Debbie Abrahams
Labour - Oldham East and Saddleworth
6,357 (15.9%) majority - 2024 General ElectionFirst elected: 13th January 2011
5 APPG Officer Positions (as of 1 Dec 2025)
Dementia, Healthy Places, Kashmir, Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME), Palestine9 APPG Memberships
Afghan Women and Girls, Miscarriages of Justice, Anti-Corruption and Responsible Tax, Beyond Pills, Child of the North, Fair Banking, Social, Cooperative, and Community Economy, Suicide and Self-Harm Prevention, Fair Elections30 Former APPG Officer Positions
Afghan Women and Girls, Afghanistan, Business in a Pandemic (Covid) World, Compassionate Politics, Complex Needs, Complex Needs and Dual Diagnosis, Coronavirus, Coronavirus and Future Pandemics, Deliberative Democracy, Disability, Events, Green New Deal, Hazaras, Health in all Policies, Homelessness, Life Sciences, Pakistan, Patient and Public Involvement in Health and Social Care, Period Equality, Prescribed Drug Dependence, Public Accountability, Race and Community, Restorative Justice, Rugby League, Sex Equality, Social Integration, Unconscious Bias, Universal Credit, Uyghurs, Women in the Penal SystemDivision Voting information
Debbie Abrahams voted Aye - against a party majority and against the House
One of 129 Labour Aye votes vs 200 Labour No votes
Tally: Ayes - 243 Noes - 279
Debbie Abrahams voted No - against a party majority and against the House
One of 127 Labour No votes vs 206 Labour Aye votes
Tally: Ayes - 288 Noes - 239
Debates during the 2024 Parliament
Speeches made during Parliamentary debates are recorded in Hansard. For ease of browsing we have grouped debates into individual, departmental and legislative categories.
Sparring Partners
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
(24 debate interactions)
(13 debate interactions)
Department Debates
(41 debate contributions)
(33 debate contributions)
(15 debate contributions)
(12 debate contributions)
Legislation Debates
(3,276 words contributed)
(1,893 words contributed)
(926 words contributed)
(183 words contributed)
Oldham East and Saddleworth Petitions
e-Petitions are administered by Parliament and allow members of the public to express support for a particular issue.
If an e-petition reaches 10,000 signatures the Government will issue a written response.
If an e-petition reaches 100,000 signatures the petition becomes eligible for a Parliamentary debate (usually Monday 4.30pm in Westminster Hall).
of 25,139 signatures (0.44%)
of 260,473 signatures (0.27%)
of 135,533 signatures (0.20%)
of 190,654 signatures (0.19%)
of 114,273 signatures (0.19%)
of 2,982,851 signatures (0.16%)
of 679,576 signatures (0.18%)
of 260,473 signatures (0.27%)
of 229,996 signatures (0.18%)
of 190,654 signatures (0.19%)
Petition Closed
Retain legal right to assessment and support in education for children with SEND
Gov Responded - 5 Aug 2025 Debated on - 15 Sep 2025 View Debbie Abrahams's petition debate contributionsclosed 2 months, 4 weeks ago
Support in education is a vital legal right of children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). We ask the government to commit to maintaining the existing law, so that vulnerable children with SEND can access education and achieve their potential.
Latest EDMs signed by Debbie Abrahams
UK Government recognition of the state of Palestine
Tabled by: Andy McDonald (Labour - Middlesbrough and Thornaby East)That this House notes the high-level international conference for the peaceful settlement of the question of Palestine and the implementation of the two-state solution of 17-20 June 2025; welcomes the Prime Minister’s remarks that Palestinian statehood is the inalienable right of the Palestinian people; reaffirms the position of the House …
(Most recent: 21 Jul 2025)
Signatures by party:
Labour: 55
Liberal Democrat: 36
Independent: 7
Scottish National Party: 4
Plaid Cymru: 4
Green Party: 2
Social Democratic & Labour Party: 2
Your Party: 1
Alliance: 1
UN Special Rapporteur's report on atrocity crimes in Iran
Tabled by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East)That this House welcomes the landmark Atrocity Crimes report by the UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Iran, published by the OHCHR in July 2024, which sheds light on grave human rights violations, including the 1988 massacre of political prisoners; notes that the report states that …
(Most recent: 28 Apr 2025)
Signatures by party:
Liberal Democrat: 54
Labour: 31
Conservative: 6
Scottish National Party: 5
Green Party: 4
Plaid Cymru: 4
Democratic Unionist Party: 3
Social Democratic & Labour Party: 2
Independent: 2
Traditional Unionist Voice: 1
Commons initiatives
These initiatives were driven by Debbie Abrahams, and are more likely to reflect personal policy preferences.
MPs who are act as Ministers or Shadow Ministers are generally restricted from performing Commons initiatives other than Urgent Questions.
Debbie Abrahams has not been granted any Urgent Questions
1 Adjournment Debate led by Debbie Abrahams
4 Bills introduced by Debbie Abrahams
A Bill to provide for a statutory code of conduct for Ministers of the Crown; for a statutory code of conduct for Members of the House of Commons and Members of the House of Lords; for a statutory code of conduct for councillors in England; and for connected purposes.
A Bill to provide for a statutory code of conduct for Ministers of the Crown; for a statutory code of conduct for members of the House of Commons and members of the House of Lords; for a statutory code of conduct for councillors in England; and for connected purposes.
The Bill failed to complete its passage through Parliament before the end of the session. This means the Bill will make no further progress. a Bill to require public authorities to pay certain suppliers using project bank accounts; and for connected purposes.
A Bill to require listed companies, public bodies and voluntary agencies to report annually on the number and percentage of people they employ who have disabilities; and for connected purposes.
Wednesday 25th February 2015
13 Bills co-sponsored by Debbie Abrahams
Fireworks (Noise Control etc) Bill 2024-26
Sponsor - Yasmin Qureshi (Lab)
Police and Crime Commissioners (Accountability and Review) Bill 2024-26
Sponsor - Matt Western (Lab)
Global Climate and Development Finance Bill 2022-23
Sponsor - Liam Byrne (Lab)
First-Aid (Mental Health) Bill 2022-23
Sponsor - Dean Russell (Con)
Clean Air Bill 2022-23
Sponsor - Geraint Davies (Ind)
Planning and Local Representation Bill 2021-22
Sponsor - Rachel Hopkins (Lab)
Import of Products of Forced Labour from Xinjiang (Prohibition) Bill 2021-22
Sponsor - Brendan O'Hara (SNP)
Decarbonisation and Economic Strategy Bill 2021-22
Sponsor - Caroline Lucas (Green)
Compulsory Purchase and Planning Bill 2017-19
Sponsor - Emma Hardy (Lab)
Pension Charges Bill 2017-19
Sponsor - Angela Eagle (Lab)
Health Impacts (Public Sector Duty) Bill 2017-19
Sponsor - Baroness Berger (Lab)
Cold Weather Payments Bill 2017-19
Sponsor - Hywel Williams (PC)
House of Lords Reform (Exclusion of Hereditary Peers) Bill 2015-16
Sponsor - Lord Hanson of Flint (Lab)
Latest 6 Written Questions
(View all written questions)Tackling child poverty is at the heart of breaking down barriers to opportunity and improving the life chances for every child. For too many children, living in poverty robs them of the opportunity to achieve and thrive.
On 23 October 2024 the government published ‘Tackling Child Poverty: Developing Our Strategy’. This report sets out how the government will develop the strategy, including an engagement plan, which will harness all available levers to deliver a reduction in child poverty this Parliament as part of an ambitious ten-year Strategy. The report is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/tackling-child-poverty-developing-our-strategy.
As part of the Taskforce’s engagement plan, a new forum of parents and carers living across the UK will be set up to ensure the experiences of children in poverty, including disabled children and those with special educational needs, are included. They will feed directly into the Strategy.
Minister for Women and Equalities
The Government knows how important reliable public transport services are in enabling people to stay connected and access education, work and vital services across the country. We also know that local bus services can be a lifeline in rural areas and can be the only means for communities to stay connected.
The Government is taking ambitious steps to improve local bus services across the country, including introducing the Bus Services Act 2025 which puts passenger needs, reliable services and local accountability at the heart of local bus services by putting the power back in the hands of local leaders right across England.
We also recently confirmed long-term investment of over £3 billion from 2026/27 to support local leaders and bus operators across the country to improve bus services for millions of passengers. This includes multi-year allocations for local authorities under the Local Authority Bus Grant (LABG) totalling nearly £700 million per year, ending the short-term approach to bus funding and giving councils the certainty they need to plan ahead to improve services for local communities. LABG allocations have been calculated using a fair and transparent approach that considers population size, levels of deprivation, the extent of existing bus services, and rurality.
Greater Manchester Combined Authority will be allocated £133.5 million under the LABG from 2026/27 to 2028/29. This is in addition to the £46.8 million they are already receiving under the LABG this financial year.
The Department for Transport has developed and published a Connectivity Tool to measure people’s ability to get where they want and need to go, using walking, cycling and public transport to reach jobs, shops, schools, healthcare and other essential services in any location in England and Wales. The Connectivity Tool combines transport and land use data to generate a national measure of connectivity and provides new insights to those developing new transport schemes or planning for growth to more easily understand how new transport infrastructure can impact an area’s connectivity.
As announced in the Child Poverty Strategy, published on 5 December 2025, the Government will also develop a transport poverty tool, which will aim to capture where poor transport connectivity and affordability limits people’s access to employment and essential services.
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
DWP officials work closely with the Pension Regulator on all its Codes of Practice to ensure they remain fit for purpose in a changing pensions landscape. In addition, both the Pensions Regulator and my officials have met with the Chartered Institute of Internal Auditors to listen to their considerations about pensions schemes and internal audit.
Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government has set out a Plan for Change, outlining our ambitious yet achievable milestones, including raising living standards in every part of the United Kingdom to ensure working people have more money in their pockets.
Specific actions already taken by the Government include: increasing to the National Living Wage from April 2025; extension of the Household Support Fund and Discretionary Housing Payments in England and Wales in 2025-26; and introduction of a new Fair Repayment Rate from April 2025 to cap debt repayments made through Universal Credit.
Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
2 Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government Questions
(View all Debbie Abrahams's MHCLG questions)My Department has no current plans to make such an assessment.
The National Planning Policy Framework makes clear that planning policies and decisions should contribute to and enhance the natural and local environment by preventing new and existing development from contributing to, being put at unacceptable risk from, or being adversely affected by, unacceptable levels of noise pollution.
Planning policies and decisions should avoid noise giving rise to significant adverse impacts on health and the quality of life.
It is up to individual local planning authorities to determine what contributions should be sought to assist in mitigating the impact of unacceptable development to make it acceptable in planning terms.
Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) makes clear that planning policies should be based on robust and up-to-date assessments of the need for open space and should make sufficient provision for and maintain and enhance networks of green infrastructure, which includes areas of vegetation.
Natural England’s Green Infrastructure Framework helps to define what good green infrastructure ‘looks like’ for local planners, developers, and communities. The Green Infrastructure Framework includes a standard on accessible greenspace which sets criteria on size, proximity and quality.
The government is currently consulting on changes to the NPPF, including a new requirement for local plans to set out standards for green infrastructure, drawing upon Natural England’s Green Infrastructure Standards. These include a standard on accessible greenspace which sets criteria on size, proximity, and quality. The consultation can be found on gov.uk here and will remain open for responses until 10 March 2026.
Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)