Angela Rayner MP: speeches 2025

Speeches

• 14 Jul 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  I am incredibly proud that the Government are introducing life-changing measures that will make a real difference when people are at their most vulnerable. I personally thank my hon. Friend for courageously telling her own story, and I thank my right hon. Friend the Member for Sheffield Heeley (Louise Haigh) for her incredible and tenacious campaigning. Their work will change the lives of so many. We want to bring the benefits of these vital measures to people as soon as possible. We will be consulting on them in the coming months, prior to commencement.

• 14 Jul 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  No, I do not. There is no blasphemy law in this country because the previous Labour Government got rid of it, whereas the Conservative party had kept it on the statute book for years. We will always protect free speech, including the right to criticise religions. That kind of incendiary language is beneath the shadow Secretary of State.

• 14 Jul 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  Let me cover that point. Mayors serve many millions of people and manage multimillion-pound budgets, yet can be elected by just a fraction of the vote under the previous Government’s changes—despite the fact that the supplementary vote system had worked effectively for over a decade. Given that the large populations that mayors and police and crime commissioners represent far exceed those represented by parliamentarians, we think that this is the right approach.

• 14 Jul 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  As set out in the terms of reference, the independent working group will submit its findings to Ministers. We will then consider its recommendations and set out the next steps. I urge Members to let the independent group get on with its work. If the shadow Secretary of State has views, he should feed them in as part of the call for evidence.

• 14 Jul 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  We have the terms of reference, and we have the consultation that is going on at the moment. I am not going to provide a running commentary on the work of the independent group. The Government have a non-engagement policy with the MCB, and that position has not changed.

• 14 Jul 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  I was pleased that the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill had its First Reading last Thursday. That landmark Bill will bring a radical reset to local government, deliver on our manifesto commitment to decentralise power, ignite regional growth with streamlined powers for mayors, and speed up new homes and infrastructure. It will empower communities to take back control of their beloved pubs and shops, helping local leaders to deliver a decade of national renewal, as promised in the plan for change.

• 14 Jul 2025 · Building Social and Affordable Homes · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend is absolutely right that the Planning and Infrastructure Bill will unlock a new scale of housing and infrastructure delivery across all tenures to help build 1.5 million homes in this Parliament. We are also taking action in the Bill to improve local decision making by modernising planning committees and ensuring that planning departments are well resourced by allowing local planning authorities to set their own planning fees.

• 14 Jul 2025 · Building Social and Affordable Homes · Hansard source

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  We announced a record £39 billion investment into the new social and affordable homes programme at the spending review, which will create around 300,000 new homes over 10 years. Earlier this month, we published a five step plan that sets out how we will deliver the biggest increase in social housing in a generation to transform the safety and quality of social housing. My priority as Deputy Prime Minister is to get more social rent homes built, and that is what this Labour Government are delivering.

• 14 Jul 2025 · Building Social and Affordable Homes · Hansard source

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  The Government have not set an affordable housing target to date, but we continue to keep the matter under review. Accurately trying to forecast long-term delivery is inherently challenging, but we believe that our new social and affordable homes programme could deliver around 300,000 social and affordable homes over its lifetime, with around 180,000 for social rent. The measures we have taken, alongside the commitment for rent so that there is this long-term programme, will hopefully help with the supply, and I have made it categorically clear to the sector that we want more social rent housing.

• 14 Jul 2025 · Building Social and Affordable Homes · Hansard source

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  I find that absolutely astonishing when the Conservatives failed to meet their housing targets year after year. The Mayor of London has welcomed the money through the affordable homes programme. There is the amount of money we have given, and we are permitted to increase rents by CPI plus 1%. We are consulting on rent conversion, when the Conservatives prevented social landlords from being able to raise the money to provide the social housing that we desperately need. We are making the changes to get social housing where they failed miserably.

• 14 Jul 2025 · Leasehold Reform · Hansard source

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  May I start by sending my thoughts and prayers to everyone involved in yesterday’s incident at Southend airport? We remain committed to giving leaseholders greater rights, powers and protections in respect of their homes, and bringing the feudal leasehold system to an end. We have made significant progress, implementing the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 and, this month, launching a consultation to strengthen leaseholder protections when it comes to charges and services. We are delivering, but we will go further; we will publish a draft leasehold and commonhold Bill later this year. This week, the High Court will hear challenges to some of the enfranchisement reforms in the 2024 Act; we will defend those challenges robustly, and will await the Court’s judgment.

• 14 Jul 2025 · Leasehold Reform · Hansard source

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  Unjustified service charges are wholly unacceptable, and I strongly recommend that the homeowners obtain legal advice. The Leasehold Advisory Service, for instance, gives free legal advice to leaseholders. Developers are typically responsible for rectifying defects within the first two years of the warranty period; even if no warranty claim is made, developers are still liable, and should not pass charges on to leaseholders. Unreasonable service charges may be challenged at the first-tier tribunal.

• 14 Jul 2025 · Leasehold Reform · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend is absolutely right to raise this issue. Many Members from across the House have found that too many leaseholders suffer as a result of poor-quality services from managing agents. We are consulting on proposals to strengthen the regulation of managing agents, including a proposal to make minimum professional qualifications mandatory.

• 14 Jul 2025 · Leasehold Reform · Hansard source

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  I know that my hon. Friend has already spoken to the Minister for Housing and Planning about this issue, and that those discussions will continue. As you well know, Mr Speaker, pets bring joy, happiness and comfort to their owners, while also supporting their mental and physical wellbeing. We have strengthened the rights of private tenants to keep pets in the Renters’ Rights Bill, and we will of course keep the position of leaseholders with pets under review.

• 14 Jul 2025 · Leasehold Reform · Hansard source

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  It is frustrating when we hear of situations like this, which is why it is our intention to publish the draft leasehold and commonhold reform Bill in the second half of this year. I hope the hon. Member will contribute his views on it, so that we can build on the proposals that the previous Government brought forward. They needed extra work, as I mentioned in my opening answer, but hopefully we can start to deal with this issue, so that leaseholders get the protection that they deserve.

• 14 Jul 2025 · Leasehold Reform · Hansard source

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  The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right. We do work with the devolved nations, not just to show them what we are doing, but to learn from them. We have seen that the housing situation is not an England-only situation; the issues affect the whole of the UK, and we all need to learn from each other. Hopefully, the reforms that we are bringing through will be informed by the devolved nations, but we will also have some learnings for them. We need to work together in lockstep to protect people, wherever they are in the United Kingdom.

• 14 Jul 2025 · Leasehold Reform · Hansard source

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  I am very sorry to hear about Ed’s situation. The Building Safety Act 2022 protects qualifying leaseholders from uncapped costs relating to non-cladding remediation. When remediation is not progressing, leaseholders can apply to the tribunal for remediation orders, which can compel relevant landlords to fix relevant defects in their buildings, as well as for remediation contribution orders, which require developers to pay towards the costs of the remediation.

• 14 Jul 2025 · Leasehold Reform · Hansard source

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  Again, the consultation exercise that we are undertaking is about how we deal with such matters. I hope the hon. Member will work with us during the consultation period, so that we can bring forward the draft legislation and get this matter right. We hear these stories time and again, and we need to fix this problem and protect leaseholders.

• 25 Jun 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  I have experienced digital black spots as well, so I understand my hon. Friend’s frustration. The industrial strategy was launched this week, and there were some great ideas to make sure that we get superfast broadband everywhere and we can all use our phones—to make sure we can get connected, whereas the last Government left us disconnected.

• 25 Jun 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  My hon. and gallant Friend speaks with great authenticity and authority on this matter. The attack on RAF Brize Norton was disgraceful, but what was even more disgraceful was Reform blaming the commanding officer—an accomplished woman who has served her country—rather than the criminals who were responsible. That is not leadership, but we should not expect anything better from the party of the Putin apologists.

• 25 Jun 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Member for her opening comments. She knows that we have already taken steps on the carer’s allowance, and those steps will continue. As she also knows, the welfare system is failing people. Labour is the party of work, but we are also the party of fairness. That is why our Bill will deliver the largest, permanent, real-terms increase to basic out-of-work support since the 1980s, invest in tailored employment support so people can try work safely, and ensure that those who can never work are properly supported.

• 25 Jun 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  I am glad that I am not the only one who has a young person destined for the future in the Gallery today. My hon. Friend has been a huge champion for Milton Keynes, and he is right. After the Tory decline, it is time to turn the page. We have already created 384,000 jobs since the election, and our industrial strategy will create opportunities across the country and invest in jobs and industries of the future, including in Milton Keynes, where East West Rail will help to build 100,000 new homes and put £6.7 million a year in the local economy.

• 25 Jun 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  Again, I know the strength of feeling. I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman’s constituent Ronald and all the service personnel who participated in the British nuclear testing programme. I am sure that the Minister for Veterans would be happy to meet him and the veterans to discuss this issue.

• 25 Jun 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  This is a bit rich—unbelievable. With inflation above 11% and the biggest tax rises, I will take no lectures from the Conservative party. On this issue in particular, they cannot make up their minds. First, they said our reforms were taking too long, then they said they were rushed, then their Front Bench said our measures were too tough, and now they say they need to be tougher. No plan, no idea—I wonder why their party was left in such a mess.

• 25 Jun 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  We are fixing the foundations of local government after the 14 years of austerity that were inflicted on local government, with the aiding and abetting of the hon. Lady’s party. We have put record funding into local government, with multi-year settlements: we are helping local government, where the last Government ruined it.