Marsha Chantal de Cordova (born 23 January 1976) is a British Labour Party politician serving as the

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

(MP) for

Battersea Battersea is a large district in south London, part of the London Borough of Wandsworth, England. It is centred southwest of Charing Cross and extends along the south bank of the River Thames. It includes the Battersea Park. History Batt ...

since

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...

. She was

Shadow Secretary of State for Women and Equalities The Shadow Secretary of State for Women and Equalities (previously Shadow Minister for Women, Shadow Minister for Women and Equality, Shadow Minister for Women and Equalities) is a position in the United Kingdom's Official Opposition, and sits in ...

from 6 April 2020 until her resignation on 14 September 2021.

Early life and education

De Cordova was born on 23 January 1976 in

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, city, Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Glouces ...

, England. She has five siblings, one of whom is professional footballer

Bobby Decordova-Reid Bobby Armani Decordova-Reid (né Reid; born 2 February 1993) is a professional footballer who plays as a forward for club Fulham. Born in England, he represents the Jamaica national team. Early and personal life Decordova-Reid was born in B ...

. She was born with

nystagmus Nystagmus is a condition of involuntary (or voluntary, in some cases) eye movement. Infants can be born with it but more commonly acquire it in infancy or later in life. In many cases it may result in reduced or limited vision. Due to the invol ...

and is registered blind. De Cordova attended Hanham High School (now Hanham Woods Academy). De Cordova studied Law and European Policy Studies at

London South Bank University London South Bank University (LSBU) is a public university in Elephant and Castle, London. It is based in the London Borough of Southwark, near the South Bank of the River Thames, from which it takes its name. Founded in 1892 as the Borough ...

. After graduating she worked at a number of charities including

Action for Blind People Action for Blind People was a national sight loss charity in the United Kingdom, that provided help and support to blind and partially sighted people of all ages. In 2017 the organisation merged with the Royal National Institute of Blind People ( ...

before founding the charity South East London Vision in 2014. Prior to becoming an MP, she was the engagement and advocacy director at the charity, Thomas Pocklington Trust.

Political career

De Cordova was elected as a Labour Party councillor for the

Larkhall Larkhall ( sco, Larkhauch, gd, Taigh na h-Uiseig) is a town in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, around southeast of Glasgow. It is twinned with Seclin in northern France. Larkhall sits on high ground between the River Clyde to the East and the ...

ward on

Lambeth Council Lambeth London Borough Council is the local authority for the London Borough of Lambeth in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, and one of the 32 in the United Kingdom capital of London. The council meets at Lambeth Town Hall ...

in 2014. She was elected as MP for

in the 2017 general election. It was previously held by

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

politician

Jane Ellison Jane Elizabeth Ellison (born 15 August 1964) is a British Conservative Party politician, who was first elected at the 2010 general election as the Member of Parliament for Battersea. On 7 May 2015, she was re-elected with an increased margin o ...

since 2010. De Cordova was appointed as the Shadow Minister for Disabled People on 9 October 2017, replacing

Marie Rimmer Marie Elizabeth Rimmer, (born 27 April 1947) is a British Labour Party politician. She has previously been a local councillor for St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council in Merseyside, England, and has served as Labour leader of the council thr ...

. She was promoted to

by new Labour leader,

Keir Starmer Sir Keir Rodney Starmer (; born 2 September 1962) is a British politician and barrister who has served as Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Labour Party since 2020. He has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Holborn and St Pancras s ...

, replacing

Dawn Butler Dawn Petula Butler (born 3 November 1969) is a British Labour Party politician who has been a Member of Parliament (MP) for Brent Central since 2015. Butler was elected as the MP for Brent South at the 2005 general election. She served in ...

. As an MP, she has been involved in campaigning to make the

Parliamentary Estate The Parliamentary Estate is the land and buildings used by the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The most notable part of the Parliamentary Estate is the Palace of Westminster, where the chambers of both houses of Parliament (the Commons and t ...

more accessible for disabled people. In May 2021, alongside celebrities and other public figures, de Cordova was a signatory to an open letter from the magazine '' Stylist'', which called on the government to address what it described as an "epidemic of male violence" by funding an "ongoing, high-profile, expert-informed awareness campaign on men's violence against women and girls". In August 2021, de Cordova was criticised for not attending an annual Stonewall event about the Labour Party and LGBT+ rights due to 'diary clashes'. She was the first shadow equalities secretary to not attend the event since it was created. De Cordova resigned from her post as shadow equalities secretary in September 2021 in order to focus on her marginal constituency of Battersea.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:de Cordova, Marsha 1976 births Living people UK MPs 2017–2019 Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Female members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies Councillors in the London Borough of Lambeth Blind politicians Black British women politicians Labour Party (UK) councillors 21st-century British women politicians UK MPs 2019–present Black British MPs Women councillors in England