Ms Stella Creasy
MP for Walthamstow · Labour (Co-op) · United Kingdom
“I thank the Foreign Secretary for his clear-sighted commitment not only to talk about a two-state solution, but to actually try to act to achieve it, as the only foundation of a safe Israel and a free Palestine.”
“Could he reassure the House that we will not acquiesce and bend to such pressure, and that the only action that could ever be acceptable to us to make us contemplate reversing this ban would be a halt on the E1 development and a permanent end to settler violence?”
“I start by paying tribute to the new Minister, my hon. Friend the Member for Vauxhall and Camberwell Green (Florence Eshalomi), for all the work she did on the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee on these issues. I know that she will do a brilliant job in this role.”
“I do not really understand the technology, but I know that he does, and I understand and share his fear accordingly. We come here today to debate this Bill because we all know that trust is a bygone issue in our politics.”
“We would welcome her having that conversation, which might be more illuminating than whether she is concerned about Zach Goldmsith’s leaflets. I add my support to the amendments tabled by my hon.”
“From today, if we do not take a stand with this Bill to tackle the ways that money has infiltrated our politics, the risk is that they will think we are acting in the interests of our own back pockets.”
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Every one of 4,976 lines we hold for Ms Stella Creasy, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 2 of 100.
“As much as I enjoy lectures from the Widow Twankey of Reform, I see this King’s Speech as an opportunity for us all to reflect on the anger that I suspect we all heard on the doorsteps in every constituency across this country during the local elections. To do that, we must be honest with ourselves about the anger that we may feel. How can any of us who say that we believe this country is stronger together—that love is stronger than hate—not accept that we are also angry? I must be honest: this weekend I bumped into the “Unite the Kingdom” protesters, many of them swaggering, beer in hand, through my local station. I honestly felt a guttural sense of anger, which is not right. I do not know those people and I do not know their motivations, but in our current political environment, that was how I felt.”
“The pain of the Epstein victims sits heavy with all of us in this House because we expect the highest standards of all of us. The challenge with this incident is that it involves a convoluted process that raises difficult questions about Government vetting and appointments. Given that, can my right hon. Friend tell us when he expects the Adrian Fulford review, which is to identify whether any other cases of concern have come to light about how appointments have been made, to be completed?”
“My hon. Friend is making a very powerful case for the importance of acting quickly. One of the reasons many of us want swift action is the concern that those who profit from the proliferation of addictive and negative content online may be driving some of these conversations. We have talked a lot tonight about timelines. Does he agree with me that it would be helpful to hear a cast-iron assurance from the Minister that public health activists, bereaved parents and the children themselves will be at the heart of the consultation about how this is brought forward, not the tech companies?”
“The Prime Minister is being candid about some of the challenges in this process. I am sure that he will share the frustration felt across the House as revelations keep coming and this matter keeps coming back to Parliament. He says that he has acted to prevent any further challenges in the vetting system for the Government in respect of senior appointments. Can he therefore give all our constituents, and the House, the reassurance that he has no further sense that there will be any challenges to any other senior appointments through the vetting process that this Government have made?”
“Walthamstow stands shoulder to shoulder with the Jewish community in this country in standing up to these people trying to divide our nation. We recognise the pain and fear in our local community, and are shocked to discover that some of those who have been charged with offences come from our local community. We also understand this pain at first hand, because in February 2025, attacks were organised online in the same fashion against our local mosques. They were reputed to be associated with Russian Telegram channels. It is right that we are hearing calls for proscription, but this is a relatively new form of terrorist association; teenagers and young people from our communities are being recruited online to conduct these offences in our communities. What more can we do to disrupt this recruitment by hostile states?”
“What confidence can she give us that those officers will return? They were such an important part of our fabric of supporting our young people to be safe.”
“I know that the Minister, like me, has had conversations with a parent who has lost a loved one. As an MP, they break your heart. I think particularly today of the mother of Josh McKay, who was murdered in my constituency a few years ago. He was a young man with his whole life ahead of him and a young family. I also thank the Minister for her open acknowledgment of the value of voluntary and community groups such as Street Fathers, Project Zero, Spark2Life and Break Tha Cycle, which do fantastic work in my community with our young people. May I press her on something? She talks powerfully about the importance of making school a safe place, but she will know of the concerns many of us have about the unilateral decision to withdraw school safety officers in my constituency. Headteachers tried to raise that concern.”
“My hon. Friend will recognise, though, that many of us are concerned about the integrity of the concepts of terrorism and terrorist organisations, and the importance of people’s ability to protest the concept of proscription. Those are two very different things. Does she recognise that concern, and will she look at how we can better delineate those two things, so that people can express their concerns about the concept of proscription and how it is evolving under this Government without facing arrest for wanting to have that conversation?”
“Many of us recognise the picture of pain that the Minister is painting, especially following the terrorist attack, but good legislation requires debate, scrutiny and specification. One of the concerns that many of us have is the lack of definition of “cumulative”. Will she set out now, on the record, what the Government intend by the concept of “cumulative”, so that people can understand how this proposed test would be met?”
“Given that the conduct of settlers on the west bank directly undermines the possibility of peace and the possibility of a Palestinian state, will he commit to including their conduct in his conversations about the ceasefire and how we can give hope to people in the middle east and peace to people around the world?”
“I welcome the Prime Minister’s tough stance in response to President Trump’s demands to get involved in this conflict, and his commitment that Lebanon must be part of the ceasefire. Our constituents need us to give them hope that they will not have to continue to live in a world that is driven by the uncertainty of when the White House takes to Truth Social. We can do things to de-escalate conflict, and one of those things is to support the two-state solution in Israel and Palestine, which the Prime Minister knows is at the heart of much uncertainty in the middle east.”
“Let me tell the hon. Member that in London people have the same concern that my hon. Friend the Member for West Lancashire (Ashley Dalton) set out. We have to change the system, but too often, parents have had to go to tribunal to be heard. Any reform must support parents to continue to be heard as part of the educational system supporting these children. Does the hon. Member agree?”
“My hon. Friend is telling an incredibly powerful story about reproductive coercion and, in particular, the role of family courts. Does she agree that this issue, this case and all the matters that it brings to light would be perfect for the review of family courts that Baroness Levitt has just announced? Baroness Levitt has stated that she feels women have been victimised by the ways family courts operate, so does my hon. Friend agree that this is exactly the sort of issue that the review ought to be looking at?”
“How confident is he that the President will stick to that five-day pledge and give a chance for the urgent de-escalation that our economy and our world needs?”
“I thank my right hon. Friend for this detailed update. Further to his earlier comments, it is really important that our constituents understand how serious this is. Energy traders right now are like epidemiologists in February 2020. They are looking at energy sources and shortages, just as epidemiologists looked at covid and how it was spreading around the world, and working out how on earth to warn people of the horrors to come. The brutal reality is that if this war does not end, we could see energy shortages that will have a lasting economic effect on this country for decades. My right hon. Friend says that the President has agreed to a five-day suspension and agreed not to target the Iranian power plants. He will know how serious this is.”
“Banning the promotion of tax avoidance schemes that have no realistic prospect of working is the right thing to do because it is causing harm, but I am not here to play a violin for the elites; I am here to bang the drum for the millions of people who are being harmed, but who have not yet had the same level of attention. Elite companies might be promoting tax avoidance schemes for an elite group of people, but online there are hundreds, if not thousands, that are now doing it for the masses, causing financial detriment and harm to our constituents as a result. I would argue that this is a much greater harm, because these are people with too much month at the end of their money. When they realise the mistake that they have made and how much money they have lost, they do not have the savings to be able to pay the bill.”
“It is difficult for individual consumers to fight that, but collectively, with good regulation, we can make an economy work well. New clause 4 is about good advice empowering consumers to make good choices. I welcome clauses 156 and 157, and the work that the Government are doing to crack down on organisations that promote harmful tax avoidance schemes. We have all seen the companies that promote schemes to avoid paying tax, often to the elites—one can only think of Jimmy Carr, and what he must be thinking at this point in time.”
“I rise to support the legislation. In particular, I want to talk about new clause 4. I have to admit that I am a terrible person to go shopping with. [Laughter.] Wait for it. I grew up in a household where my dad used to stockpile copies of “Which?”. In the family, it was drilled into me that you had to seek advice; you could never just buy things. Pity my poor partner on the occasion when we went to try and buy a sofa; it was a very long, drawn-out day. I was taught the value of information and advice in making good choices in life—although I do not claim always to have followed that teaching—because it is easy to rip people off and mislead them, and there are people who will exploit misinformation to cause harm to others for their own financial gain.”
“I feel the need to stand up for Martin Lewis, because he is one of the good guys when it comes to advice, and those forums are policed very well. The problem is people exploiting the fact that social media companies also have a vested interest in generating content that goes viral. They are the sole publishers of these videos—they make money from them—that tell people outlandish things that they can do with their taxes. I think we all agree that it is worth looking at the Money Saving Expert forum. I peruse it at length myself, much to the detriment of being able to make decisions.”
“I thank all the MPs across the House—except those in the obvious party—who understand the risks to our constituents from this advice. It is very welcome to see a Government respond so quickly to social media problems, unlike the last one; we remember payday lending and the “buy now, pay later” lenders. The Minister talks about issuing guidance. Does he have a rough timeline for when that guidance will be available? I guess what I am really asking, on behalf of the millions of people who have been ripped off, is when Samuel Leeds will get a knock on the door from the taxman.”
“I think we all share my right hon. Friend’s passionate desire to support the victims who are waiting too long to get to court, but that means that we also owe them a debt of truth. The concern highlighted in the Institute for Government report is that magistrates courts will struggle to absorb such a large increase in demand, so we may not see the faster justice that he is promising under these proposals. Will he recognise that those of us who cannot support the Bill as it currently stands think that the way forward is to look at the data and consider whether juries are actually a red herring when it comes to the investment that we so sorely need because of the damage done by the previous Government?”
“I know at first hand the strength that my hon. Friend is showing in making this speech, and I know why it matters for us to be confident that what we bring forward actually will change this situation—that we will not go down rabbit holes and be distracted by changing juries, but will focus ruthlessly on the victim’s experience. I want to speak on behalf of everyone in the Chamber in saying that we are with my hon. Friend every step of the way, and we are so damn proud of her today.”
“In those circumstances, will the Minister at least accept there should be a waiver on the fees for babies so that they can come back home to their country?”
“The Minister says this has not been mishandled, but I am sure even he would accept there are elements that could have been done better. One of those is to do with babies. I have two constituents—a three-month-old little boy stuck in Italy, and a little girl stuck in Uruguay who was born in Whipps Cross hospital in Walthamstow—whose mothers have dual citizenship and who both want to be back in the United Kingdom within the next month. If they come home with their families, under the current policy they face being turned away or separated from their mothers on arrival. Alternatively, families who have just taken on the biggest cost of all—having a baby—will have to find hundreds of pounds to pay for a certificate that will take months to arrive.”
“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Desmond. I never inhaled: I always opposed Brexit, and I continue to fight for a closer relationship with Europe. I also recognise that the way the previous Government left the European Union was the hardest of Brexits. They compounded the damage that walking out of the room did to this country, and we see that in our constituencies every single day. I do not believe that anybody voted for 1.8 million fewer jobs to be created in our economy, or for 16,000 businesses to give up on trading with Europe because the basic consequence of Brexit was paperwork. I do not believe that anybody in this country really wanted those outcomes.”
“First and foremost, we need a salvage operation for British businesses, jobs, climate and people. That requires looking at the deal that has been done with Switzerland. We must get closer to the single market, because the customs union is not our European counterparts and European freedom of movement. There is so much more that we can do but, first, let us start by respecting those people we disavowed.”
“I apologise, but I am aware of the time available. I also recognise that 2016 was over a decade ago. One of the challenges in this nation is that we have always acted as if the hard part about our relationship with Europe was us deciding what we wanted to happen, and the easy part was going and telling our European counterparts what we wanted to do. In a decade, President Trump has been elected twice, covid has happened, the #MeToo movement occurred and TikTok was invented—not to mention the antics of President Putin. If we are going to get this right then, as my hon. Friend the Member for Chelsea and Fulham (Ben Coleman) is right to argue, we need to get closer to Europe, but, in what we ask now, we have to show them the respect of recognising the damage we did in walking out of the door.”
“Like the hon. Gentleman, I have been a Member of this place for longer than I care to remember, and throughout that time I have seen powerful men go unchallenged and cause havoc in our country as a result. He and I will want to change that for good, because this goes well beyond any partisan concern. Does he agree that it is therefore time to revisit the role of this House in scrutinising appointments, and particularly the capacity of Select Committees to object? Too many people have known for too long that a number of controversial characters are not fit for public office. It is time to bring the disinfectant of democracy back into that process—does the hon. Gentleman agree?”
“My hon. Friend was here when I said that we should not only deal with this situation—I am with those who were not happy about the original amendment —but also think about what we can change fundamentally. This is not the first time we have seen controversial people appointed to positions. Does my hon. Friend, as a relatively new Member, share my interest in learning from other jurisdictions around the world? For example, there could be pre-appointment hearings before Select Committees, which could object to shortlists. Could we not toughen up our role as eyes and ears looking out for what good democracy practice looks like?”
“The Minister is right when he says that our constituents who have relatives in Iran—relatives who are also British-Iranians themselves—are looking to us for clear action. I must press him on this point about proscription. He is aware, as has already been said, that the European Union has added the IRGC to its terrorist list, as has Australia, Canada and America. When I raised this with the Foreign Secretary three weeks ago, she talked about the importance of our taking action in concert with our allies. Given that our allies have already proscribed the IRGC, can he at least give us some comfort that that legislation will come forward forthwith and that this is an urgent priority for the Government?”
“I thank the Minister for his diligent work on this issue. I know that we all appreciate his expertise, as will my constituents in Walthamstow who are leaseholders with Clarion and who, in the last year, have seen their ground rents go up from £200 to £650 and now this year to £857, including an admin fee. What can the Minister say to reassure my constituents that there will not be loopholes in the cap and that we will ensure that all charges are included in the £250 limit?”
“May I make a plea for him to revisit his exclusion of these smaller, independent chains from the hospitality relief that he is talking about?”
“I know that many of the businesses in the Walthamstow beer mile that are also music venues, as well as our brilliant Rose and Crown pub and the Wood Street Bear, will welcome what the Minister has said today, and rightly so, because pubs are important. I must take issue, however, with his metric that pubs are somehow the only cornerstone of community life in this country. I join colleagues in asking for further support for the hospitality industry, in particular those small independent venues, such as cafés, community centres and soft play centres. I am sure he does not want to be the Minister responsible for sending toddlers into pubs because the other places that their parents might take them to during the day have closed down. That would not be in anybody’s interest.”
“Many young people watching us will be thinking that issues of addiction and online harm are not simply age-related. This debate reflects, I fear, many parents’ and carers’ lack of confidence in the ability of the Online Safety Act and Ofcom to deal with rapid technological change. What conversations has the Secretary of State had with Ofcom about the powers and further action that it could take now, in particular on artificial intelligence chatbots?”
“I wonder whether my hon. Friend heard the testimony of Toby Ovens, the managing director of Broughton Transport Solutions, to the Business and Trade Committee the other day. He spoke about how we have lost that complex network, but gained a mountain of paperwork, which is accounting for much of the costs that are incurred for the food that is coming into our country. That includes 26 different stamps that he now has to get to import food into our country. Does she recognise that one of the ways that we can help bring food costs down is to get that sanitary and phytosanitary deal signed?”
“The scenes we have seen in Iran are heartbreaking, terrifying and, I fear, just a fraction of what is happening, given the media blackout. The Foreign Secretary says that the world must come together, and she is right. I understand her point that proscription in this country is a matter for the Home Secretary, but given the measures that are being talked about in the European Parliament, which has banned representatives of the Iranian Government from attending, can she confirm that she is talking to our European counterparts about co-ordinating proscription measures?”
“May I very much welcome what the Secretary of State is doing in proving that none of this is inevitable with the development of technology? She has just said that there is a concern that our legislation is behind, rather than ahead of, the curve. She knows that this issue is not just about Grok; it is about AI chatbots. I know that Baroness Kidron in the other place has brought forward legislation on that. Will the Secretary of State defend all those talking about content moderation and how we get this right in the future, including by standing up to Governments who are not free speech advocates if they bar those people from their shores?”
“The truth is, the warning signs that the rules-based order is at risk have been there for some time. In evidence to Congress during the impeachment inquiry into President Trump, the former White House adviser on Russia and Europe, Fiona Hill, claimed that an informal offer was made by Russia to withdraw its support for Venezuela in exchange for America withdrawing its support for Ukraine. In the light of these events, will the Foreign Secretary confirm that that specific allegation has been raised in her conversations with our American counterparts? What response has she had?”
“What more can he tell us about his conversations with our allies in America, for example, who are also concerned about the settlements, and what action will he take to stop this deliberate attempt to stop the peace process?”
“I must press the Minister on the further 19 settlements announced over the Christmas period in the west bank. Minister Smotrich has been explicit that that is deliberately about making it impossible to establish the Palestinian state. That brings the total in the last three years alone to 69 new settlements in the west bank, several of which had previously been dismantled. These actions are provocative at best, and deeply disturbing for a peace process that will benefit so many people in both Israel and Palestine as a result. The Minister has said that the Government condemn the settlements, but we know from the history of the crisis that condemnation is not enough; we do need concrete action.”
“Will the Leader of the House give some advice and support on how we can improve the channels of communication with the Ministry of Justice in these circumstances, especially at this time of year and given some of the reporting of this issue, so that the next of kin can get accurate information? Will he also say whether we can have a debate on how we can support families in those situations?”
“I join others in wishing you, Mr Speaker, and the staff of the House a happy Christmas, and also wish a happy fifth night of Hanukkah to all those who are celebrating. May I also thank the shadow Deputy Leader of the House for reminding me of my favourite version of that Dickens classic, “The Muppet Christmas Carol”? Qesser Zuhrah is currently undertaking a hunger strike. Understandably, her next of kin, who are my constituents, are very worried about her welfare and desperate for information about her current condition. As her MP, I have sought that information, because I believe that, whatever one may think of what someone who is incarcerated has done, welfare information is a reasonable thing for the next of kin to require.”
“Member for Tunbridge Wells (Mike Martin), and indeed the former Member for that constituency, Greg Clark, and I have been pushing for that for over a decade because we want to see women and girls as free to walk our streets as men and boys are. Will she tell us how we can now feed into the police guidance on the matter?”
“I thank all the Ministers for their collective hard work with the Safeguarding Minister. It has been worth the wait for this strategy. She will know that for too long it has been an occupational hazard for women in this country that they get hassled wherever they go and whatever they do. Will she therefore confirm that, as part of the strategy, the Protection from Sex-based Harassment in Public Act 2023 will come into force in April next year? That will mean that, for the first time ever, the law will recognise that misogyny causes crimes against women and girls, and the police and courts will be able to do something about it. The Minister will know that Citizens UK, the brilliant Sue Fish, Our Streets Now, the hon.”
“The Minister will know that many more people in our constituencies are now looking at the work he is doing to repair the UK-EU relationship, and seeking some Christmas cheer. For all the businesses still facing piles of paperwork and mountains of red tape, can he play Santa a little bit more and tell us what 2026 might bring in resetting the relationship and getting Britain back on track with its neighbours?”
“I congratulate the Minister on doing what many of us have felt has been needed in the relationship between the European Union and the UK: what therapists call “active listening”. He is actually listening to our neighbours, finding out what they are interested in and where we can do a deal, and recognising that those in a relationship who keep making random demands—whether they are about a customs union, rejoining the EU or fish—fail to recognise the importance of communication to negotiation. I note that the original wreckers of this relationship have not turned up today to explain to Britain’s young people, who have borne the consequences of their bad behaviour, why they felt that it was necessary.”
“Some in our local trans community are self-prescribing hormones and not getting the blood tests and monitoring that they need, and they face a delay in getting support. I want to put on the record that there have also been some very positive responses from my local GPs, but it is patchy. In the time available to me, I make one simple plea to the Minister. It is great that we have the David Levy review, but I ask for the Minister’s help and support for my local clinicians. They are cutting through the heat in this debate and asking a simple question: how can we serve this local community better? How can we make services work better for them? I will stand up for the right of every single one of my constituents to get decent healthcare, but I ask the Minister to work with us to get it right on the ground.”
“They might also have physical disabilities or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, but they struggle to access services accordingly. No one can think that it is acceptable for a patient group in the NHS to be systematically excluded. I pay tribute to the North East London integrated care board, which has risen to the challenge and recognised the problem, and is now looking at how to resolve it. I think we all recognise that shared care agreements are complicated, but the reality is that not every shared care agreement is refused. Not every person in my constituency with a referral from an NHS provider, let alone a private one, gets a doctor who says, “We do not cover that agreement”.”
“The reality for that very vulnerable and small group within our society is that they are not getting the services they need. This is not just about gender-affirming healthcare; it is about healthcare across the piece. That is the challenge that we have been dealing with in Walthamstow. I pay tribute to the members of my local trans community who have had the bravery to come forward and speak about their experiences. I will not name them because, sadly, we live in a world where people would demonise them simply for speaking up about the fact that, because they cannot access their local GP—particularly in shared care agreements, which many others have mentioned—they cannot access healthcare at all, even for other conditions.”
“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Turner. I think I speak for everyone in this Chamber when I say that it is a privilege to be in the room with my hon. Friend the Member for North Warwickshire and Bedworth (Rachel Taylor), and to hear her passion for this subject and her honesty about the impact. Too often, that voice is missing in our politics. Wherever we stand, I think people can recognise that. I am so grateful for this debate, because in the time available to me, I want to highlight what we have been doing in Walthamstow on this issue. We were worried that we would never find allies for our work, and today is a reminder that we will, because the majority of people in this country understand a simple and decent point: trans people pay for the NHS too, and they should be entitled to services that suit their needs.”