Antisemitism in Schools and Colleges

Lisa Smart Excerpts

Wednesday 21st October 2026 Commons Chamber

[Lucy Powell]

I thank my hon. Friend for what sounds like incredibly important inter-faith work in Birmingham. She is absolutely right: modern, contemporary forms of antisemitism—the conspiracy theories she talked about—which are now, I am afraid, rife online, appear in gaming and on other social media. They are, therefore, in children’s bedrooms, living rooms and other rooms where their screens are. That is why we need to ensure that every school in Birmingham and across the country is well-trained and well-versed, and is adopting the recommendations we are setting out.

[Lisa Smart (Hazel Grove) (LD)]

I really welcome Sir David’s review and the Secretary of State’s response. Antisemitism is an ancient poison. It is why my nan had to flee Germany to come to this country in the late 1930s and it is, as the Secretary of State said, the responsibility of all of us to tackle it. I refer the House to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests, because I am in my 20th year of being a primary school governor. The review and the recommendations talk about the role of school leadership, but I noted that the Secretary of State did not mention school governors. I wonder if she could say how she sees the role of governors in tackling this issue? I welcome her earlier assurance to my hon. Friend the Member for Twickenham (Munira Wilson) that money will be made available. Will she confirm if that is new, new money, or if it is money that has already been allocated to our schools, or already allocated to tackling antisemitism?

[Lucy Powell]

I thank the hon. Lady for sharing her family history. It is really important that we do keep sharing those stories as well, and I thank her for being a governor of what I am sure is an excellent school in Hazel Grove, as there are many excellent schools in Hazel Grove. She raises a good point about governors, and I will take that on board and ensure that training and other resources are available to governors as well. What we are talking about is new funding, as well as new resources for training, suggested classroom resources and so on. That will be available, and I hope schools will feel fully supported in taking this forward.