Your Member of Parliament is Siobhain McDonagh

Siobhain McDonagh has been the Member of Parliament for Mitcham and Morden since May 1997. She was born, raised and still lives in Colliers Wood. Before being elected to Parliament Siobhain worked as a Development Manager for Battersea Churches Housing Trust. Siobhain has a weekly Friday advice surgery at the Civic Centre and if you want to book an appointment, please call her Parliamentary office on 020 7219 4678.

Siobhain knocking on doors and working in the community.

Q&A with Siobhain

What part of your role do you consider most important?
Helping constituents through casework and advice surgeries is at the heart of what I do as an MP. It's a central part of the job — not just dealing with individual issues, but understanding what’s happening across the community. It informs so much of the work I do in Parliament and locally. Alongside that, campaigning on key issues continues to be a major focus.

What are some of your best accomplishments to help the area of Mitcham and Morden?
Some of my proudest moments actually fell before my time as the MP for Mitcham and Morden; during my time as Chair of the House Committee at Merton Council I was proud to be part of the campaign to transform the Phipps Bridge estate, bringing down the high-rise blocks and replacing them with homes with gardens for local families. As part of that work, we also built 1,000 new homes in partnership with housing associations.

During my time as an MP, one of my proudest accomplishments was helping bring about the South West London Elective Orthopaedic Centre. This specialist centre focuses solely on planned hip and knee replacements, allowing surgeons from across the region to reduce waiting times and improve care. The idea came from a local surgeon who visited my advice surgery in 1997 — and within three years, we had the centre built. It now has some of the best outcomes in the world, with the lowest infection rates, shortest hospital stays, and highest patient satisfaction.

I’ve also worked hard to improve education in Mitcham and Morden, especially in our secondary schools. In 1997, two of our three schools were among the lowest-performing in London. Today, we have three academies, all rated Outstanding by Ofsted, offering fantastic opportunities for local young people.

And something I’m especially proud of is the opening of the Mitcham Eastfields railway station. The idea had been floated since the early 1900s — but we finally got it over the line in 2008. It was the first new suburban station in outer London since WWII, and it’s made a real difference, improving access for commuters heading into central London and helping teachers and students travel to schools like St Mark’s Academy.

Are there any campaigns you are currently working on?
One of my longest-running campaigns has been to protect services at St Helier Hospital, including its A&E, maternity, and intensive care units. These services remain under threat from proposals to move them to Belmont after 2030, but I’ve been campaigning for over 25 years to keep them at St Helier — and that campaign continues.

In Parliament, I chair the APPG on Temporary Accommodation, where we’re calling for new requirements on councils to inform GPs and schools when homeless families are placed in temporary accommodation out of borough, where the lack of coordination between services can put children at serious risk of neglect. Between 2019 and 2023, at least 74 children tragically died while living in temporary accommodation. We believe better communication and early intervention could help prevent further tragedies.

I’m also campaigning to increase funding and research on glioblastoma brain tumours. Glioblastoma is the most aggressive and deadliest type of brain tumour, with very limited treatment options and no progress in the treatment for over 20 years. It’s the leading cause of cancer death in children and young people in the UK, and we urgently need more investment, research, and treatment options to help find a cure.

I also continue to argue for greater housebuilding — an essential part of addressing the housing crisis we face.

What are some of the projects you hope to take on in the near future?
Our campaign to find a cure for glioblastoma continues and has some major developments coming up this year. In May, we’ll launch our first drug trial at UCLH in memory of my late sister, Baroness Margaret McDonagh. This is just the beginning — we have more trials in the pipeline and are in constant conversation with the pharmaceutical industry and regulatory bodies.

Brain tumours, especially glioblastoma, remain massively underrepresented in clinical trials compared to other cancers. We’re working to change that — by pushing for increased investment, reducing barriers to trial approval, and ensuring more researchers and companies are incentivised to take part in this vital work.

About Siobhain
McDonagh MP

Siobhain is a tireless worker for the people of Mitcham and Morden. She has led countless campaigns to secure decent housing, boost education, protect health services, secure jobs for young people and protect the less fortunate. Her caseload, dealing with the individual problems of constituents, runs into thousands.

Siobhain gained Mitcham and Morden from the Conservatives in 1997 (having fought and lost twice before) and has held the seat in every election since. Part of her success story is always being available to help people with the issues affecting their lives and getting results.

Siobhain, born in 1960, has lived in Colliers Wood all her life, apart from a period gaining a degree at Essex University. She worked in the housing sector before becoming an MP and was London’s youngest councillor when she was elected to Merton Council in 1982. As Chair of the Housing Committee, she oversaw the demolition of the tower blocks in Phipps Bridge and their replacement by houses and gardens.

Siobhain has held an advice surgery, to help people with their problems, every Friday since her election as MP in 1997. She also holds monthly coffee mornings around the constituency.

Siobhain’s campaigns as an MP have included:

Saving the A and E and Maternity units at St Helier Hospital against closure threats by Conservative, Coalition and Labour governments.
Successfully campaigning, alongside orthopaedic surgeon Richard Field, for the opening of the South West London elective orthopaedic centre in Epsom, where hips and knees are replaced with the shortest hospital stay, lowest blood use and lowest infection rate in Europe.
Securing a big improvement in education standards with the the opening of the Harris Merton Academy in Pollards Hill, the Harris Morden Academy and St Marks Academy in Eastfields, all of which are OFSTED rated as “outstanding.”
Launching ‘Safer Neighbourhood’ police teams to provide more visible policing and forge closer relationships between residents and officers.
Gaining a new rail station at Mitcham Eastfields, the first new station in suburban London since the War.
Getting youngsters into work by securing apprenticeships from employers.
Protecting minimum wage workers through a national campaign to stop cuts to overtime pay

Siobhain was made a Dame in 2024 as she intensified a campaign dear to her heart, to end the complacency of the medical establishment is dealing with glioblastoma brain cancer. Siobhain’s sister, Margaret, a member of the House of Lords and a former General Secretary of the Labour Party, had died from glioblastoma in 2023. On diagnosis, Margaret had discovered that treatment available on the NHS was woefully inadequate. All the money was being directed elsewhere. Doctors were being trained in other cancers with glioblastoma being left by the way side. Clinical trials were non-existent. Now, after huge fund raising efforts and taking on pharmaceutical companies and the health establishment, Siobhain has made it happen. Clinical trials will be a reality.