Marsha de Cordova is the Labour MP for Battersea, having first been elected to parliament at the 2017 general election.

She was appointed second church estates commissioner in October 2024, representing the church commissioners in parliament.

In the 2024 general election, Marsha de Cordova won 22,983 votes, representing 48.8% of the vote. The Conservative candidate, Tom Pridham, received 10,944 votes (23.2%), while the Liberal Democrat candidate, Francis Chubb, secured 4,826 votes (10.3%). Marsha de Cordova was duly elected with a majority of 12,039 votes.

The Battersea constituency is located in the London Borough of Wandsworth in South London. It covers Battersea and parts of Balham and Wandsworth. Formerly a marginal seat, it has trended towards Labour since 2017. The area voted overwhelmingly to remain in the European Union in 2016 – by as much as 78%.

De Cordova’s immediate predecessor as the MP for Battersea was Jane Ellison of the Conservative Party, a former Treasury minister. De Cordova has grown her majority in every election she has fought since winning the seat, successively 2,416 votes, 5,668 and 12,039.

Political Career

De Cordova currently serves as the second church estates commissioner (since October 2024) and sits on the ecclesiastical committee (since November 2024).

The second church estates commissioner is the official link between the Church of England and the House of Commons, responsible for representing the church commissioners and answering to parliament for their decisions. The position, created in 1850, is appointed by the crown on the advice of the prime minister. In this capacity, De Cordova handles all parliamentary questions regarding the church’s extensive assets.

Questions from MPs to second church estates commissioner take place on the floor of the House of Commons once every four to six weeks when the House is sitting. De Cordova has answered questions on topics including safeguarding, the appointment of bishops and assisted dying.

De Cordova previously served as shadow secretary of state for women and equalities from April 2020 until September 2021, when she resigned from the role stating she wished to focus on her constituency. In a statement at the time, De Cordova said: “Having only been elected in 2017 for the historically marginal constituency of Battersea, I would like to focus more of my time and efforts on the people of Battersea. I will continue to support [Labour leader] Keir Starmer from the backbenches.”

Prior to this, she was shadow minister for disabled people from October 2017 to April 2020.

De Cordova served as a member of the work and pensions committee in 2017 and again from 2023 to 2024), and the petitions committee from 2022 to 2024.

De Cordova is a member of the Parliamentary Black Caucus. The cross-party group, inspired by the US Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), was established in 2025 to advance racial equality and representation for Black and minority ethnic people within parliament and across the UK.

In the 2022-2023 parliamentary session, De Cordova presented the National Eye Health Strategy Bill under the 10-minute rule procedure. Its primary aim was to compel the government to publish a formal, long-term strategy for eye health in England.

In her speech introducing the bill, De Cordova said: “To respond to the crisis in eye health, the government can commit to implementing a national eye health strategy for England that would include measures to improve eye health outcomes, reduce waiting times, improve patient experiences, increase the capacity and skills of the workforce and make more effective use of data, research and innovation.”

She added: “Given the scale of the problems, it is in the government’s interest to commit to a strategy. The benefits would transform lives, alleviate pressures on the health service and reduce economic costs. We should make it our goal to ensure that no one loses their sight unnecessarily.”

De Cordova is listed as a member of the all-party parliamentary groups (APPGs) on eye health and visual impairment, disability, Christians in parliament, Jamaica, tennis and football.

She delivered her maiden speech on 17 July 2017. In it, she stated: “In Battersea we are outward-looking and internationalist. It is that outward-looking spirit that I will endeavour to bring to parliament. With the decision to leave the European Union, we face serious challenges ahead of us. It was a decision that my constituents care deeply about and voted overwhelmingly against.”

Before entering parliament, De Cordova served as a Labour councillor for Larkhall ward on Lambeth Council from 2014 to 2018.

Political views

Leadership elections and loyalty

Labour leadership 2020: De Cordova was one of 82 Labour MPs who nominated Keir Starmer for the party’s leadership in early 2020. The election was triggered by the resignation of Jeremy Corbyn following the party’s defeat in the 2019 general election, which resulted in Labour’s fewest seats in the House of Commons since 1935.

Starmer’s 82 nominations were the highest of any candidate. The shadow Brexit secretary won a decisive victory in the first round with 56.2% of the vote, defeating Rebecca Long-Bailey and Lisa Nandy.

Factional identity and party tradition

Socialist Campaign Group: De Cordova has been listed as a member of the Socialist Campaign Group (SCG) – the standard-bearer of the left wing within the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP). Founded in 1982 by followers of Tony Benn, the group has traditionally advocated policies such as widespread public ownership, wealth redistribution and strengthened trade union rights.

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Brexit and Europe

Brexit referendum: De Cordova campaigned for Remain in the 2016 referendum on Britain’s membership of the European Union (EU), and therefore agreed with the vast majority of her constituents.

Left-wing ‘people’s vote’: In March 2019, De Cordova was among 20 signatories to a cross-party letter published in the Guardian that called for a second referendum and rubbished Brexit as a “massive assault” on working-class people.

The letter read: “We are campaigning to transform society, not for the status quo. We are against Brexit because it is a massive assault on working-class people, on the environment, on migrants and on the communities that the left aims to represent.”

Remain pledge: During the 2019 general election campaign, De Cordova was one of 193 Labour candidates to sign the anti-Brexit “Remain pledge”, drawn up by the campaign group Remain Labour.

It stated: “Labour is committed to a confirmatory referendum, to give you the final say on Brexit. If elected as your Labour MP, I pledge to campaign to Remain in the EU.”

Customs union vote (2025): In December 2025, De Cordova voted in favour of the UK-EU Customs Union (Duty to Negotiate) Bill. The bill, introduced under the 10-minute rule procedure by Liberal Democrat Europe spokesperson Al Pinkerton, sought to mandate the government to enter into negotiations with the European Union to establish a bespoke customs union. In total, 13 Labour MPs joined the Liberal Democrats in supporting the motion, while the majority of the party abstained.

Electoral reform

Fair elections APPG: De Cordova is listed as a member of the all-party parliamentary group (APPG) for fair elections – a cross-party group of MPs and peers that campaigns for electoral reform. The group’s stated aims include replacing the first past the post (FPTP) voting system with a form of proportional representation, eliminating “dark money” and “undemocratic influence” from politics, and countering disinformation.

Electoral reform amendment: In May 2026, De Cordova was one of over 70 Labour MPs who signed an amendment to the Representation of the People Bill, calling on the government to establish a “national commission on electoral reform”. Tabled by Alex Sobel as chair of the fair elections APPG, the amendment aimed to force a rethink of the first past the post voting system.

At the time, Sobel described FPTP as “one of the biggest examples of a broken status quo in UK politics.” He invited colleagues to join this “common sense call to take a fresh look at how parliament is elected in modern Britain.”

Welfare

Welfare ‘reasoned amendment’ (June 2025): De Cordova was one of the over 120 Labour MPs to sign the reasoned amendment to the government’s flagship welfare bill which aimed to reject the proposed legislation.

The amendment, in the name of senior Labour MP Dame Meg Hillier, objected to the fact that the bill had not been subject to a “formal consultation with disabled people” and that “250,000 people will be pushed into poverty” as a result of it, according to a government impact assessment.

The motion also called on the government to wait for the publication of the review into the Personal Independence Payment (Pip), helmed by minister Sir Stephen Timms, and the independent review, conducted by Sir Charlie Mayfield, into how the employment of disabled people could be boosted.

On 1 July 2025, De Cordova went on to vote against the bill at second reading. The vote came after ministers agreed to significant concessions to avoid defeat via a mass rebellion of Labour MPs.

Speaking during the second reading debate on the proposed legislation, De Cordova warned it would have a “significant and negative impact on tens of thousands of disabled people.”

She added: “I stand here as somebody who lives with a disability and as somebody who has served as a shadow minister for disabled people for many years. I know their lived experience. It is vital that they are at the centre of all the reforms. We cannot rush through these plans and changes as they will lead to a negative impact.

“We do not want to see this progressive Labour government, who want to bring about change, break down barriers and create opportunities for people, end up leaving disabled people worse off.”

Assisted dying

De Cordova voted against the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, better known as the assisted dying bill, at both second reading (November 2024) and third reading (June 2025), citing concerns regarding potential pressure on vulnerable individuals as reasons for her opposition.

In a statement setting out her position, De Cordova said: “Many disabled people have raised their concerns with me that this bill would leave open the opportunity for external pressure on them to end their lives prematurely.

“Moreover, disabled people regularly struggle to access treatment and palliative care and the Charity Disability Rights UK rightly points out that assisted dying will not be an informed choice for many of the most vulnerable people. As a lifelong disability rights campaigner, I cannot take this risk.”

She added: “The UN Convention Rights of Disabled People, signed by the Labour government, – Article 10 Right to Life – requires states to ensure that disabled people effectively enjoy their inherent right to life on an equal basis with others. This includes ensuring that disabled people have access to healthcare on par with their non-disabled peers.”

Palestine

LFPME: De Cordova has been listed as a member of Labour Friends of Palestine and the Middle East (LFPME). The organisation’s stated aim is to promote peace and justice in the region through the application of international law and respect for human rights.

Ceasefire vote (November 2023): De Cordova was among 56 Labour MPs to vote in favour of a Scottish National Party (SNP) amendment to the King’s Speech in the House of Commons calling for an “immediate ceasefire” in Gaza – defying the instruction set out by the party’s frontbench. Labour had tabled its own motion, making a more moderate appeal for a “humanitarian pause” in the conflict and ordered its representatives to support that stance.

Before Politics

Born Marsha Chantal de Cordova on 23 January 1976 in Bristol, she attended Hanham High School (now Hanham Woods Academy).

She studied law and European policy studies at London South Bank University.

De Cordova is registered blind, having been born with nystagmus.

In her maiden speech, she stated: “I was born with nystagmus, an involuntary movement of the eye, which has left me with a severe sight impairment. Living with my visual impairment, I have had to overcome many barriers, but I want to give a special thanks to my mum, who is here today.”

Prior to becoming an MP, she worked for several charities in the sight loss sector, including Action for Blind People and the Thomas Pocklington Trust, where she was engagement and advocacy director. In 2014, she founded the charity South East London Vision (SELVis).

Personal Life

De Cordova’s brother is Bobby De Cordova-Reid, a professional footballer who has played for Leicester City and the Jamaican national team.