Rachel Blake MP: speeches 2025

Speeches

• 22 May 2025 · EU-UK Summit · Hansard source

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  I hope that the right hon. Gentleman has a wonderful time on his holidays. I will be spending much of the upcoming recess in the UK at the seaside, and I hope that other people who want to take their holidays in other places will be able to benefit from the EU summit. I am sure that businesses in the UK tourism and hospitality industry will strongly welcome the benefits from tackling the red tape in that sector. I will probably unite the whole room when I say that I look forward to more detail on the youth experience scheme. I want to know how our young constituents across the country will be able to go to places in Europe to learn about their culture, economy and history as part of their own education. It is important to see some detail on that scheme. I also want to hear more in future summits about how cabotage and carnet will be made easier—which, again, will help the haulage industry. I hope that they will be discussed at future summits, to secure the vitality of our touring orchestras, many of which are based in my constituency, and to ensure that touring artists get over to Europe and that the west end remains a thriving centre of culture in the UK. I am grateful for the chance to reflect on the summit. I look forward to hearing from the Minister, as well as my hon. Friend the Member for Walthamstow and the hon. Member for Boston and Skegness, who secured the debate, on how we might move forward.

• 22 May 2025 · EU-UK Summit · Hansard source

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  I have spent quite a lot of time in Spalding and Skegness, and I would be very happy to knock on thousands of doors there, but that is not what I wanted to ask about. Is the hon. Gentleman absolutely certain that there is nobody in his constituency who would like to take up the opportunity of having an experience in the European Union?

• 22 May 2025 · EU-UK Summit · Hansard source

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  I am interested in the hon. Member’s economic analysis. Does he really think that the economic consequences of Brexit could only have started in 2021, at the moment when we actually left the European Union, and not when the decision was made?

• 22 May 2025 · EU-UK Summit · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms McVey. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Walthamstow (Ms Creasy) and the hon. Member for Boston and Skegness (Richard Tice) for securing this debate. I welcome this chance to move on and let it go, and to test and reflect on the outcome of the EU-UK summit. That foundation is also a chance to look to the future. The Opposition have done their best to make me rack my brain back to the 1990s and the last but one time the Conservatives tore themselves apart over Europe, when they were fighting over whether we were rule makers or rule takers. But I will spend a tiny bit of time talking about the 2016 referendum, and how it uncovered and exacerbated division in our country. It is fundamentally regrettable that the Opposition have used such divisive language: “surrender,” “stupidity,” “hate,” “suckers” and “dangerous.” That really is not a sensible way to talk about how best to work with our partners in the European Union, which is our largest trading partner. In stark contrast, the EU-UK summit that finished earlier this week was grounded in a pragmatic approach to moving forward. It reached out across our country to do the very best for the whole UK. In terms of testing and reflecting on the outcome of the summit, the first question for me is whether it sticks to our red lines. In response to the most recent remarks from the hon. Member for Harwich and North Essex (Sir Bernard Jenkin), the outcome absolutely sticks to those red lines. There is no return to the single market, the customs union or freedom of movement. Does it support this Government’s missions, which were clearly voted for by the country in an election called a year ago today? Our missions are to secure growth, to support opportunity, to get our country healthy, to tackle climate change and to make our country safer. It addresses each and every one of those missions. Does the EU-UK summit agreement work for the whole of the UK? Looking around the Chamber, I am proud of how many nations and regions of the UK are represented on the Government Benches, and every single one of us has been able to talk about how the EU-UK summit has benefited our own constituencies. I have been thinking about why the summit is so important for me: I represent an area with a vast number of small businesses that rely on the impact of the summit to reduce the cost of energy and the cost of working in the hospitality sector. That is significant for my constituency, one of the great engines of the UK economy. As I look across the Chamber, there are ways in which the summit will help the constituents of all Members present. I would like to know whether there is really nobody in Spalding or Skegness who will benefit. Are there really no businesses—haulage businesses, for example—that will see the opportunity for reduced red tape as a result of the summit? I strongly doubt that. The next test for me is whether the agreement fixes the foundations for the future. Has it put us in a good place to build on for some of the other businesses and areas where we need to see a bit more movement? I think it does; it is a strong first step. Does it make sure that we can get ourselves and our pets on holiday faster? Yes, it absolutely does. I have spent several minutes on the past and on the present, and now I will look to the future. In another area of important vitality— [ Interruption. ] Is there an intervention?

• 22 May 2025 · EU-UK Summit · Hansard source

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  rose—

• 22 May 2025 · EU-UK Summit · Hansard source

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  Also known as the hon. Member who wants to go back to Skegness seaside at some point to remember her childhood. The hon. Gentleman has not answered my question: is he certain that there is nobody in his constituency who could benefit from a youth experience scheme, even though that could actually enhance their employment opportunities when they come back to the UK?

• 22 May 2025 · UK Artists Touring the EU · Hansard source

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  I thank the Minister for his encouraging remarks about the progress of the UK-EU deal. Does he agree that the changes that we are making will support the vitality of London’s west end, and provide a strong foundation for tackling the issue of carnets in our future negotiations with the EU, so that we can continue this great work?

• 13 May 2025 · UK-EU Summit · Hansard source

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  The Minister will have heard what the shadow Minister said about the Conservatives’ pride in Brexit. It seems to me that they are proud of the terrible Brexit deal that they delivered and completely unable to bring forward any constructive ideas. They have managed to set out five red lines, but does the Minister agree that the Opposition have nothing to be proud of when it comes to the botched Brexit deal that they brought forward, nothing to be proud of in making Britons poorer, and nothing to be proud of in making trade harder? Will he share with us some of the framework that he will be discussing?

• 8 May 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  My constituency has the most leaseholders in the country. I commend this Government’s work to give leaseholders the accountability that they should have. Will the Leader of the House support me in inviting the Minister responsible to come and talk to the leasehold action group here in the Cities of London and Westminster about mandatory qualifications and securing accountability against their landlords?

• 8 May 2025 · Water Bills: Limiting Increases · Hansard source

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  3. Whether he is taking steps to limit increases to water bills.

• 8 May 2025 · Water Bills: Limiting Increases · Hansard source

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  Roberto, one of my constituents, has seen his water bill go up by nearly 45% in the last two years, and other constituents have contacted me to say that their bills have nearly doubled in that time. I am pleased by what the Minister said about holding the previous Government to account for their failure to invest in infrastructure. What more can the Government do to hold Thames Water to account for its failure to invest in infrastructure, its poor service and these rip-off charges for consumers?

• 29 Apr 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  T10. The Pimlico district heating undertaking was built in 1950, the first ever district heating network in the UK. It used to be cutting edge, but it is in desperate need of replacement, so that my constituents can have heating and hot water. Will the Government work with local authorities such as Labour Westminster city council to make sure that all the costs of replacement do not necessarily fall just on residents?

• 24 Apr 2025 · EU Trading Relationship · Hansard source

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  In addition to trade and the important points that have been made about defence, does my hon. Friend agree that we should also consider a cultural touring agreement? That would support cultural organisations across the country, including the Barbican, the Royal Opera House and those in the west end. Not only would it help them and their business, but it would encourage people to come to London, and it would support economic growth across the country.

• 27 Mar 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  I thank the Minister for her answer on the work the Government are doing with businesses to support people dealing with the consequences of the gig economy and road safety. Will she join with me in my work to ensure that the area around Baker Street is safer for residents, and will she work with me and residents around Baker Street to make the case to gig economy businesses that we need to do more on enforcement and on the regulation of these workers?

• 27 Mar 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  Since I last raised in this Chamber the negative impact of short-term lets in my constituency, Central London Forward has brought out new research estimating that 17,000 properties in my constituency are lost to short-term lets. It believes that a significant proportion of those is the result of individual owners owning up to 21 properties themselves. I thank the Leader of the House for her previous comments. Does she recognise the case I am making that the Cities of London and Westminster should be a pilot in the much-needed forthcoming Government registration scheme?

• 26 Mar 2025 · Local Government Finances: London · Hansard source

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  No. Let us come to the matter at hand. I would like to talk about temporary accommodation costs, special educational needs and the specific challenges of managing the visitor economy in the very centre of London.

• 26 Mar 2025 · Local Government Finances: London · Hansard source

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  I am delighted to celebrate the work that Westminster city council does on tackling the challenges we face as a visitor economy. I am not sure how much Kensington and Chelsea council would appreciate me joining my hon. Friend’s campaign, but I certainly will, because it is for the best for the very centre of London. Last year, Westminster city council spent £95 million on temporary accommodation, and the City of London’s temporary accommodation costs increased 52% to £1.1 million. I am very proud of the investment that Westminster city council is choosing to make to insource temporary accommodation. It is a real pioneer in that. However, we are doing it in a very challenging environment in terms of overall costs. I acknowledge the challenges that my outer London colleagues face because of the number of families moving to that area. We very much want those families to stay in the centre of London, and I hope that some of the solutions we will put forward will make sure that that happens. On special educational needs, the number of pupils on education, health and care plans increased by 37%—from 1,035 to 1,413—between 2018 and 2024. None of those children and families deserves to have to go through such a difficult approach to securing a special educational needs plan, and every single one of them deserves the security and certainty that investment in their education will continue in the future. I turn to the specific challenges of the very centre of London. We have higher additional street-cleaning costs, and Westminster has just invested £2 million in tackling the additional antisocial behaviour that we face. What can we do about that? The Government have made great progress, with £2 billion announced today for 18,000 new genuinely affordable homes, core spending power up by 5.3%, and multi-year settlements, which will make such a big difference. However, we can go further. Let us bring forward the short-term lets registration scheme and pilot it in Cities of London and Westminster. Let us review the formula so that it does not have to be uncertain and complex, and let us tackle the temporary accommodation crisis for good. Imagine what that would do for those families. Imagine what it would do to life chances. Imagine what it would do to public finances when we are not pouring money into a poor-quality private rented sector, but building the genuinely affordable homes that our country and our city need.

• 26 Mar 2025 · Local Government Finances: London · Hansard source

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  It is an honour to serve under your chairship, Ms Lewell. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Leyton and Wanstead (Mr Bailey) for securing this important debate. I also thank our friends and colleagues from the London local government family who are here listening to the debate. Their tireless work, day in, day out, is not unappreciated, and we are really happy to see them here today. It has been good to listen to the cross-party support for the debate, but I was a little disappointed not to hear a bit more reflection from Opposition Members on how we got here, despite our having much shared experience as local representatives. That includes the slashing of housing investment by the previous Conservative Government and the slashing of genuinely affordable homes by the previous Conservative mayor—where is he now? Let us not forget the failed fair funding review that the hon. Member for Bromley and Biggin Hill (Peter Fortune) referenced, which hung over local government for years and prevented meaningful planning. In the last 14 years, we have seen an 173% increase in rough sleeping and a 69% increase in temporary accommodation —that is shameful—as well as rising rents and falling investment. Let us not forget that the cause lies firmly with the Conservatives. The hon. Member for Bromley and Biggin Hill tempts me to remind us what happened in 1997. Labour halved temporary accommodation, made record investment in the condition of homes through the decent homes programme, and introduced the historic 2008-11 programme of new, genuinely affordable homes, which benefits many families now.

• 19 Mar 2025 · National Insurance Contributions (Secondary Class 1 Contributions) Bill · Hansard source

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  I will not give way. Jobs data is already publicly available that will enable everybody to analyse the impact of this policy, and there has been a detailed assessment of it by HMRC. I firmly believe that this amendment will not deliver on the objectives that our country needs.

• 19 Mar 2025 · National Insurance Contributions (Secondary Class 1 Contributions) Bill · Hansard source

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  I listened carefully to your answer to the Minister’s question about what you would cut if this change were to be reversed. You have not been clear about whether you would reverse it, but I listened carefully to the answer, and what I heard you say— [ Interruption. ] I am so sorry, Madam Deputy Speaker. The shadow Minister referred to GB Energy and the National Wealth Fund. Will he clarify whether he is really saying that he wants to reverse record levels of investment in energy infrastructure and innovation jobs, and in jobs across this country, to stabilise our economy into the future?

• 19 Mar 2025 · National Insurance Contributions (Secondary Class 1 Contributions) Bill · Hansard source

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  Lords amendment 21 calls for a review of this policy. I will come to the practical reasons for my opposition to it shortly, but first I want to focus on the cause of the problem and the cause of today’s debate. The last Government presided over economic chaos, scaring businesses away from long-term investment. The last Government failed to invest in the skills that are required in the vital sectors about which we have been hearing today. The last Government left the NHS on its knees, in desperate need of long-term investment. It will be hard to take the serious steps that will put the country back on its feet, but I believe that the measures we are debating today are necessary. What a contrast we see now: a Government laser-focused on economic stability, a Government determined to invest in skills for the future, a Government who are already reducing the NHS waiting list thanks to a £23 billion investment. That is the outcome of this policy, which is part of a package of measures to stabilise our economy and enable us to invest in public services. I have to admit that I have been struck by the passion and commitment of Members on both sides of the House who have spoken about important public services. I talk to representatives of those services regularly myself, and I firmly believe that the investment that this Government will be able to make in childcare, in early years, in breakfast clubs, in the NHS and back into local government, where it needs to be, will in the round create the more sustainable public services that we so desperately need. On the practical reasons why I oppose Lords amendment 21, the OBR has already considered the implications of this policy—

• 6 Mar 2025 · Political Finance Rules · Hansard source

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  Last week gave me two really clear reminders about why this issue matters. First, I spoke with my hon. Friend the Member for Kensington and Bayswater (Joe Powell) at a rally to mark the illegal invasion of Ukraine. We saw a frank reminder of authoritarianism right on our doorstep. Then, on Thursday, the Labour party lost a by-election in Vincent Square. While I do not like that result one bit, I am very proud to live in a country where a community can come together and make a decision about who represents them. We currently see more of that sort of politics in this country, with people able to go out to the polling station, but sadly we are at real risk of seeing it decline. We cannot ignore the fact that there are forces intent on weakening our voice, our vote and our rights in the media, in business and in politics, and that they are co-ordinating to replace democratically elected regimes with those that would do their bidding. These forces are spreading conspiracy theories, which have driven division and violence in our communities. They give a platform to those who would question fundamental British values, and they undermine the democratic process as they question free and fair elections around the world. This is not a question of competition within our democracy, but of democracy itself. We need to preserve a system where the voters are the ones choosing their leaders, not billionaire autocrats. Keeping their money out of our politics is becoming a difficult task. Our finance flows are becoming more elusive, with cryptocurrency enabling money laundering at scale, and our politics has a growing demand for more cash, with ever-growing competition for voters’ attention. What Member has not had to struggle with an inscrutable Ring doorbell or security gates? Understandable changes to home security and design have real impacts on our political finance, as we spend more and more money trying to reach voters through online ads and direct mail. However, getting this money out of our politics is more important than ever at a time when trust in politics is at an all-time low. Politicians must be effective natural communicators as well as thoughtful legislators, and even the suspicion that we might not be acting in our constituents’ interests will further erode the trust that voters do have in their representatives. Fixing political finance is, therefore, an essential part of restoring faith in democracy. We have already heard that a tenth of the money in our politics comes from unknown or questionable sources and is donated through loopholes in existing law. Now, we have to come to the solutions. Enforcement is made more difficult by loopholes and a weak enforcement system: Companies House reporting rules are too loose, while the Electoral Commission lacks the independence to investigate potential breaches swiftly and thoroughly. Reporting obligations for parties, elected officials and candidates require tightening up, as they allow some individual candidates to accept money without reporting. Meanwhile, the disincentives for bad behaviour, such as fines, are set well below the level that would impact bad actors. We need to close the loopholes around unincorporated associations, open up political parties to greater transparency and give more power to enforcement entities. We cannot take for granted that voters will always be able to speak truth to power, and we need to fight to preserve a system where British elections are decided only by British voters. The forces of foreign interference are knocking at our door, and we need our Ring doorbell more than ever.

• 4 Mar 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  I congratulate the Government on announcing the greatest level of financial sanctions last week. Does the Chancellor agree that keeping dirty money out of the City of London and homes and communities across our country is vital for our national security, as well as our economic stability?

• 6 Feb 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  Cultural and community institutions in the heart of central London face an uncertain future. The Jubilee Hall gym, Central YMCA and the Prince Charles cinema all have uncertain futures because of the complex property ownership structures in which they exist. Central YMCA faces closures tomorrow, so will the Leader of the House support me with my call to meet the landlord, so we can come together to discuss a sustainable, long-term future for that institution?

• 5 Feb 2025 · Overseas Territories: Tax Transparency · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Kensington and Bayswater (Joe Powell) for securing this debate. I have joked in previous debates that I could be known as the Member of Parliament for frozen assets; nothing could be truer today, as that is the topic at hand. At least £5.9 billion in suspect funds has entered the UK property market via shell companies registered in the overseas territories. Over half of that money can be found in my constituency of Cities of London and Westminster. These forces blight our communities, driving out residents and local businesses and replacing them with empty shells of buildings owned by empty shells of companies. Over the past few months, key pillars of the City and Westminster communities have been at risk of closure, including the Jubilee Hall gym and the Prince Charles cinema. Most notably, the central London YMCA, the oldest YMCA in the world, will close its doors this week. These institutions have always had to compete against the great and the good of London’s residential and business community, but they are increasingly being crowded out. They are bidding in a rental market against shadowy owners with nigh unlimited funds. Individuals who have frequently made their wealth from corruption and the abuse of power, by skimming money from state procurement contracts or directly acquiring assets, are funnelling the proceeds of this ill-gotten wealth into our property market. They include Alexander Zakharov, the creator of the deadly Lancet drone being used to terrorise the people of Ukraine, whose family own a £1.5 million flat overlooking Big Ben; Daim Zainuddin, a former Malaysian Minister of Finance accused of extraordinary misappropriation of public funds, who owns a £28.6 million office in the City of London; and Mikhail Gutseriev, a major backer of the Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko, whose son Said owns a £160 million portfolio of properties across the Cities of London and Westminster. The immense level of money laundering in London corrodes our communities, damages democracy around the world and blocks the growth prospects of our capital’s economy. We have already heard why it is so important for the overseas territories, particularly the British Virgin Islands, to implement public registers of beneficial owners. Knowledge about property ownership is a vital tool for protecting our country from kleptocrats. Stonewalling by the authorities in the BVI leaves those who work tirelessly to expose cases of corruption fighting with one hand tied behind their back. Currently, only those in law enforcement can access information about beneficial ownership, and they have to apply for it on a case-by-case basis. The move to fully public registers of beneficial owners is sorely needed and long overdue. Public registers were first meant to be implemented by the end of 2020, which was 1,497 days ago, or 30 Liz Truss premierships. The BVI has now, finally, suggested an approach, but it is simply not good enough. It will require applicants to identify the beneficial owner when requesting corporate data; essentially, it asks them to know the precise information that they are after. Under the draft policy, applicants could get hold of company ownership information only if they were involved in regulatory or legal proceedings about financial crime or a criminal case in which a court has determined that the data could help to solve the investigation. Most alarmingly, the BVI registrar would be required to tip off beneficial owners within five days of an application being made, allowing beneficial owners to liquidate or move assets. At this stage, we really need to ask whose side are the BVI authorities on. Do they stand with local communities like mine, with Parliament and with my constituents in the fight against corruption, or do they stand with the kleptocrats who are using the property market as a rainy-day fund? I am pleased to see that this is a priority for our Government and our relations with the overseas territories. This Government are pushing for greater transparency from them. I wholeheartedly support the Government in those efforts. I look forward to further updates and further opportunities to speak about the issue.