Karen Bradley MP: speeches

Speeches

• 11 Sept 2026 · Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill · Hansard source

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  I feel sorry for my hon. Friend from the Home Affairs Committee, but I really must make progress, because Madam Deputy Speaker has been clear to me that I must. I say to colleagues who supported the Bill before and have wrestled sincerely with the issue since: you do not have to repudiate the vote you cast last time to vote differently today. You do not have to decide that assisted dying can never be right. You do not have to abandon the compassion that led you to support the principle. You need only ask whether this Bill, in this form, on the evidence before us today, is safe enough for Parliament to force it into law. That is today’s test. There is no shame whatsoever in concluding that the answer to a different question is different. Indeed, there would be something profoundly wrong with a Parliament in which Members felt bound by an earlier vote, regardless of everything they had learned since. Success is rare for private Members’ Bills. It is an amazing route when legislation is simple and consensus is easily achieved, and the whole House came together last Friday to do something quite remarkable for babies, but it is a terrible route when the risks of getting it wrong are great and there is great complexity and such emotion. Before a Government Bill is introduced, Departments will normally spend months or years developing the policy—sometimes that is too slow, but that is what they do. They consult experts and those affected, test the legal and practical implications, produce impact assessments, secure cross-Government agreement and have the legislation professionally drafted and scrutinised by parliamentary counsel. Finally, the legislation goes through the Parliamentary Business and Legislation Committee, where Ministers have to prove to the rest of Government that the Bill is fit for purpose. That is what we needed here, when dealing with one of the most profound changes that Parliament could make to the relationship between the citizen, medicine and the state. Some say they want to amend the Bill. Have there been any reassurances that those amendments will be supported? The promoter controls the make-up of the Public Bill Committee and will have a majority. On Report, if we are fortunate Members may have the opportunity to vote on only a handful of issues, and those who support the Bill will be asked to reject each one. We are being asked to support the Bill as it stands, alongside a commitment to force it into law regardless of what safeguards are forgone or what gaps, through which vulnerable people may fall, remain. There is no one else to whom we can pass responsibility. We cannot say that the other place will sort it out, or that we will fix it later. If the Bill becomes law, Parliament may not get another opportunity to reopen it and put right what we discover we got wrong. The consequences will instead be worked out in practice—in hospitals, homes and, ultimately, the courts, where judges will make decisions based on the law before us today. For the people affected by a mistake, “We will sort it out later,” is no safeguard at all. My appeal today, particularly to those who voted for the Bill before, is this. Look at what we know now. Look at the people who will depend on our having got every safeguard right. Remember the quiet ones. Are you prepared today to say that this Bill, in this form, is safe to be forced into law?

• 14 Jul 2026 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  The Leader of the House knows that I have enormous respect for him, and I am sure that this is quite a difficult statement for him to make, particularly as the right hon. Member for Makerfield will face unfavourable comparisons with Boris Johnson, who did come to this House and make a statement before the summer recess. However, can I change the subject? We are expecting a statement on local government reorganisation on Thursday. Now that tomorrow is not an Opposition day, could the Leader of the House find a way for that statement to be made tomorrow, rather than on Thursday?

• 13 Jul 2026 · Immigration and Asylum Bill · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Member—my friend from the Select Committee—for an enjoyable visit. We learned a lot, but it was a challenging visit, as there was an awful lot to take in. This is a problem that affects countries across the world; it is not an issue that can be solved by one country alone. We have to work together. We also came away agreeing that if everybody who arrived from France was immediately taken back to France, it would kill the trade of the people smugglers. That is something that we should start trying to negotiate with our friends in France. In the short amount of time that I have left, I will focus on part 5. I declare that, as co-chair of the all-party parliamentary group on human trafficking and modern slavery, I have some concerns. Apart from anything else, human trafficking and modern slavery is not an immigration crime. Someone’s immigration status may make them more vulnerable, but it is a financial crime—it is the exploitation of one human being by another for financial gain. Although I understand the reasons and we are grateful that there are some good points in the Bill, it is concerning that it keeps being put into the migration bucket, rather than being seen as the financial crime that it is. I am in contact with a number of organisations, and the Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner, Eleanor Lyons, has been in touch with me. There is general agreement that there are some good things in the Bill—the strengthening of civil orders and the support for children are welcome. However, the abuse of the modern slavery protections needs to be looked at, because nobody can self-declare as a victim of modern slavery. A first responder has to say that this person is likely to be a victim of modern slavery, so what is going wrong with the first responders? Why is it that first responders are being dragged into, as the Government say, declaring people to be victims of modern slavery to avoid deportation? That is something that should be looked at without removing protections for victims. One has to have a victim-centred approach to this crime in order to solve it; it cannot be solved only by pursuing the bad guys. The victims have to be at the centre, because it is an extraordinary crime in which the commodity that money is being made from is the human being. It is not a drug, a firearm or any other product; it is a human being. That human being needs to be prepared and able to give evidence, to speak out and to recognise the crime that has been committed against them. Victim support is essential to solve this crime. If one wants to see the issue in a hard-nosed way, the only way we are going to kill the trade is by looking after the victims so that we can stop the bad guys. That is the basic point. I do not have time to go through the specifics, but I urge the Minister to engage with the many authorities—in particular, the Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner—to see where the measures that the Government have introduced may have unintended consequences that make it harder to tackle this crime. With that, I will sit down and let other Members speak, as there are many others who wish to do so.