Joy Morrissey

This has been an excellent debate, with some outstanding contributions. I congratulate the hon. Member for Gorton and Denton (Hannah Spencer) on making her maiden speech, which was significantly better than mine. Her empathy, honesty and generosity of spirit will serve her well in this place, and her genuine pride in Manchester puts even Andy Burnham to shame. I thank the hon. Member for North East Hampshire (Alex Brewer) for her excellent speech on FGM, and for raising this important issue. We also heard from the hon. Member for South Derbyshire (Samantha Niblett), who raised the excellent idea of praising her staff. I shall shamelessly copy that by praising my office manager, Aleksandra Turner, and my senior case worker, Mary Shaw. Without these women, I would be truly lost. I thank the hon. Member for her idea, and all the women who serve as parliamentary staffers across the House. Honestly, we would be lost without them. I shall keep my comments to a minimum, as I know that the Minister would like to speak. I just want to thank everybody for these incredible debates, and for the incredible time and honesty that all Members put into their speeches. I thank the hon. Member for Brent East (Dawn Butler), and I am sure that her campaign to be the Mayor of London will be a smashing success. I was the first female to make it to the final three for the mayoralty for the Conservatives, and I would be absolutely terrified to stand against her. I have no doubt that she would do a fantastic job for London. I thank the hon. Member for Aberdeen North (Kirsty Blackman) for her contribution, and for standing up for young women and girls on online harms. She has continued to champion this issue, not just in this debate but throughout her time in Parliament. I want to talk about everyone—for example, the hon. Member for Gower (Tonia Antoniazzi) really championed the issue of child sexual exploitation, which is so important —and I feel as if I am doing them all an injustice by cutting short my comments, of which I have a plethora. Please know, however, that it was an incredible debate to watch, and we do have more in common than we think. With that—everyone will be happy to hear that I am bringing my speech to a close—it seems fitting to return to Nancy Astor, and I want to end with one of her greatest quotes. She once said: “Women are young at politics, but they are old at suffering; soon they will learn that through politics they can prevent some kinds of suffering.” We in this House have that chance for our women and girls. Let us take it.