Rachel Hopkins MP: speeches

Speeches

• 28 Apr 2025 · Football Governance Bill [Lords] · Hansard source

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  No, I will not; I have only four minutes. I remind the shadow Secretary of State what he said on that last day of Committee when unfortunately the previous Bill did not make it to wash-up. He said, “I genuinely think that this is an excellent Bill” and “a good Bill to crack on with, because it is important for the future of football and, crucially, for the future of football fans”. –– [ Official Report, Football Governance Bill Public Bill Committee, 23 April 2024; c. 244.] By declining to give the Bill a Second Reading, the Conservatives are now opposing greater financial sustainability across the football pyramid, the tackling of rogue owners, greater fan engagement and club heritage protections. It is a disgrace that they are not supporting the Bill, but I support it wholeheartedly.

• 28 Apr 2025 · Football Governance Bill [Lords] · Hansard source

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  Football is more than a business; it is one of our country’s greatest exports and a pillar of local and national identity. Football would be nothing without its fans, and this strengthened Football Governance Bill will put fans firmly back at the centre of the game. For too long, financial instability has meant that loyal fans and whole communities have risked losing their cherished clubs as a result of mismanagement and reckless spending. The previous fan-led review was instigated following three trigger points: the collapse of Bury FC, the coronavirus pandemic, which suspended football, and the European super league. The fan-led review recommended in the light of those events and the structural issues in the pyramid that the Government should establish an independent regulator for football finances. I am delighted that our Labour Government have reintroduced and improved this Bill without delay to deliver on our commitment to football fans. The Bill’s primary purpose is to ensure that English football is sustainable for the benefit of fans and the local communities that football clubs serve. It will improve the sustainability of club finances, prevent rogue owners and directors, and strengthen the voice of fans. This legislation will protect our football pyramid for future generations. The independent football regulator will have three main objectives: club financial soundness, systemic financial resilience and the safeguarding of club heritage. The proposed regulatory activities are pretty standard—it is a light-touch regulator. The improvements that our Labour Government have made to the Bill include clubs providing effective engagement with their supporters on changes to ticket prices and any proposals to relocate their grounds. The regulator will be given a remit to include parachute payments to be considered through any backstop mechanism when considering finances across the game. The requirement to consider Government foreign and trade policy has been ditched, which is appropriate, and the regulator will ensure that clubs democratically elect fan representatives for the club to engage with, which is right. We must have that clear commitment to improve equality, diversity and inclusion within the game. I was therefore gobsmacked when I heard the thoroughly disappointing and embarrassing amendment from the official Opposition in the name of the shadow Culture Secretary, the right hon. Member for Daventry (Stuart Andrew), to decline to give the Bill a Second Reading. As a member of the Bill Committee, he well knows that there was genuine consensus on the Bill. It is fundamentally the same Bill with just a few changes, and I do not understand why he does not support them. As has been mentioned, the former Member for Chatham and Aylesford Dame Tracey Crouch worked so hard on the fan-led review.

• 24 Apr 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  Last week, I co-hosted a youth engagement workshop at the brilliant Tokko youth hub in my constituency to help inform our Government’s national youth strategy. Young people from a range of organisations, including Luton’s children in care council, CHUMS, the Centre for Youth and Community Development, Luton Roma Trust and Luton Youth Council—to name but a few—all gave excellent feedback. Does the Leader of the House agree that it is vital to recognise a wide range of young people’s voices in developing strategies that affect their futures, in order to break down barriers to opportunity for all?

• 7 Apr 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  T6. With the recent announcement that Goodman has bought Luton’s Vauxhall van plant site for redevelopment, does the Minister agree that local government has a key role to play in local business and regeneration plans to help drive economic growth?

• 27 Mar 2025 · St Patrick’s Day and Northern Irish Affairs · Hansard source

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  I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Newcastle-under-Lyme (Adam Jogee) on securing this important debate. This is, if I may say so to newer colleagues, always a good debate: I enjoyed last year’s debate celebrating St Patrick’s day and our wider Irish diaspora. As the Member of Parliament for Luton South and South Bedfordshire, I am always pleased to recognise and celebrate the strong and proud Irish community in my constituency. Luton is a diverse and vibrant town made up of individuals with global ties, and the Irish connection that many hold is an intrinsic part of that social fabric. From supporting the economic growth of our town by working in Luton’s manufacturing industry, and by building homes, churches and schools, to their contribution to arts and culture, the Irish diaspora in Luton have contributed an immense amount and continue to do so. The post-world war two boom created a huge period of regeneration and building in the UK. Irish immigrants came in their thousands to work on motorway construction and in manufacturing jobs. Luton was no exception, and from 1951 to 1961, our Irish population more than tripled from 2,000 to over 7,000. That was primarily due to increased economic opportunity in the town, with Vauxhall Motors expanding in the 1950s and creating thousands more jobs. At one stage, Vauxhall Motors became the single largest employer in the town, employing 22,000 people across Luton and Dunstable by the 1960s. I thank all the workers at Vauxhall in Luton; the final vehicles come off the production line this week, due to the sad closure of the plant. There were further job opportunities across Luton at Electrolux, manufacturing household appliances, and at Skefko, a ball-bearing manufacturer. Our Irish population is a core part of our workforce and plays a key role in workplace unions. I pay tribute to the local trade union representatives of Irish descent in my constituency, who continue to advocate for fair pay and working conditions. There were also significant employment opportunities for Irish women. With the creation of the NHS in 1948, many Irish women came to Luton to work at the Luton and Dunstable hospital, fulfilling the need for more nurses as Luton’s population grew. Indeed, the recently released Irish Times bestseller “Irish Nurses in the NHS: an oral history” features the stories of three women from our local Irish community: Betty Halfpenny and Roseanna Anderson, who came to the UK to be nurses, and Rosaleen Burke, a radiographer who worked at the L&D hospital for over 50 years. I was pleased to attend the book launch at the Irish embassy in London in February, and to celebrate the contribution those women made to our town, and to the healthcare system more widely. As the Luton Irish community grew, so did its lasting mark on our town’s landscape, social scene and culture. In my constituency, the building of the Holy Ghost, St Margaret and Sacred Heart churches, to name just some of the Catholic churches in our town, highlighted the Irish community’s desire to contribute something lasting to Luton. That was followed by the building of the associated schools, which provided education for pupils aged 5 to 18. They included Cardinal Newman high school, in the constituency of my hon. Friend the Member for Luton North (Sarah Owen), which opened in 1968 and prides itself on being “a school of the community built by the community.” Today, these churches, schools and social spaces continue to be hubs at the heart of the community for the Luton Irish. When it comes to the influence of Irish organisations, I cannot forget the vital role played by the Luton Irish Forum, a charity promoting Irish identity, culture and heritage. It also provides a range of support and wellbeing services to improve the quality of life for the Irish community and the wider population of Luton. That includes welfare support, debt advice and housing. It also holds mother and toddler groups, tea and chat sessions, arts and games clubs, and Irish dance and music clubs. The Luton Irish Forum also recognises the economic contribution of our Irish community. In November, it held its first successful Irish business brunch, bringing together current and long-standing Irish businesses, supporters and other local connections to highlight the opportunities for business within the forum and its extended network. As our Labour Government focus on our mission for growth, such networks play a vital role locally, and I look forward to seeing our Luton economy thrive in years to come. Of course, the Luton Irish Forum plays a key role in Luton’s annual St Patrick’s day festival, which is hugely impressive, if I do say so myself. I was delighted to join in the 26th annual celebration earlier this month, and enjoyed myself thoroughly. It was an amazing parade, with flags from every county of the emerald isle proudly on display. In true Luton style, the parade was led by a mash-up of Bhangra drums and Irish music and dancing. It was a beautiful representation of everything that Luton is about, and a coming together in celebration of all cultures. Of course, we cannot forget St Brigid, the female patron saint of Ireland. In Luton, we celebrate her annually too: the Luton Irish Forum holds an afternoon tea and celebrates the Irish women in our community. This year, the theme was Irish wedding traditions, including the role of matchmaker, the Claddagh ring, and the bride’s handkerchief being kept for her first child’s christening bonnet. I will end as I began, by thanking our Irish community in Luton for their enormous contribution to the local economy and their important work to enrich our community and ensure that the Irish connection in Luton remains strong from generation to generation. The connections between Luton and the island of Ireland continue. In the past, the main transport link may well have been the ferry, but nowadays London Luton airport enables that enduring connection to remain strong. It ties our first, second, third and even fourth generation of Irish Lutonians back to Dublin, Cork, Knock, Kerry and Belfast, to name just a few places, and allows family ties and cultural influences to transcend distance. Our town is all the better for it.

• 25 Mar 2025 · Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Twenty-eighth sitting) · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms McVey. In similar circumstances, with the provision of intense personal services such as in vitro fertilisation, there are a range of providers, some in the private sector and some in the public sector—in fact, most are in the private sector even if they deliver under NHS funding or an NHS contract—but they are all subject to the same rules, inspection and regulations. Does my hon. Friend not accept that if it can work in an intense, personal and sometimes ethically complex situation like that, it could equally work here, because there is experience in that sort of environment?

• 25 Mar 2025 · Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Twenty-ninth sitting) · Hansard source

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  On my hon. Friend’s point about marking one’s own homework, does she agree that many public bodies do a self-assessment that is then looked at by the regulator? It is as important a part of the process of self-regulations as external inspection.

• 20 Mar 2025 · Knife Crime: Children and Young People · Hansard source

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  I rise to speak on behalf of my constituents across Luton South and South Bedfordshire who have sadly had to come together to stand against knife crime on too many occasions in recent years. There were consistent failures by the previous Conservative Government to toughen up legislation on dangerous weapons, as well as a failure to ensure proper funding for our police forces. As we have heard from many Members across the House, and I agree, sustained cuts to youth services combined to allow a knife crime epidemic to take hold in our towns and cities. Knife crime destroys lives, devastates families and leaves lasting trauma on communities, and behind every one of the statistics is a person whose life remains ever changed or, sadly, was needlessly lost. Sadly, in Luton we are all too familiar with the devastation that knife crime causes, but perhaps I may reflect on one case: the shocking murder of Azaan Kaleem, AJ, in 2018 when he was just 18. From darkness must come light, and AJ’s mum, Roseann Taylor, is that light. I was honoured to present her with a Knife Angel community award, to recognise her dedication and selflessness in using her own story as a mother who lost her son to raise awareness of the impact of knife crime, and for her ongoing work with young people in knife crime prevention. That award was named after the Knife Angel sculpture—an amazing statue over eight metres tall that was created from 100,000 surrendered knives and based in Luton town centre last summer as part of its ongoing tour. It is a powerful symbol and catalyst for discussions about knife crime and violence, with the aim of educating and raising awareness, particularly among young people. As the Knife Angel left our town, we marked the event with a vigil at St Mary’s church, a candlelit walk of remembrance, and a closing ceremony in St George’s Square. We remembered all those lost to knife crime, and committed to eliminating that violence by inspiring positive choices. Lots of brilliant organisations are working to make that happen, while also dealing with the sad reality of what continues to take place. Bedfordshire violence and exploitation reduction unit’s “Just Drop It” campaign is working with local partners to encourage our young people to take a brighter path by going knife free. Wingman Mentors, who have worked with Bedfordshire VERU, are installing lifesaving bleed kits across our community as a step to try to avoid loss of life after a stabbing. Similarly, the Luton, Dunstable & Surrounding Kenyan Community Forum youth group created a safe card, with help from the group’s youth co-ordinator, Mwangi Muturi, which shares vital information about what to do when helping the victim of a stabbing. Sadly, that was created following the death of a young friend. Unlike the Conservatives, our Labour Government have been ambitious in our mission to get knives off our streets and ensure that people across our towns and communities are safe from violent crime, with our commitment to halve knife crime in a decade. Our Labour Government have already banned the ownership of zombie-style knives and machetes, and measures in our flagship Crime and Policing Bill will go further to crack down on knife crime. Like others, I welcome the emphasis on prevention through our Young Futures programme and other initiatives. Tackling knife crime is also an important part of the police and crime plan of Bedfordshire’s Labour police and crime commissioner, John Tizard, working jointly with Bedfordshire VERU. Will the Minister inform the House whether any additional funding will be announced for Bedfordshire VERU to ensure that it can continue its excellent work to keep our local community safe? Taken together, these measures will directly improve support for children and young people who are sadly often most at risk of being perpetrators, but also victims, of knife crime.

• 20 Mar 2025 · Fly-tipping · Hansard source

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  5. What steps he is taking to tackle fly-tipping.

• 20 Mar 2025 · Fly-tipping · Hansard source

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  Fly-tipping is a scourge on local communities and a drain on council resources, be they rural councils, like Central Bedfordshire, or town councils, like Luton, in my constituency. Most recent figures show that there were over 10,000 fly-tipping incidents in Luton alone in 2023-24, but does the Minister agree that we need a co-ordinated approach between the Department, local authorities and the police to deliver a holistic strategy to tackle fly-tipping?

• 20 Mar 2025 · Conflict in Gaza · Hansard source

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  We have all been absolutely horrified to see the devastating impact of Israel’s military airstrikes. The Foreign Secretary rightly said that this is an appalling and unacceptable loss of life and that our Labour Government oppose the resumption of hostilities. Does he agree that there is no military solution to this conflict?

• 20 Mar 2025 · Prosecution of Serious and Violent Crime: Luton South and South Bedfordshire · Hansard source

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  Sadly, Bedfordshire police recorded some of the highest knife crime rates in England in the year ending March 2024. A robust and quick CPS response is key to delivering justice for victims and their families. How are the Government ensuring that we increase prosecution rates for those serious offences to keep dangerous offenders off our streets?

• 20 Mar 2025 · Prosecution of Serious and Violent Crime: Luton South and South Bedfordshire · Hansard source

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  8. What steps she is taking to help ensure the effective prosecution of serious and violent crime in Luton South and South Bedfordshire constituency.

• 19 Mar 2025 · Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Twenty-sixth sitting) · Hansard source

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  Does my hon. Friend agree that, given patient confidentiality, it is highly unlikely that other residents of a care home would even be aware?

• 18 Mar 2025 · Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Twenty-fifth sitting) · Hansard source

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  The hon. Member is referring to the genuine occupational requirement, but I go back to my point: which protected characteristic is she talking about? Support for assisted dying is not a protected characteristic. I am intrigued to know how that would operate in practice.

• 18 Mar 2025 · Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Twenty-fifth sitting) · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Dowd. I am very sympathetic to the views put forward by my hon. Friend the Member for Spen Valley about people being able to conscientiously object in principle, but the way amendment 480 is written is difficult. For me, it is about the word “indirectly”. That could lead to even more ambiguity that would make it more tricky to facilitate the provision. For example, trying to list some activities but not all of them has potentially left some gaps. A gardener in a care home might be “indirectly” linked—will they be able to say that they are not going to mow the lawn? We will get ourselves in a difficult place, and I would welcome further work being done to recognise the point the hon. Member for East Wiltshire is trying to make, because of that ambiguity. Trying to establish a point of principle in new clause 22 could lead to some difficulties. It reads: “Any individual, business, organisation, or association who occupies or operates premises has the right to refuse to permit the self-administration of an approved substance on their premises.” Perhaps it is about the interpretation of that and how we read it, but any individual who occupies a premises could refuse permission. Does that mean that a husband could deny a wife the opportunity to die at home when that is where she has been treated for a terminal illness, where all her help has been administered and where she would like to die? Again, it is about whether the drafting might have unintended consequences when we want to have compassion and choice for the individual at the heart of the Bill. Similarly, could an organisation or association with shared ownership of a property—a form of tenure that many people now have—object to this route for someone who is after all in their own home, as they own part of it? There are some difficulties in the new clause, and by trying to establish one principle, it is making things more difficult and open to challenge. We are trying to make law that is good, even if we do not agree with it.

• 18 Mar 2025 · Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Twenty-fifth sitting) · Hansard source

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  I respect that. I have been very clear about my beliefs, but I know people who share my beliefs and do not support assisted dying, and vice versa; I have friends who are religious and do support assisted dying. Again, we cannot make assumptions about people’s protected characteristics.

• 18 Mar 2025 · Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Twenty-fifth sitting) · Hansard source

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  Okay. I will carry on. Some of the amendments were tabled by the hon. Member for Reigate, and I want to speak to amendment 481, which is of a similar ilk. There is no obligation on an employer to provide assistance, and we are all absolutely bought into that, so that is not a bad thing. Amendment 481 would avoid preventing “an employer who has chosen not to participate in the provision of assistance…from prohibiting their…employees from providing such assistance in the course of their employment with that employer”. I have some questions on that. People’s working lives are varied and often they may not have just one employer, so there is a slight ambiguity—I hope the Committee will bear with me—if employer A exercises a right to prohibit under the amendment, and someone works for employer A but also for employer B, which is okay with people participating in a legal act under this legislation. Let me provide a bit of clarity with the example of a locum doctor. If a doctor is employed by employer A, but also does some locum work for employer B, does that mean that employer A could say the doctor was not permitted to carry out legitimate employment for employer B?

• 18 Mar 2025 · Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Twenty-fifth sitting) · Hansard source

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  I—

• 18 Mar 2025 · Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Twenty-fifth sitting) · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Lady for her response, but I think it made my point: I interpreted it slightly differently from the way the hon. Lady intended. I would welcome some clarity on that from the Ministers and lawyers in the room. Similarly, I was interested in the point regarding the genuine “occupational requirements”, and how that is written and interpreted. There are reasons for “specifying occupational requirements in relation to the provision of assistance in accordance with this Act in accordance with Schedule 9 of the Equality Act when hiring employees” but that occupational requirement means that an employer could discriminate on the basis of a protected characteristic, if that requirement is essential for the job and “a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim”. I am a little concerned as to the interpretation. In respect of which protected characteristic would they or would they not be recruiting? We need some legal input to clarify that, because we cannot make assumptions about people’s protected characteristics, particularly in recruitment.

• 18 Mar 2025 · Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Twenty-fifth sitting) · Hansard source

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  rose —

• 18 Mar 2025 · Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Twenty-fifth sitting) · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Member for Reigate for her intervention. In the light of her comments, it seems the amendment may be trying to put on the face of the Bill some nuances that should be picked up through employment law. I understand the principle of what she is trying to achieve, but there are protections in those areas.

• 18 Mar 2025 · Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Twenty-fifth sitting) · Hansard source

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  I appreciate the interventions, because we are trying to get the best clarity we can for dying people. Are we debating the other amendments in this group, Mr Dowd?

• 18 Mar 2025 · Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Twenty-fifth sitting) · Hansard source

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  I am conscious of the Chair’s comments, so I am going to proceed, because I want to make a final point about new clause 23. I am sympathetic to its principles, as I recognise that some institutions may not want to provide assistance. This new clause, however, relates solely to no detriment for care homes or hospices for not providing assistance. As my hon. Friend the Member for Sunderland Central pointed out, there are a variety of settings, such as sheltered accommodation, warden-controlled accommodation, hospitals or other regulated premises, to which this would apply. We might therefore, in this new clause, be putting some institutions on the face of the Bill but leaving a whole bunch of others to fall through the gaps. So again, there are difficulties with the new clause, even though there is an element of it to which we might want to be responsive.

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

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  This Sunday marks Disabled Access Day and the importance of accessibility and inclusiveness for all. Sadly, disabled people in Luton South and South Bedfordshire cannot access Luton station because of the delays and failures of Network Rail in progressing the Access for All programme and installing lifts at Luton station. Will the Leader of the House grant a debate in Government time on how our plan for Great British Railways will improve infrastructure and ensure reliable, affordable and, importantly, accessible train services for everybody?