Speeches by Eshalomi.

“I commend my hon. Friend so much for his passionate speech and his lived experience. Earlier this week I attended another event, and the Elton John AIDS Foundation was there. Richard Pyle, one of its directors, mentioned how great it would be if in a few years we could have an injectable form of PrEP. Does my hon. Frie…”

“I thank the right hon. Member for his excellent opening remarks. Does he agree that the Prime Minister taking that test in Downing Street highlights the issues around stigma and the fact that people can test safely within the confines of their own home, without anyone else or the glare of a clinic? It is that person an…”

“My hon. Friend refers to the spend on temporary accommodation, which the Select Committee heard evidence about. He may be aware that, collectively, London councils—the 32 boroughs—are spending £4 million a day on temporary accommodation. Does he agree that that is just not sustainable?”

“I thank the Secretary of State for setting out the Government’s ambitions for devolution across England. I welcome the commitment to putting power into the hands of local communities, so that people feel decisions are being made with them, not to them. We have seen proposals from areas, including Essex county council, …”

“I thank the former Chair of the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee —I know of the work that his Committee did on this issue. The reality is that we need to build more homes. The Government have an ambitious target, but our residents need somewhere to live in the interim. That will mean more strain on t…”

“I declare an interest as I served as a local councillor, like many colleagues in this House. It is about not just the pension; the additional costs that younger councillors face now to go in and serve their local community may be off-putting. On top of that there is the level of abuse that local councillors face for ca…”

“I welcome the real-terms funding increase in the settlement, in the context of a decade of cuts and financial mismanagement. The Minister outlined the additional funding for the children’s social care prevention grant, which will help provide vital services for children in their formative years, which is really importa…”

“I thank my hon. Friend for his powerful opening speech. Turnout at the general election in July last year dropped to below 60%, which means that two in every five people did not participate. Does my hon. Friend agree that that shows we need change, so that more people engage in our democratic system?”

“My hon. Friend may be aware that an Electoral Commission poll from 2023 found that more people were dissatisfied with our democratic election system than were satisfied. Does he think that looking at changing our current voting system would make more people feel satisfied?”

“Another change put forward by the previous Government in the Elections Act was in relation to postal votes, which, again, has disenfranchised many people. Does my hon. Friend believe that if we are to look at electoral reform, we should consider some of the consequences of the changes that were made by the previous Gov…”

“My hon. Friend is making a fantastic speech. I have long supported reducing the voting age to 16—a change for which there is cross-party support. Does he agree that if we give young people a say by giving them the vote, they will not have some of those views, because they will feel engaged and involved in the political…”

“I thank my hon. Friend for his long campaign on this important issue. All of us have probably knocked on doors and spoken to voters who have said that they have never voted because their vote would not count. Does he believe that if we had a different voting system, people would be able to see that every single vote at…”

“I thank the Minister for coming to the House with this statement. I am sure that Members across the House are watching to ensure that this agreement lasts, and that people can return to their home and build some sort of future. Tomorrow I am due to meet the Kennington Bethlehem Link, a voluntary group in my constituenc…”

“I echo the praise for the Foreign Secretary’s visit last week. It is important that we continue to keep the spotlight on Sudan. Last week, I was able to visit an exhibition called “Children’s drawings”, arranged by Waging Peace and hosted by my hon. Friend the Member for Kensington and Bayswater (Joe Powell). It showed…”

“I thank the Home Secretary for her statement this afternoon. As many Members have said, our thoughts remain with Bebe, Elsie and Alice. We can all remember where we were that late mid-morning on 29 July. I had just dropped off my two children at their holiday camp at school. When the news broke, I could feel that panic…”

“At a time when we are seeing such an increase in religious hate crime, including Islamophobia and antisemitism, we all have a duty in this House to be careful about the language we use. I hope that the Government will look at their language, because it is vital for community cohesion that we are careful and do not unin…”

“I thank the shadow Minister for securing this important question; he has highlighted some key issues. Sadly, we know that our councils are at breaking point. The Select Committee’s first major inquiry is to look at local government finances, and we look forward to engaging with the Minister on it. It was reported that …”

“I thank the Minister for the work he has been doing. He highlighted the issue of tenants being asked to pay up front. In my constituency and many other London constituencies, that up-front cost amounts in some cases to a deposit to purchase a home. Does he agree that we need to look into that issue and into estate agen…”

“I thank my hon. Friend and neighbour for making such a powerful speech and reading out what must have been a difficult email to receive on behalf of her constituent. Does she agree that, sadly, many other tenants up and down the country might have had to go through that, and suffered in silence because they were grievi…”

“As a fellow London MP, the right hon. Member will see what I see in my inbox, with many tenants facing that threat on an almost daily basis. They are the same tenants who come to our advice surgeries and are turned away from overstretched council departments, and who cannot apply to social housing waiting lists because…”