Uma Kumaran

Uma Kumaran

Labour — Stratford and Bow

Speaking in the House of Commons on 16 July 2025

Debate

Commemoration of Matchgirls’ Strike

Contribution

Absolutely. My hon. Friend has made a very important point. As I was saying, I would like to ensure that the names of the strike and union committee members are recorded in Hansard, so that their contribution to the fight for the workers’ rights that we all enjoy today is remembered. They were Eliza Martin, Mary Naulls, Louisa Beck, Kate Sclater, Julia Gambleton, Ellen Johnson, Jane Wakeling, Mary Driscoll, Jane Staines, Alice Francis, Eliza Price, Mary Cummings and Sarah Chapman, whose great-granddaughter Sam is in the Gallery and has done so much to honour the incredible legacy of the matchgirls. There is a saying: “If you want a job done right, get a woman to do it.” Never has this been truer in the fight for women’s rights than for the matchgirls, and I pay tribute to these extraordinary women.

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About Hansard

Hansard is the official verbatim record of proceedings in the UK Parliament. Every word spoken in the Commons and Lords is recorded and published — this page is a single contribution from that record.

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