Rachel Hopkins MP: speeches

Speeches

• 30 Oct 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  We are delighted in Luton to have been granted £1.5 million from the pride in place impact fund. My hon. Friend the Member for Luton North (Sarah Owen) and I have launched a survey to get views from local residents about how we can use that funding to improve our neighbourhoods. Will the Leader of the House grant a debate in Government time on the important role of local communities and grassroots organisations in shaping their places and improving them?

• 14 Oct 2025 · Middle East · Hansard source

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  I welcome the Prime Minister’s statement, and I hugely welcome the ceasefire and the initial Gaza peace plan, including the release of hostages and prisoners, the stopping of the bombardment of Gaza and the aid starting to trickle in. However, peace is fragile, so can the Prime Minister reassure the House of this Government’s long-term commitment to working with international partners to support the rebuilding of Gaza—physically and politically—to ensure a lasting peace and a pathway to Palestinian statehood?

• 14 Oct 2025 · Great British Energy: Public Sector Renewable Energy Use · Hansard source

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  19. What steps Great British Energy is taking to help public services use more renewable energy.

• 14 Oct 2025 · Great British Energy: Public Sector Renewable Energy Use · Hansard source

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  I for one welcome the announcement that the publicly owned Great British Energy will roll out solar panels to more schools and hospitals in the coming year. What benefits will that bring to our communities, and what can places such as Luton South and South Bedfordshire do to take advantage of the clean power transition?

• 13 Oct 2025 · Manchester Terrorism Attack · Hansard source

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  I agree with the Home Secretary that violence directed at any community, be they Jewish, Muslim, of all faiths or none are attacks on our entire country and we are united in condemnation of those who seek to divide us. In Luton, we have strong cohesion because we have worked for many years to build it, yet recent events, combined with increasingly open far-right and racist rhetoric, have left many feeling scared and vulnerable. Bedfordshire Police has stepped up patrols around different places of worship, but its resources are limited. I welcome the Home Secretary’s comments on looking at that. What cross-Government work is being done on the community cohesion building of our voluntary and community sector, and what support will there be for that?

• 11 Sept 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  Luton station is the gateway to Luton town centre, and thanks to this Labour Government, it will soon be getting lifts to all its platforms. However, the roof still leaks. Will the Minister meet me and representatives of Luton council to see what can be done with regard to the state of the station?

• 3 Sept 2025 · Hospitality Sector · Hansard source

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  “The Great British Pub Crawl” was in Luton last week, and I just want to flag that Dale and Holly said that Luton had a variety of brilliant pubs and that they really enjoyed their time there.

• 3 Sept 2025 · Hospitality Sector · Hansard source

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  Hospitality is at the heart of our economy, with the sector contributing as the third-largest employer in the country. Every one of our constituencies has beloved restaurants, cafés, pubs, hotels and high streets that contribute to our local economies, as well as our local communities and cultural landscapes. These venues provide places for families to meet and for friends to get together and to catch up for special milestones and celebrations. If you might indulge me, Madam Deputy Speaker, I take a moment to congratulate my parents, Pat and Kelvin, on their diamond wedding anniversary. [Hon. Members: “Hear, hear.”] Just two weeks ago, we celebrated with a pub lunch at the Jolly Topers. I thank the team there for making that lunch special; they really do know what customer service is. We had a slightly more boisterous evening with Artan and co. at Lartista, celebrating my niece’s brilliant exam results. [Hon. Members: “Congratulations!”] Thank you very much. She did very well. We in Luton are definitely a community that knows how to celebrate, and wedding venues are no exception. Venue Central, Crescent Hall and the new Grand Royale Banqueting are all fantastic hospitality venues. As part of these wonderful celebrations, we do of course have fireworks, but may I take a moment to say that we need to be considerate? Too often in Luton, fireworks are let off outwith the time when they are allowed, late at night, in places where they disturb our neighbours. I therefore support the private Member’s Bill tabled by my friend and neighbour, my hon. Friend the Member for Luton North (Sarah Owen), which is intended to reduce the noise category available when fireworks are bought in public, and to review the current regulations governing their online sale. Our Labour Government continue to invest in my constituency and across the eastern region, green-lighting the expansion of London Luton airport and approving plans for the new Universal Studios theme park in Bedfordshire. Both provide key opportunities for local hotels and restaurants to thrive, with a significant uptake and footfall expected as the plans get under way—not to mention the hospitality venues associated with the new football stadium at Power Court, once it is built. I welcome the Government’s proposals to establish a visitor economy advisory council, which will drive efforts to fulfil the UK’s ambition of welcoming 50 million international visitors annually by 2030, boosting hospitality and cultural activity across the country. Small businesses and hospitality do face challenges, but through our plan for change and our commitment we are turning the tide on 14 years of failure under the Conservatives. They dithered and delayed on business rates reform, creating a cliff edge for hospitality businesses, and I am proud that this Labour Government are committed to revitalising our high streets through permanent cuts in business rates. When the temporary business rates relief was due to expire, it was this Labour Government who stepped in to deliver a 40% discount to retail, hospitality and leisure properties with a cash cap of £110,000 per business, as well as freezing the small business multiplier. That support package is worth more than £1.6 billion in 2025-26, and from April next year high street retail, hospitality and leisure properties with rateable values below £500,000 will enjoy permanently lower business rates. I could go on. We are tackling the scourge of late payments, we intend to ban upward-only rent review clauses, and we will expand start-up loans for small businesses. All those measures will support hospitality. We will invest in our businesses to ensure that local communities not only feel the economic benefits, but thrive.

• 1 Sept 2025 · Middle East · Hansard source

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  I thank the Foreign Secretary for his statement and for the reminder of the actions that the Government have already taken, including restoring funding to UNRWA, suspending arms exports that could be used in Gaza, suspending trade negotiations with the Israeli Government and imposing sanctions packages on violent settlers and far-right Israeli Ministers, but we need to see further action with regard to humanitarian aid getting into Gaza, where we are seeing a man-made famine. Does he agree that such action could be taken immediately if the Israeli Government allowed entry to those UN trucks on the borders of Gaza?

• 21 Jul 2025 · Middle East · Hansard source

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  I welcome the Foreign Secretary reiterating this Labour Government’s total opposition to Israel’s military operation, something my constituents raise with me regularly, and our shared abhorrence at the sight of children being shot at as they seek food. The Israeli Defence Minister announced his plan to forcibly transfer all Palestinian civilians in Gaza to a camp in the ruined city of Rafah, which the former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has deemed a concentration camp in all but name. Does the Foreign Secretary agree that that is a completely unacceptable violation of international law that cannot go ignored, and will the Government guarantee further action against Israel if it proceeds with the plan?

• 8 Jul 2025 · Road and Rail Projects · Hansard source

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  Transport is the backbone of our economy, so the record £92 billion investment in rail and road projects is hugely welcome. The Secretary of State is right to say that we need more people on public transport. Although Luton station will finally see works start on its much-needed lifts, we need to tackle the poor state of the station in order to encourage more people to use the railway. Will the Secretary of State or one of her Ministers meet me to discuss how we can do so?

• 7 Jul 2025 · Giving Every Child the Best Start in Life · Hansard source

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  The roll-out of the Best Start family hubs across every local council area will make a huge difference to families, tackling inequalities in my constituency, particularly with the cross-working between health, social care and education. Like so many others, I am absolutely incredulous at the Conservatives, who—helped by the Liberal Democrats in the coalition years—forced so many cuts on local authorities that led to the demise of Sure Start centres. Does the Secretary of State agree that it is yet again a Labour Government who have made the decisions that will break down barriers to opportunities for all children, regardless of postcode?

• 7 Jul 2025 · Pension Schemes Bill · Hansard source

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  First, I want to declare an interest. I subscribe to my current parliamentary pension, have preserved benefits in previous occupational pensions and, like the right hon. Member for North West Hampshire (Kit Malthouse), I too have preserved benefits in the local government pension scheme, though I do not propose to say much about that element of the Bill. I suppose that as a worker with a variety of pensions, I am going to benefit from the Bill. I welcome the Government’s proposals under the Bill, as too many people have their hard-earned cash scattered across pension pots that deliver poor returns on their savings and leave them confused about their future and worse off in retirement. The Bill will deliver more money for savers by making pensions simpler to understand and easier to manage, and they will return better value over the long term. The new rules will bring together defined-contribution small pension pots, to cut costs for savers and industry and help people to view their full pension picture easily. That will protect them from getting stuck in underperforming schemes for years. The Bill has been welcomed by the pensions industry, as it sets out a long-term plan to create bigger and better pension funds that will boost returns for savers and drive long-term investment across the country. As we have heard, in the UK pensions system there are more small pension pots than there are pensioners. Currently there are 13 million small pots holding £1,000 or less, with the number increasing by around 1 million every year. Small pots are costly for savers and industry, who can lose money through flat-rate charges or administrative costs, and they deliver poor returns because they are not big enough to invest in high-yielding productive assets. The Bill will introduce a new value-for-money system to improve outcomes for savers. It will assess the DC schemes and the arrangements that they operate, based on cost, investment performance and service quality. This will identify and address poor-performing schemes or arrangements, encourage consolidation and improve member outcomes while promoting investment in a wider range of productive assets. It will also protect savers from getting stuck in underperforming schemes for years. The Bill’s proposals will also help to unlock about £50 billion for investment in the UK economy. Easing the rules around surplus funds could help unlock billions for employers to invest in their businesses and deliver for scheme members. For many businesses, that may be the financial lifeline they need to free up capital for investment or debt reduction, although it is important to flag that pension scheme trustees working with employers will decide whether to release surpluses and act in the interest of scheme beneficiaries, and trustees will be required to maintain a strong funding position so that they can pay members’ future pensions when they fall due. Will Ministers ensure that member or worker representation on trustee boards is part of the plans? Like many people, I bring lived experience to this space; I am speaking as someone who worked in human resources. I was often asked questions by employees about their pensions, and I always had to say, “I am not providing advice; this is solely information,” as I dished out their annual pension benefit statements. So I am very aware that most employees just want to understand more about their pensions: what their contributions are and how those will benefit them in the future. I therefore very much welcome the introduction of the long-awaited pensions dashboard, which will provide savers with their whole pensions picture—workplace and state pensions —securely and all in one place online. We hope that it will finally be with us next year. I commend the Bill to the House.