When you look at the history of opportunity in this country, we're reminded how much can change when assumptions and prejudices are challenged. One of the most powerful examples of that is the work of Jenny Lee, who, as well as being a true fighter, as noted by my hon. Friend the Member for Cardiff was also one of my predecessors and an adopted sister of Cannock Chase.

As Minister for the Arts in the 1960s, Jenny championed the creation of the Open University, built on the belief that talent should not be limited by background, age or sex. The idea that someone could study for a university degree from their own home was dismissed by many as unrealistic. But Jenny believed that education should be open to anyone with a determination to learn. The result has been extraordinary. The Open University has educated millions of people across this country and beyond, many of whom might otherwise have never had the opportunity to access higher education.

That legacy reminds us that expanding opportunity is not simply about access to education. It's also about expanding the horizons of what people believe is possible for themselves. But equality also depends on recognising the barriers that women still face in other areas of life. Women's health has been far too often overlooked, with conditions like endometriosis taking years to diagnose and many women leaving the workforce because of untreated menopause symptoms. I'm proud this government is taking steps to tackle medical misogyny, from strengthening rights at work to improving support for conditions largely affecting women and expanding opportunity through education and childcare.

I will close by saying that according to a report published by the UN women in 2022, it could take close to three centuries before we can achieve full gender equality. That statistic should give us pause, but it should also strengthen our determination because progress does not happen by itself. It happens when we smash outdated assumptions and refuse to accept that inequality is inevitable. And if my daughter and millions of girls growing up across this country are to inherit a fairer society, that work is going to need all of us in this House to continue that effort.



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I know that the previous occupant of the chair did remind members that we need to be starting members that we need to be starting frontbench speeches around 4:30, so if I could ask the remaining members to keep their comments to

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members to keep their comments to around five minutes, that would be very helpful. Apsana Begum do you speak? And I

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Apsana Begum do you speak? And I will do my very best to do so. I congratulate members for their contribution to the debate so far, and in particular, of course, the and in particular, of course, the hon. Member for Gorton and Denton for a very impassioned speech about the rich traditions in her
16:17
Apsana Begum Portrait Apsana Begum MP (Poplar and Limehouse, Labour)
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constituency of standing in unity and full humanity against attempts to divide. Madam Deputy Speaker, It's now also six years since I delivered my first speech in Parliament during a similar debate on International Women's Day, in on International Women's Day, in which I pay tribute to our local history of women's struggles for social justice, which continue to social justice, which continue to be daily sources of inspiration. Today's debate comes as the cost of living crisis continues to foster a sense of injustice, uncertainty and anxiety across the UK.

Set against a brutal backdrop of more than a decade of conservative austerity and chronic underinvestment in public services services which were left hollowed out and in many instances privatised by the last government. The cost of living crisis has meant that women are more likely than men to lose their jobs or reduce reduce their paid work, given that they are more frequently employed in sectors that have been directly disrupted by austerity measures and impacted by cuts, and under investment in public services, women, particularly black, Asian and minority ethnic women, continue to account for around two thirds of low earners and are more likely to be working on zero hour contracts or part time contracts as well, ahead of the UN International Day to Combat Islamophobia this weekend, I'm all too aware of how Muslim women are among the most economically disadvantaged based group in the UK, impacted by the prevalence of negative stereotypes, harassment and hate crimes, increased overlap of working and caring responsibilities has added to the ongoing reality that caring continues to be a major factor in women's ability to participate on equal terms.

Put simply, women still face structural economic inequality through their lives, and this intersects with other structures of inequality, including race and disability. We also know that violence against women, including trans women, continues to blight our society. I know personally that the impact of domestic abuse on physical and the physical and mental health of survivors can be devastating. For years ago, I faced a reselection process in which numerous complaints were made about rule breaking and misogynistic intimidation, a process marred by the involvement of my ex-husband and his associates.

As many members of this House will be aware, our subsequently signed off sick from work, while activists and organisations in the domestic abuse sector expressed alarm at my treatment and my independent domestic violence advocate made representations on my behalf, the matter remains unresolved. The post-separation harassment, the institutional gaslighting and silence goes on. Silencing goes on and on. What I am reminded about my lived experience is that domestic abuse can impact people from all walks of life and in all forms of employment, including those of us in public life.

To this day, I still have women reaching out from across the country in support, and I'm continuing to work with members from across this House to call on all political parties to ensure that political representatives who are survivors of domestic abuse are not exposed to further harassment in their roles. I also continue to call and campaign for better protections in the workplace more widely, from paid leave for domestic abuse to mandatory policies on domestic abuse in every workplace to eliminate domestic abuse in our society.

Because domestic abuse requires a whole society approach. And I'm intrigued by today's announcements about a new unit to look into intimidation experienced during elections. Given that my ex-husband stood against me at the last general election with the stated aim of trying to set the record straight after everything that I had already endured, and I will look at ways in which I can contribute constructively in the government's work in this regard, because this isn't just about me. No survivor of domestic abuse should be prevented from standing for office or staying in public life, having fled abuse because they or or because they experienced post-separation harassment, and because there is a need to ensure that this place sends the right message in our country.

In light of the scandal, we need an independent statutory inquiry into all of Jeffrey Epstein's links to British institutions and figures which I, along with over 70 members of this House, continue to call for. It's also why I believe we need an independent investigation into the activities of Labour Together. Madam Deputy Speaker, as chair of the all party parliamentary group on domestic Abuse and violence, I'm delighted to be working with Women's Aid to ensure that no survivor is left behind. As we approach the fifth anniversary of the landmark Domestic Abuse Act 2021 next month.

This could be. This could not be more important because we know in the sector that the weaponization of violence against women and girls, by far right groups and political parties such as reform, harms survivors and ultimately impedes the real work of tackling the root causes of society wide violence to the detriment of women and girls. It's resulted in women fleeing persecution abroad, facing even more danger here, including the targeting of them at hotels. Over the past year. The government has an ambitious, ambitious commitment to halve violence against women and girls in a decade, and our APPG welcomes measures in the Vogue strategy to try and achieve it, including the overarching cross-departmental approach and focus on prevention.

The Minister for safeguarding has positively engaged with us in this regard, and is also delivering on other commitments. However, I am concerned about the government's wider programme of austerity. Real terms cuts to benefits, including the retention of the overall benefit cap, the freezing of the local housing allowance and the continued injustice of the WASPI, women's lack of compensation and ongoing assaults on civil liberties targeting those most. Those who are most at risk. Minoritized and migrant women, including those from GRT communities.

I hope going forward that the government can address these areas in which migrant and minoritized women need our support. Thank you.
16:24
Kevin Bonavia Portrait Kevin Bonavia MP (Stevenage, Labour)
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Kevin Bonavia. All of us in this house, women and men would have been inspired by individual women, both in and out of our own lives, and I've of our own lives, and I've certainly been inspired by many of the contributions made by women members today. And I've been proud members today. And I've been proud to be part of a minority that are listening and also contributing. And I'm proud to say that I've become who I am today because of many women in my own life.

And just three, I just want to single out and pay tribute to my own mum who brought me up. Despite many personal challenges in our family. Sister Bernadette in Saint Joseph's Convent school in Malta, who gave me the self-discipline I hope I still have today, and Patricia Hennessey, who was an inspiring primary school teacher who helped me and so many others believe in ourselves and that is why I'm sure I am here today. But I'm also proud to represent the constituency that has produced so many great women that have not just inspired those around them, but have made the weather that have brought greater equality for women across the country.

Every year I visit the grave of Lady Constance Lytton and Knebworth Park. She was a suffragette who came from privileged background, but took another name so that her privilege would not give her advantages. She was imprisoned when she was force fed. She carved thee with a hairpin on her chest. V for votes for women and women got those votes, but she soon lost her life. And every year we pay tribute to her and all the women who gave up so much to get where we are today, and we have so much more to go.

But beyond that, we have other women in Stevenage who are still with us today. Barbara Follett, one of my predecessors, very proud of our Barbara, who helped found Labour Women's Network, and I. I stand next to the hon. Member for Erith and Thamesmead, who's been a stalwart there herself, because Barbara helped lead the way. And much of the composition of this house is down to her hard work. And she's not just that. She's improved the appearance of many of us in this House, and I myself have been followed by Barbara, so, so I.

I give her a special thanks for that. And Baroness Sharon Taylor in the Other place leader of Stevenage accounts for 16 years and now doing great things as a Minister for this government, improving housing for so many people and housing is what gives women much better quality in their own lives. So these are trailblazers, but in my town as well, we also have other women. We have our deputy leader, Jeanette Thomas, who again is leading the housing revolution in Stevenage.

We have our current mayor of Asian background, Councillor Nasreen Chaudhry, who with grace and understanding exemplifies the best of women in Stevenage. And finally, I want to mention our youth mayor, Charlotte Gregory, who has been shadowing me this week in this place. And she has also helped put these notes together for the speech, not all of which I can use, unfortunately. And I want to thank Charlotte for being an exemplar of the future of women in our town and our country that may there be many more like her to come.

I won't talk about what this government is doing. It's doing great things. I'll let the Minister set some of that out, but I fully support our mission to halve violence against women and girls in the coming years. It's a lot of hard work. We can keep pushing it and I will support it all the way. I just want to end on one quick thing, and that is, this is not a zero sum game. When we're trying to get equality for women. It's good for all of us.

Just it's good for men too. We all benefit from equality for women. So I will stop on that note so that we can get to the end of this debate. But so I'm proud to take part in this debate. And I will fight for equality with every breath that I've got inside and outside this place.
16:28
16:28
Calvin Bailey Portrait Mr Calvin Bailey MP (Leyton and Wanstead, Labour)
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I thank the hon. Member for her point of order. Her interests are now on the record, and a very quick speech from Calvin Bailey. speech from Calvin Bailey. >> Very quick speech. >> It's a. And Calvin Bailey said

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It's a. And Calvin Bailey said no one ever in. Thank you. Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. Yes, and that shows the influence that someone such as yourself would have over someone like me. In 2021, the Defence Select Committee published a landmark report on women in the armed forces. And one of the most consistent things that comes out about women that serve is their failure to. As they're feeling that their failure, they are failed to be recognised in the public are.

Veterans do not feel that society acknowledges them. And so the committee recommended that we. On days like today, we use things like International Women's Day to make sure that those voices and experiences are heard. Throughout my career, I've had the privilege to serve alongside some exceptional women. When I led humanitarian aid operations in the Philippines, I did so alongside Master Sergeant Aircrew Samantha Green. When I delivered aid to the Saudi women stranded on Mount Sinjar, it was Flight Lieutenant Abby Anderson that generated our beloved C-130j aircraft.

And it was my very close friend, Jen Bracewell, managing both me, as you have done so, Madam Deputy Speaker, and the missions. And when I commanded a frontline squadron, I did so, learning from the venerable wing commander CAS, who was commander of the Royal Squadron, and I did so under the exceptional leadership of Air Marshal Soraya Marshall, who is without doubt one of the most outstanding military leaders of her generation. Despite the landmark case in landmark 1975 Sex Discrimination Act, women continued to be excluded from frontline combat roles in the British armed forces.

Until 2016. It was. In fact, it was only when I entered the MoD in 2018 that all those restrictions were finally removed. We would have all seen over the last couple of days how, regardless of why they were there, a female F-15 pilot was shot down over Kuwait and we should all reflect that whilst women are putting themselves in the line of fire, there are people that are discharging them that are questioning whether their gender makes them suitable to do that job, and that reflects the other five minutes of discussion that I would have gone on to discuss how these things are being challenged right at this very moment, and that I call us all to make sure that those things are that we challenge them when we get given the opportunity to speak, it's important that although the services are recovering and the number of women in the service are improving, that we point to the disparities in treatment that that persist.

Because while there are good stories, there is there remains challenge and inequities. And I urge anyone that sees my very truncated speech to go and listen to the other wonderful speeches that we've heard today, including the maiden speech, which will all be very ably summarised in a moment. But the last thing I want to say is that the I started by saying that this that the this landmark piece of work was done by the Defence Select Committee. It's important, therefore, that I recognise Lucy, Eleanor, Innes, Tony and Carina who sit in the background, who tolerates the likes of myself and help us produce this incredible work.

So thank you for them. Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker, and I look forward to hearing the summation.
16:32
Joy Morrissey Portrait Joy Morrissey MP (Beaconsfield, Conservative)
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Joy Morrissey with leave of the House. Madam Deputy Speaker, it has been an excellent debate with some outstanding contributions, and congratulations to the member of Gorton and Denton on her maiden speech, which was significantly better than mine. Madam Deputy Speaker, her empathy, honesty and generosity of spirit will serve her well in this place and her genuine pride in Manchester could put even Andy Burnham to shame. And I want to thank the Member for North East Hampshire for her excellent speech on FGM and raising this important issue.

Also, we have South Derbyshire who raised miss. Madam Deputy Speaker, the excellent idea of praising her staff, and I shall shamelessly copy that by also praising my office manager, Alexandra Turner, and my senior caseworker, Mary Shaw. Without these women, I would truly be lost. So thank you for bringing that. And thank you to all the women who serve as parliamentary staffers across the House. We would honestly be lost without them. I will go quickly. I've made I shall keep my comments to a very small minimum, as I know that the Minister would like to speak.

So I just want to say thank you so much for these, for these incredible debates and the incredible time and honesty that all members put in today. And I want to also thank the Brent East MP, who her campaign for London Mayor will, I'm sure, be a smashing success. I was the first female to make it to the final three for the London mayoralty, for the Conservatives, and I would absolutely be terrified to stand against you because. So I have no doubt that you will take up the space of London and do a fantastic job and Aberdeen North, thank you for your contribution, for standing up for young women and girls in online harms.

This is something that this member has continued to champion, not just in this debate, but throughout her time in Parliament. And I want to talk about everyone and the Member for Gower and child, child sexual exploitation and really championing that issue was so important. I feel as if I'm doing all of you an injustice by cutting down my comments, of which I have a plethora of short. But please know, it was an incredible debate to watch all of you. And we do have more in common than we think.

And with that, as we bring the debate to a close, you'll be happy to hear. It seems fitting to return to Nancy East Ham. And so I want to close with one of her greatest quotes. She once said, women are young at politics, but they are old at suffering. Soon they will learn that through politics they can prevent some kinds of suffering. We in this House have that chance for our women and girls. Let us take it. Thank you.
16:35
Jess Phillips Portrait Jess Phillips MP, The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department (Birmingham Yardley, Labour)
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Minister. Jess Phillips. I'm going to start my comments by first saying that. Thank you to the Minister for equalities for securing this debate in government time. I think in the time that I've been in the House, this is only the second time that has ever happened. I'm incredibly proud to stand along side her. I also want to say thank you to the opposition spokes woman for the. The tone in that was set throughout this debate. And to everybody else who has followed that tone, I have to say that I have felt tearful at lots of points.

I don't know what's wrong with me. It's almost certainly something that the Member for Hampstead and Highgate mother would not be pleased for me to say it is either both hope or anger, or just that I have my period that makes me feel both tired and hopeful and angry in equal measure. To the member from Aberdeen, if I get through this without crying, it will be a miracle. So I just really want to say a massive thank you.

I also, as others have done, I. I had assumed actually, because sometimes I don't pay much attention that this debate had actually been called by the Member for Brent East who does that service so well every year through the backbench Business Committee. But it it, in fact, was the government's doing, and I thank her for her comments and agree that she she would be. And I hope that she she is a challenge to whoever she stands opposite. And of course, to the Member for Gorton and Denton, who made her maiden speech.

When I made my maiden speech, I commented on what a sexist thing it was for it to be called a maiden speech, and that I wasn't a maiden because my children were in the gallery. So true to form, talking about my period and my lack of virginity, I shall continue. It was an absolute pleasure to listen to her. I shall put aside my Birmingham versus Manchester rivalry and say that she is very welcome here and she. And across this House, as I.

I am not I'm definitely not going to repeat what I said to her when I first introduced myself to her, but it was a long. You can paraphrase it without it being sweary that there are lots of lovely people here. Regardless of which political parties people come from, and that when we work together, we are always strongest. I wish that I could go through everybody, everybody's statements, but I do just want to highlight the Member for Penistone and Stocksbridge, a woman who I work very, very closely with and and gave me campaigns that we had worked on together, gave me cause to cry earlier in the week.

The only thing that I would say is that she ruined Bridgerton for me because I've only seen the first episode. And so for that I am irritated. However, she always speaks with such passion and that who doesn't deserve love? I mean that that is it. She rang out from the chamber. I would like to pay tribute to the towering figures of the past that everybody has mentioned, who have advanced the causes of women's rights, but we have also all paid tribute to the women who, without fanfare and acclaim, support families and contribute to their communities every single day.

I personally could not cope without the women in my life propping me up and making me laugh and just noticing the stuff that needs noticing, and then people not noticing that how important that little act of love actually is. And so we have spoken of progress and of celebration, but we know that we have far to come to the women of specifically. And there are many countries in the world I could highlight that many members have highlighted the women of Afghanistan and Iranian women have featured very heavily in this debate.

I am the sister in law of a beautiful and now departed Iranian woman who died of breast cancer but made her home in our country because her country was not safe for her. That the the bravery of the women who stand up to be counted in Afghanistan and Iran currently should move every single one of us when we don't want to come here on a Monday morning. Imagine the privilege to be able to stand and speak out in this place.

But and now the the the reason I stand well, the reason I stood to be elected to Parliament in the first place, is that while we are gathered here in the heart of our democracy to discuss the. These issues in comfort and in safety. Beyond these walls, in every part of our country, women and girls are suffering. They are being attacked, abused, harassed and stalked at home, in public places and online. The scale of violence against women and girls shames our society, and today's debate is not a moment for detailed policy talk.

So I won't do that. But I will say that I am proud to be part of a government that is tackling this as if it is the national emergency that it is. And as has been underscored by many people who have spoken about our commitment to halve violence against women and girls in a decade, but we know that words are not enough. Plenty has been promised and pledged in the past without results, and that is why our Violence Against Women and Girls strategy, published in December had to be different.

It has to deploy the full power of the state to deliver the change that is desperately needed. And I wanted to take this up and actually it is just a piece of paper. It is just a document. And I have always said that when it needs to be stretched and ambition needs to be stretched, and that is absolutely what it should be. And so I with some pleasure for the brilliant women and campaigners and credit to the Domestic Abuse Commissioner who have campaigned for what I am about to say, which was not in the violence against women and girls strategy.

And before I take on the grim task of reading out the names of all the women who have been killed in the last year, I want to take this opportunity to commit to the Home Office, to funding and delivering the oversight mechanism for recommendations made in domestic homicide reviews. We will put in place a system that strengthens accountability and ensures learning is consistently embedded across both local and national agencies. This is about turning lessons into action, not just letting those documents sit on a shelf in some local authority.

And by doing so, we will drive meaningful change that is so desperately needed because those women's names aren't even like they used to just be numbers. Now they are names. They have to make a change to enable us to prevent any future horrific deaths. It has been a long and arduous struggle, but I do believe that with drive and leadership, change will come. Tragically, though, it will be too late for the victims whose lives have been ended by this scourge.

I can never say that scourge and their shattered families. And that brings me on to the task at hand. I will now read the names collated arduously every year for over a decade by the Femicide census of the women who have allegedly been killed by men in the past year. They are Angela Chetty Joanne Penney, Michelle Egge-Bailey, Melita Roseveare Carmenza Valencia-Trujillo Rachel Dixon, Claire Anderson, Parmjit core Claire Burns.

Sarah Reynolds, Hien Thi Vu. Rebecca Campbell Paria Veisi Tracey Davies. Pamela Munro Aimee Pike Elizabeth Tamilore Odunsi. Nnenna Chima. Kathryn Perkins. Margaret McGowan Ellen Perkins. Margaret McGowan Ellen Cook. Rachel Vaughan Marjama Osman. Yajaira Castro Mendez. Miriam McDonald. Mary Green Mandy Riley. Samantha Murphy, Isabella Knight Christina Alexander Annabel Rook. Reanne Coulson. Nilani Nimalarajah. Irene Mbugua Nilam Patel. Sarah Montgomery. Angela Botham. Fortune Gomo.

Phyllis Daly. Gwyneth Carter. Stephanie Blundell. Brenda Breed. Vanessa White and her children James and Sarah. Courtney Angus Nkiru Chima. Kimberley Thompson. Shara Miller. Paris Kendall. Sophia Katan. Zahra Salha Mukhtar. Newlogin. Donna Nirodha Kalapni Niwunhella Sheryl Wilkins. Halyna Hoisan. Tia Langdon. Ndata Bobb. Lena Sang June Bunyan. Michelle Thompson Ann Green Shelley Davies Anjanee Sandhir Catalina Birlea. Chereiss Bailey. Sonja Axelby Agne Druskienea.

Michelle Kennedy Angela Challis. Stephanie Irons Dickiesa Nurse Natalie Egan. Colleen Westerman. Katie Fox. Lainie Williams. Lili Stojanov. Z King K Julie Wilson Maria Sakano Lisa Smith Janet Bowen. Samantha Lee Lisa Marie Hopkins Jilly Levey. Tania Williams Gloria de la Sarai. Victoria Hart Lisa Denton. Vanessa Poulton, Chanda Helen Rundell Anam Rafay Rita Rowley. Amal Raidan. Carla Maria Georgescu. Helen Bird Angela Clayton. Naomi McIvor, Caroline Barraclough, Jennifer Simmonds, Ellie Flanagan.

Two women women in their 40s whose names have not yet been confirmed, and the final name on this year's list was a name. And this always happens every single year is there is always a name that has to be written on because it comes in as I'm walking in. To give you an idea of the regularity of this happening. And that is Karlie Stone, the following women whose names have not been read out in previous years are Lat Parks, Delia McInerney, Lucy Harrison, Laleh Zagaluna-Canny, Judith Law, Jane Riddell, Dawn Kerr, Victoria Adams, Simone Smith and Brigitta Rasuli.

I am grateful to the women of the Femicide Census for making sure that the previously incomplete lists, because the information was not known that those women can be remembered. I also want to take a moment to remember those who have died by suicide or in unexplained circumstances as a result of their abuses. We commit to do more so that their names are also not forgotten, and they outstrip the women on this list by some margin.

We refuse to forget these women who all deserved so much more. I want to once again thank the Femicide Census for the tireless work that goes into collating these names every year. We find it difficult to listen to them, and they look through every single story. I express my profound gratitude for their work and the work that they do to raise awareness of women and girls who have been so tragically killed by men. There is so much more that I could say in conclusion, but the list continues to speak for itself.

I will finish by saying only this. May these women get the justice that they deserved, and may we honour them by preventing others from suffering the same fate. Thank

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you again. The question is that this House has considered International has considered International Women's Day. As many as are of that Women's Day. As many as are of that opinion, say I. I of the contrary, no. I think the ayes have it. The ayes have it.

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I beg to move that this House do now adjourn. The question is that this House do now adjourn and I'll give the do now adjourn and I'll give the Oral Question is that this house? Do now adjourn.
16:52
16:52
Brian Mathew Portrait Brian Mathew MP (Melksham and Devizes, Liberal Democrat)
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preventing casualties and saving Glasgow Central Station. This fire is absolutely devastating for the people who made their livelihoods and feed their families through working in that building, which has now collapsed. I wonder if the hon. Gentleman shares my concern that in Scotland, under the SNP, 1250 firefighter posts have been cut since 2013 and high res appliances critically critical for tackling fires like the one in Glasgow on Sunday, have been slashed from 26 to 16 and two were in Glasgow and both were unavailable.

It is

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understood on Sunday. I'm obliged. Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker, and I take the points on well and I think we should all think of of what happened in in Glasgow. So what happened in in Glasgow. So thank you for for raising that. I know that family, family members of know that family, family members of firefighters from Wiltshire are here in the gallery today and I here in the gallery today and I thank them for coming. I know also firefighters from Dorset and Wiltshire who would also like to have been here, but as encore professionals they are in their communities today, ensuring coverage is in place to mobilise if the call comes.

We owe them all a debt of gratitude. I've met with firefighters at a number of fire stations in Wiltshire. They're dedicated local people demonstrating real pride in place, protecting their area. They have genuine concern about what these proposals mean for fire safety in rural communities. Madam Deputy Speaker, there is a consultation taking place on the closure of eight fire stations across Dorset and Wiltshire. To put this in perspective, this is eight engines supported by nearly 100 firefighting staff who keep communities like Bradford on Avon safe.

The towers the town's fire station, has served for generations, and the consequences of its closure would be profound. This is echoed across all eight stations listed for closure. These crews attended over 500 incidents per year, ranging from house fires to flood response, road traffic collisions to river rescues, and these are the emergencies that make the headlines. But the everyday call outs are no less important to those in trouble. They include freeing trapped livestock, assisting vulnerable residents stuck in their homes, and ensuring partner agencies know about any safeguarding risks.

These stations act as natural points of emergency response coordination for events. We hope will never happen, but for which they must always be prepared. Beyond the communities these stations serve, the closures will have an impact on the whole Dorset and Wiltshire service. More than 60% of incidents that cruise from the eight stations attend are outside the station catchment area. My neighbouring Liberal Democrat friend and colleague, the Member for Chippenham, has written to me to say that she shares the concerns of the fire service and the many residents across Wiltshire who are worried about the impact of these closures on our community.

Last summer, firefighters from Bradford on Avon travelled 50 miles to tackle a large wildfire fire on Holt Heath in Dorset. The incident was a stark reminder of how our changing climate is adding to the burden on fire and rescue services. Wildflowers, flooding and extreme weather are no longer once in a generation events. They're becoming part of the operational norm. In spite of massive flooding during Storm Burt in my constituency and indeed in this year in Devon, Cornwall and the East Midlands, fire services across the country receive no specific funding for flood responses.

How can we therefore be contemplating such sweeping cuts to emergency response capacity and civil resilience, when in fact more is required? Since my election, I have been in regular contact with Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service leadership, and they've told me about the increasingly challenging funding environment since the merger in 2016. The service has had to find savings of over £15 million, which has led to a 15% reduction in firefighter posts and the withdrawal of second engines from five stations.

While no one disputes the need to focus on value for money, the service is already recognised as outstanding for efficiency by the Independent Inspectorate, the service's current operations are lean. Ongoing modernisation is keeping capabilities up to standard, but the obvious question looms of how any further cost pressures can be absorbed. The government's three year settlement has been welcomed to aid longer term planning. Indeed, the Minister will be quick to point out that the government's 4.1% annual uplift over this period.

By allowing the fire authority to raise council tax precept by £5 to offset the 19.5% decline in central government funding between 26 2026 and 2029. However, at the core of this settlement is the Treasury's assumption that the area's council tax base, which is driven by new housing development, will increase by 1.57% annually. This forecast contrasts sharply with the past three years of actual growth, which have averaged at just 1% for the coming 2026 to 2027 financial year.

The figure is now confirmed at 0.9%, far below the Treasury's projection, and it will remain as such for the following two years, and the result is a 1.27 million annual disparity. The government's been clear the multi-year settlement is intended to provide greater certainty for local authorities to take sustainable long term decisions. The Treasury's 4.1% uplift for Dorset and Wiltshire is welcome. The service is not asking for special treatment. The request is that the means are available to achieve this funding uplift on the ground, not just in an optimistic Treasury model.

Please.

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I'm very grateful to my my neighbour for allowing me to intervene briefly. He will know intervene briefly. He will know that our right hon. Friend the Member for Salisbury, who's concerned about Wilton, has written to the Minister to request a meeting, and I did the same at Prime Minister's Questions yesterday. I very much look forward

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yesterday. I very much look forward to that meeting. Did he agree? Oh, order! I beg to move that this House do

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now adjourn. The question is that this House do now adjourn. Doctor Andrew. Murray thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. Does he agree with me that the issue here is easy to resolve? Because the conundrum that we're in is based upon an assessment by the Treasury, which he has described, which was overoptimistic through nobody's particular fault. But we can remedy this simply by allowing some flexibility in the precept. And that would deal with the issue that has faced our wonderful fire and rescue service.

And I certainly join him in paying tribute to those wonderful people, particularly the volunteers who give freely of their time to keep our constituents safe.

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I thank the right hon. Member for for his comments. And, in fact, I'm going to go into some details on that now. Members across the House will recognise that rural House will recognise that rural fire services face different cost pressures compared to urban ones, pressures compared to urban ones, and I do not believe Rurality is adequately addressed in the current adequately addressed in the current or previous funding formulae. That is a debate we must continue. But in the face of closures this summer, an urgent solution is required to safeguard our community fire service.

If the government is not prepared to review its central funding, the only option on the table when the Treasury's assumption are proven incorrect are station closures or additional precept flexibility for 2728 financial year to address short term funding pressures through local rather than additional central government funding. Dorset and Wiltshire current precept is below the national average for standalone services, and a one off correction would bridge the funding gap while keeping the precept in line with that of neighbouring services.

In the consultation on closures, residents have been asked if they're willing to pay a little more for their fire and rescue service, and I would urge the Minister to study these responses and to act on them. I can find no recent precedent for such a large number of fire stations being closed in one year, and with them, the loss of so many frontline jobs once the station is closed and its site sold, there is very little chance that it will be reinstated.

The hit to emergency response times and community resilience is essentially irreversible for the average household. The FA precept amounts to less than £100, or £1.85 per week. For this, we receive what is arguably the most important insurance policy any of us can have a well funded, well staffed and well trained fire and rescue service ready to respond when the worst happens. All eight stations are staffed by on call firefighters, individuals who put their communities first, ready to pause their job and family life at a moment's notice, putting themselves at risk to help keep us safe.

To my mind, the question is simple the Minister can do nothing, and the stations that have served our towns and villages for decades will close, or by allowing some adjustments and giving the authority the opportunity to raise the funding, the government says our Dorset and Wiltshire Fire Service should get via the precept. These stations would thus remain open, providing the emergency response, civil resilience and capacity our communities will need in the years to come. Thank you.
17:04
Edward Morello Portrait Edward Morello MP (West Dorset, Liberal Democrat)
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Edward Morello thank you very much, Madam Deputy Speaker, and I'd like to congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Melksham and Devizes for securing this important debate, and also to thank both him and the Minister for permission to speak in this debate. I am in danger of repeating many of the points that my colleague has already made, but they are important points and this is an important issue. The proposals from Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service would see the closure of eight fire stations across Dorset and Wiltshire, including the stations of Charmouth and Maiden Newton in my constituency of West Dorset.

I recognise that the decision about station closures ultimately sits with the fire authority and not the Minister, but when the pressure driving those decisions stems from central government funding settlements, it is only right that the government is held to account. If approved in the coming weeks, these closures would remove 16% of the service's fire stations and lead to a loss of 72 firefighters. For many villages and towns, these stations serve. They are the closest responders, and their loss would change the resilience of emergency coverage across our rural communities.

The proposed closures have understandably caused deep concern amongst my constituents. I have met with the fire chief Officer and the senior management representative of the two firefighter unions and the station commanders of both Charmouth and Maiden Newton. I have also received a huge number of emails and letters from residents who are rightfully worried about what these changes will mean for their safety and for the safety of the many visitors that come to West Dorset each year. The firefighters who serve our communities do extraordinary work.

The stations are Charmouth and Maiden Newton, as well as the eight other stations, are staffed by on call firefighters, people who live and work locally but are ready to leave their jobs and their families at a drop of a hat to respond to emergencies. They do so knowing they may be putting themselves in harm's way, and they do so to protect their neighbours in West Dorset. They are often the first responders to road traffic collisions, particularly on dangerous rural roads like the A35.

They respond to wildfires and heath fires during the summer months, which are becoming more and more frequent with temperature rises. They assist during flooding incidents, something that our communities have experienced repeatedly in recent years, most recently during Storm Chandra. Since the merger that created Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service in 2026, the service has had to find more than £15 million in savings and is under real financial pressure. It has already resulted in a 15% reduction in firefighter posts and the removal of second fire engines from five stations.

Under the so-called long term funding settlement offered by this government. The authority has a revenue Budget deficit of 1.2 million in year one, 1.5 million in year two, 1.7 million in year three. Frankly, Madam Deputy Speaker, I do not think funding settlement is the correct phrase. The Minister will mention the government's decision to allow fire authorities to raise council tax precept by £5 per year, which is said to produce an average of 4.1% annual increase. But as has already been outlined, that does not tell the full story.

Central government government revenue support grant for Dorset and Wiltshire is projected to fall from £12.8 million in 2026 to 10.3 million by 2829, a reduction of nearly 20% in three years. The fair funding model has to date removed about £1.8 million a year from the services Budget. To put simply, Madam Deputy Speaker, the government expects fire services to make up the shortfall. The government has created through council tax increases. In theory, 73% of the fire service funding is made up by council tax.

Business rates make up 11% and revenue support grant grants from central government only 16%. But the underlying assumptions do not work for our rural areas. Council tax revenue depends heavily on local population growth and housing development in many rural areas, including Dorset. The tax base is growing far more slowly than Treasury assumptions suggest. Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service has already confirmed that its tax base growth is below the levels assumed in the funding settlement. At the same time, the services are facing rising costs that it cannot control.

Increases in employer national Insurance contributions. Higher fuel costs, especially true with the current conflict in the Middle East, higher energy bills and rising contract costs, further compounded by the fact that the funding model does not account for rurality. All of this leaves the

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service in an increasingly vulnerable financial position. Will the gentleman. I will, of course.

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I will, of course. Be very grateful that I agree with absolutely everything he has to say. However, will he agree with to say. However, will he agree with me that the only practical way of getting Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service the funds they need to prevent the closure of need to prevent the closure of these eight stations, including Mir and my constituency, is to allow and my constituency, is to allow for flexibility around the precept. Otherwise, sadly, they're going to close the structural issues that he has cited, of course, need to be addressed, but they won't help in respect of the emergency that is

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now upon us. I. I thank the right hon. Gentleman for his intervention, and I fully accept that an increase in the accept that an increase in the precept would be one option available to the government. But I would also like to challenge the would also like to challenge the government on the underlying assumptions in Treasury funding models, not least with the models, not least with the population forecast population growth, but also with the. The lack of rurality included in many of the funding models across the board, which, you know, we're talking about fire services today, but I could talk to Rurality and funding for Dorset Police or Dorset NHS or any number of areas.

The fact is, is that rural Britain is repeatedly underserved when it comes to the Treasury funding model. The result is that stations like Charmouth are now being considered for closure, with neighbouring stations such as Lyme Regis expected to cover larger areas without any additional resources. If local stations close, travel distances will inevitably increase, which means longer response times for fires, road traffic collisions, flooding incidents and other emergencies. 60% of incidents that cruise from the eight at risk stations attended are outside of the station catchment area in critical, life threatening situations.

Small delays will have consequences. This is particularly concerning in West Dorset, where the population increases by 42% during the summer months due to tourism on narrow country roads. The wider effect of rurality. Seasonal visiting numbers, coastal geography all create travel difficulties not accounted for in the formula. Time and again, it is rural communities that end up paying the price. There is currently a consultation underway on the proposed closures and I, like many, urge all of my residents to make sure their voices are heard.

But the reality is that the services being pushed towards these decisions by the financial framework it has to operate within. Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service has already lost one fifth of its workforce since 2010, removing another 16% of stations would push the service even further. I therefore ask the government to look carefully at whether the current funding settlement for fire and rescue services properly reflects the needs of rural and coastal areas, and whether the current funding is undoing years of underfunding or, in reality, compounding it.

Madam Deputy Speaker, it is not hyperbole to say without proper funding, we are putting people's lives at risk. I beg the Minister and the Treasury to meet with Dorset and Fire Service to review the underlying assumptions and reconsider this funding settlement.
17:12
Samantha Dixon Portrait Samantha Dixon MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government) (Chester North and Neston, Labour)
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The. >> Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. I'd like to thank the hon. Member for Melksham and Devizes for for Melksham and Devizes for raising this important issue and for setting out his concerns so clearly. I'd also like to acknowledge the firefighters who have attended today and welcome them to the chamber. I'm mindful that this is an issue of significant concern to many, including those who travelled here today and who feel passionate about this subject. The hon. Member has quite understandably focussed on proposals affecting his constituency, and I'll address the point points he raised while noting there are, of course, as he acknowledges, limits to central government's involvement in local decisions.

First, let me be clear. Public safety is and always will be the main priority for this government. I want to place on record the government's deep appreciation for the dedication, professionalism and courage shown every day by firefighters and the support staff who stand behind them. As the hon. Member for Glasgow East has pointed out this afternoon, their work saves lives and provides reassurance to communities across the country, as demonstrated in the fire near Glasgow Central Station on Sunday, which shows how much we depend on the bravery and rapid response of firefighters to safeguard lives and provide reassurance in moments of real danger.

Members will appreciate that decisions on how fire and rescue services are organised, including the numbers and locations of fire stations, appliance availability and crewing numbers are not decisions for the government. I am pleased that the hon. Members recognise this and that they are rightly the responsibility of the local Fire and Rescue Authority and its Chief Fire Officer, who are best placed to assess local needs and demands. All, Fras, have a statutory duty to produce a community risk management plan in which they set out the key challenges and risks facing their communities and how they intend to mitigate them.

Decisions on fire and rescue resources, including how staff are best deployed and the location of fire stations, matters for each EFRA, based on risks identified within local community risk management plans. Turning to fundings after a decade of short term settlements, 20 2627 marks a significant change as hon. Members have recognised, it delivers the first multi-year funding agreement for local government, providing councils and Fras with the stability and certainty required to plan ahead and invest for the long term.

Under this settlement, almost £1.95 billion in core spending power will be made available to standalone Fras in England, excluding North Yorkshire and Greater Manchester. That represents an average increase of 4.71% on 20 2526 levels, rising to a total increase of 12.75% by the end of the multi-year settlement period. In addition, since the provisional settlement, an extra £15 million has been secured for fire and rescue services over the multi-year settlement. This ensures a minimum uplift of 3.8% in core spending power in 20 2627 for all standalone fire and rescue services, with some benefiting from increases of more than 7% take.

Yes, I will.

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To the Minister. I welcome the multi-year settlement and so does multi-year settlement and so does the Fire and Rescue Service. Will she accept. One of the problems with it is the assumptions on which government support is based. That is to say, the growth of council is to say, the growth of council tax has no opportunity to be tweaked up or down because we're looking at a longer settlement looking at a longer settlement period than was previously the case. And that is precisely the problem that we face at the moment.

And the solution that is being offered is the precept flexibility that will allow that to be resolved and therefore keep our fire and rescue FA, FA stations open. So in a sense, what we're talking about is an artefact, an unintended one of the

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multi-year settlement that needs to be resolved. Thank you. To the right hon.

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Thank you. To the right hon. Gentleman for his points. I look forward to discussing them with him further, as I'm no doubt going to be representing the Prime Minister in our meeting. What I would say in our meeting. What I would say that is that in in line with usual practice and in recognition of the views raised, the government will views raised, the government will continue to keep its methodology under review when it's calculating the core spending power of local government for future years.

So I will look forward to discussing it with him further. And I note the comments of members here today. The hon. Member raises the issue of funding pressures and as he's pointed out, Dorset and Wiltshire EFRA will have access to £79.5 million in core spending power in 2627 as recognised a 4.1% increase compared to 2526. This does strengthen the Fras ability to plan, invest and deliver for the communities it serves. While the government sets the funding framework decisions on how best to deploy these resources to meet core responsibilities.

Does remain the responsibility of the Fra, ensuring a locally led response to local risk. I also want to pay particular tribute to our on call firefighters. Individuals who base balance everyday lives, jobs, families, responsibilities with exceptional commitment of responding to emergencies, whether attending a fire in a rural village or a major incident in a city centre. Their readiness and bravery command the respect of the whole House in many rural areas. On call firefighters. Not just important, they're indispensable.

These communities rely heavily on their presence and I recognise their local knowledge and ability to respond rapidly. I firmly believe that the on call model is invaluable to the communities that it serves. While the government recognises the challenges for services for whom on call is integral to their operating model with innovative and strategic thinking, it can work and offer real resilience within fire services. With sustained collaboration between government, fire and rescue services and fire and rescue authorities, there's a real opportunity to strengthen and revitalise the on call workforce workforce as part of a wider workforce strategy that sees on call, treated and respected as the professionals that they truly are.

To support that work, the National Fire Chiefs Council has published detailed research into the sustainability of the retained duty system. This work has been shared with EFRA to inform future planning, improvement activity and local workforce strategies. The government continues to engage closely with the sector on this really important issue more broadly. The government remains committed to a reform agenda, one that supports the sector to evolve, professionalise and thrive. I am encouraged by the work of the Ministerial Advisory Group for Fire and Rescue Reform, which has brought together a wide range of voices to identify good practice and remove barriers to progress.

I do, however, recognise that the funding formula as it stands is out of date. We are working on reforming this for the next spending review period. In conclusion, Madam Deputy Speaker, Operational decisions must rightly remain with local Fras. I note that the Dorset and Wiltshire Fire Authority, on which the hon. Member's party holds the majority are consulting on these proposals. The consultation runs until the 15th of May, so I would encourage all residents, affected firefighters and stakeholders to participate.

Meanwhile, this government will continue to support the sector with stable funding, a clear framework for reform both in terms of the role of the firefighter, the role of Fras, and also in funding, as well as an unwavering commitment to public safety. We will stand with firefighters as they continue to protect our communities with professionalism and courage. I thank the hon. Member once again for raising these important issues, and look forward to working with members across the House to ensure our fire and rescue services remain resilient, responsive and equipped

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for the challenges ahead. Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. The question is that this House

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The question is that this House do now adjourn as many as are of that opinion, say I. The ayes have
09:00
None Portrait Oral questions: Business and Trade
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