Ms Diane Abbott
MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington
Lab
Questions Asked by This MP
Parliamentary questions and government responses.
Response classifications show how directly each question was answered.
Most Members of this House will be aware that the welfare system can be a nightmare to navigate and does, indeed, need reform, but could we have less of this rhetoric about the Prime Minister’s £5 billion package of disability benefit so-called reform being moral? There is nothing moral about cutting benefits for what may be up to a million people. This is not about morality; this is about the Treasury’s wish to balance the country’s books on the backs of the most vulnerable and poorest people in this society.
Context
The question addresses the Prime Minister's £5 billion package of disability benefit reforms, which is criticized as being detrimental to vulnerable individuals.
The Prime Minister
My right hon. Friend is a passionate advocate on this issue and has been for a long time, and I pay tribute to her for that. However, as she rightly acknowledges, the current system is broken. This is where I disagree with her: I think that one in eight young people not being in education or training—that is a million young people—is a moral issue. All the evidence suggests that someone in that situation at that stage of their life will find it incredibly difficult ever to get out of that level of dependency. That cuts across the opportunity and aspiration that are the root of my values, and Labour values, about how we take working people forward. I do see it as a moral issue and I will not turn away from that. I am genuinely shocked that a million young people are in that position, and I am not prepared to shrug my shoulders and walk past it.
Session: PMQs
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Will she give an assurance that in the horrific aftermath of Hurricane Melissa, we will give every possible help and support to the people of Jamaica?
Yvette Cooper
We have very strong links between our communities—between the people of Jamaica and the people of Britain. We discussed this matter in the crisis centre this morning, including what we might be able to deploy on request from the Jamaican Government. We stand ready to help and respond.
Session: Topical Questions
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My hon. Friend will be aware that there is a lot of interest in the relationship between the Church and the slave trade. Is she able to say over what period the Church made profits from the slave trade? Is she able to specify the names of the companies that the Church invested in, or even the names of the slave plantations? Is she able to quantify exactly how much money the Church made over the period when it was involved in the slave trade? And is she able to say whether the Church’s profit from the slave trade is still part of its income today?
Context
The forensic accounting research published in 2023 revealed that Queen Anne’s Bounty was linked with African chattel enslavement through investments in the South Sea Company and benefactions from individuals who profited from slavery. The Church Commissioners have been investigating these links since 2019.
Marsha De Cordova (Second Church Estates Commissioner)
I thank the Mother of the House for the seven or eight questions that she has asked—she will forgive me if I write to her in response to many of those points. To reiterate, the Church received benefaction from individuals who profited from enslavement and invested in the South Sea Company, which was deeply linked with the slave trade. The Church Commissioners have been investigating the Church’s historical links in this area since 2019, and published a full and transparent report in January 2023. I am happy for that document to be shared with my right hon. Friend and it can be placed in the House of Commons Library, if that is helpful. I will write to her, but I am also very happy to meet her, because she shows a keen interest in this area.
Session: Church Assets Historical Link to Slavery
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What steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to support people on the lowest incomes following the spring statement 2025. It is all very well for the Minister to talk about helping people into work, but is he aware of the many millions of people on personal independence payments who rely on them in order to work? Yet that PIP will be slashed as a consequence of the spring statement. Is he also aware that very many people would prefer the Government not to balance their books on the backs of some of the poorest and most vulnerable people in our society? Why are the Government rejecting a tax of just 2% on people with assets of over £10 million, which would raise over £24 billion?
Context
Following the spring statement in 2025, Ms Abbott questions the government's approach to supporting individuals with low incomes.
James Murray (Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury)
At the autumn Budget last year, the Chancellor announced a series of reforms to fix the public finances in as fair a way as possible, and make sure that the wealthiest in society pay their share of tax. The welfare reforms announced in the spring statement are principled reforms to help get people back into work, because work is the best way out of poverty. The reforms also provide support for those who need it and make sure that the system is sustainable for the future.
Session: Lowest Incomes Support
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Other Parliamentary Activity
Debates led and petitions presented.
Personal Independence Payment: Disabled People
07 May 2025
Responding: Sir Stephen Timms
Main Concerns
['The Chancellor of the Exchequer raised a series of welfare cuts in her spring statement, including cutting the health element of universal credit by 50% for new claimants. The Office for Budget Responsibility has outlined that these planned cuts will reduce PIP for at least 800,000 claimants and cut health-related universal credit payments for 3 million families.']
Specific Asks
['The lead MP calls for an equality impact assessment before implementing the proposed welfare cuts, as it is concerning how these come on top of the cut to winter fuel allowance and the failure to raise the child benefit ceiling.']
Venezuela 2026-01-05
05 January 2026
Ministerial Statement
Contributed to this debate
Criminal Court Reform 2025-12-02
02 December 2025
General Debate
Contributed to this debate
The Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice opened the debate by discussing the need for criminal court reform, highlighting a backlog of 78,000 cases. He mentioned the independent review c...
Black History Month 2025-10-23
23 October 2025
Ministerial Statement
Contributed to this debate
Prevention and Suppression of Terrorism 2025-07-02
02 July 2025
Ministerial Statement
Contributed to this debate
Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill 2025-07-01
01 July 2025
Ministerial Statement
Contributed to this debate
Sentencing Guidelines (Pre-sentence Reports) Bill 2025-04-30
30 April 2025
General Debate
Contributed to this debate
The Bill aims to prevent sentencing guidelines from considering an offender’s ethnicity, race, culture or faith in pre-sentence reports. It ensures that decisions are based on individual circumstances...
NHS Dentistry: Recovery and Reform
07 February 2024
Ministerial Statement
Contributed to this debate
Health and Social Care Bill - Schedule 4 - Integrated Care System: Minor and Consequential Amendments
22 November 2021
Bill Debate
Contributed to this debate
I beg to move, That the clause be read a Second time. This amendment aims to make minor and consequential changes to the Integrated Care System provisions in the Health and Social Care Bill to ensure ...
1
PMQs Asked
3
Ministerial Questions Asked
8
House of Commons Debates Involved
1
Westminster Hall Debates Led
0
Statements / Bills
0
Petitions Presented
0
Voting Record
Activity Compared to Peers
How does this MP's parliamentary activity compare to the national average across 1370 MPs?
Prime Minister's Questions
-73% below average
This MP:
1
Average:
3.7
Ministerial Questions
-78% below average
This MP:
3
Average:
13.7
Westminster Hall Debates Led
-60% below average
This MP:
1
Average:
2.5
Commons Chamber Debates
+65% above average
This MP:
8
Average:
4.8
Statements / Bills Proposed
-100% below average
This MP:
0
Average:
9.5
Petitions Presented
-100% below average
This MP:
0
Average:
2.4
Important Context
- - Ministers answer questions rather than asking them, so have different activity patterns
- - Activity quantity doesn't measure quality or effectiveness of representation
- - Some MPs focus more on constituency work than parliamentary questions
- - Newly elected MPs will have less parliamentary history
About This Page
This page tracks Ms Diane Abbott's parliamentary activity including questions asked, debates (Commons Chamber + Westminster Hall), statements/bills, and petitions presented.