Rachel Hopkins MP: speeches 2025

Speeches

• 11 Mar 2025 · Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Twenty First sitting) · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for discussing her view of the approach of the proposed panel members. Does she recognise that all three of those professions have professional requirements to act with integrity and in accordance with the law? It is highly unlikely that they will push forward, as she seems to suggest, and risk their professional accreditation.

• 11 Mar 2025 · Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Twenty First sitting) · Hansard source

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  The point I was making was that no professional would want to risk their professional accreditation and career by allowing a complete bias to take over any decision making. In fact, I would suggest that some may want to prove their integrity by being involved in these decisions and making them in line with their professional practice.

• 7 Mar 2025 · Space Industry (Indemnities) Bill · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to speak in this debate in support of my hon. Friend the Member for Glasgow East (John Grady) and his mission to make positive change in this industry. I profess that I have little knowledge about space, but he and others have made their points so well about how this slight change to the licensing of spaceflight—the launch, flight and return of spacecraft satellites, which is something I can just about envisage—would encourage greater investment in businesses. That growth and investment is so important for all of us and for our economy. So much of our day-to-day life is reliant on satellites. We had an important debate earlier about the use of smartphones—but hey, we all need them, and they are reliant on satellites in space. I reflected on spaceflight and activities in outer space. Like some others in the Chamber, I remember “Flash Gordon” and “Star Wars” coming out. It was so surreal and fantastical; it was, indeed, “A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away….” Okay, I got it in Hansard . Encouraging investment in space is really important, and I speak as the granddaughter of an eminent physicist. Again, it is the combination of science and the evolution of engineering and computing—all of this—that is so important for the future of business in the space sector. As we are talking about investment in businesses, I want to encourage young people to search out a career in the future space industry. Others have spoken about careers in space science and technology, particularly in Scotland, which is great to hear. Although my hon. Friend represents Glasgow East, he is originally from Bedfordshire, which is another reason why I wanted to speak in this debate, which gives me a brilliant opportunity to talk about the University of Bedfordshire. The main campus is in my constituency of Luton South and South Bedfordshire, but the other campus is in Bedford itself. There are some brilliant opportunities to study on courses in artificial intelligence, robotics, computer science, software engineering and applications, electronic engineering and mechanical engineering, all of which would lead to brilliant careers in the space industry, so I strongly encourage young people who are looking to forge a career to consider them, as well as career changers—I wholeheartedly believe in lifelong learning, so maybe I could yet become someone involved in space. The space industry is an important growth area for jobs across the UK. There are some in my constituency, and it is fantastic that we are looking to grow our economy up and down the United Kingdom, so I absolutely welcome this change. Small it may be, but it will have a big impact. I wanted to get on record my support for this measure and its importance for people in my constituency who may want to seek out a future career in the space industry.

• 7 Mar 2025 · Space Industry (Indemnities) Bill · Hansard source

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  I am really pleased to hear my hon. Friend mention small businesses. Does he agree that start-up and scale-up small businesses are vital for our economies up and down the country?

• 6 Mar 2025 · English Football: Financial Sustainability and Governance · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Turner. I pay tribute to my hon. Friend the Member for Earley and Woodley (Yuan Yang) for securing this important debate and for eloquently setting out many of the governance and sustainability issues in English football. English football is central to the social fabric of Britain and is one of our greatest exports. It is more than a sport; it is the beating heart of our local communities. I agree with Bill Shankly: some people think football is a matter of life and death, but I assure you it’s much more serious than that. Each week, fans come together to back their club and create a shared sense of identity. The social impact of local clubs goes far beyond the pitch. In my totally unbiased opinion, there is no better proof of that than Luton. Luton Town FC is at the heart of our town and has worked for years in partnership with local charities. The Luton Town Community Trust, which was founded in 2008, is a charity dedicated to delivering community service to people across Luton and Bedfordshire, using the power of football to make a positive impact in sports, education, health and social cohesion. The club is at the heart of the town, and the fans are the heart of the club. Throughout the ups and downs of Luton Town FC’s journey, it has been the fans who stepped up to fight fiercely to protect our proud Hatters heritage when reckless ownership threatened to tear it down. The fan-led 2020 consortium bought out the club from further mismanagement after it went into administration in 2007. We all know that Luton’s promotion in 2023 was historic, but that promotion was a springboard for further exciting prospects for our town. There are detailed plans for the Power Court site, which will be the new home of Luton Town FC. It will transform Luton’s economy by directly contributing between £100 million and £250 million per year and supporting between 900 and more than 1,100 jobs. Despite the consensus that there is much to celebrate about the success of English football, the underlying governance structure and its financial sustainability are highly fragile. I am therefore delighted that our Labour Government have reintroduced a strengthened Football Governance Bill, delivering on our manifesto commitment to establish the independent football regulator and a new set of rules to protect clubs, empower fans and keep clubs at the heart of our communities. Crucially, the Bill will ensure that fans are prioritised at the heart of the game, which is what our football clubs should be about. I am proud that Luton is already a great example of putting fans first.

• 5 Mar 2025 · Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Eighteenth sitting) · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Dowd. I rise to speak in support of amendment 185, in the name of the hon. Member for Spen Valley, the Bill’s promoter, regarding training requirements that need to be made by regulation. It would place a duty on the Secretary of State to make regulations about training qualifications and experience required in order to act as a co-ordinating doctor. Similarly, amendment 186 says that the regulations should specifically include training relating to the assessment of capacity and assessing whether a person is being coerced or pressured by any other person. Proposed new subsection (3C), introduced by amendment 186, would make provision that “the required training, qualifications or experience is to be determined by a person specified in the regulations.” In making those regulations, reflection of expertise is vital. We heard from many experts who gave us evidence about the importance of training, development and mentorship, which we would expect to see covered in the regulations. Placing those requirements in regulations would mean that they could be developed through consultation with experts and stakeholders, after gaining a wide range of feedback. It would also future-proof the requirement of any training to be developed and strengthened through future experience. As part of the safeguards in the Bill, the key principles around assessing capacity and potential coercion are really important. I am therefore minded to press the hon. Member for Spen Valley also to support amendment 20, in the name of my hon. Friend the Member for Lowestoft (Jess Asato), which states: “Regulations under subsection (3)(a) must specify that training in respect of domestic abuse, including coercive control and financial abuse is mandatory.” That would provide further clarity, and would further strengthen training on assessing coercion in all senses of the word as part of the safeguards, which many Members, even in the earlier debates, have said that it is so important that they see. I agree, and I hope that the promoter of the Bill will support amendment 20.

• 27 Feb 2025 · Gaza: BBC Coverage · Hansard source

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  Does the Secretary of State agree that across all the issues that the BBC may report on, its operational and editorial independence from Government is an important principle that should be upheld?

• 25 Feb 2025 · Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Thirteenth sitting) · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to speak under your chairship, Mr Dowd. I rise in support of amendment 234. I acknowledge the point made by the hon. Member for Harrogate and Knaresborough about not pushing it to a Division, but it is important to hear why it would benefit the Bill if it was agreed to. It would allow a terminally ill person with a neurodegenerative illness, disease or condition who has fewer than 12 months left to live—rather than six—the right to choose an assisted death. I speak as a humanist, because I am very alive to many members of the public, and some MPs, wanting a wider scope of eligibility to cover intolerable suffering. In fact, some want no timescales, and an amendment has been tabled for that. I believe that my hon. Friend the Member for Spen Valley, who introduced the Bill, has had people speak to her and say the Bill needs to go further. Like all of us, I want to make this a good Act that will have strong safeguards while allowing people choice at the end of life, and I want it to command the support of the House. I reflected on whether we need to have such a wide definition to cover intolerable suffering, and I thought that a change to 12 months for those with neurodegenerative diseases would be a good way to reflect the breadth of voices we have heard in debates on the Bill. It is an appropriate compromise. One of the things we have seen over the course of our Committee debates is the real pulling apart and consideration of what this legislation will mean in practice. As the hon. Member for Harrogate and Knaresborough set out so well, a 12-month timescale for those with neurodegenerative diseases would mean that people could make decisions while they still have mental capacity. As he rightly said, their condition would so often see a cognitive decline before six months. The Motor Neurone Disease Association—another organisation that supports people living with terminal neurodegenerative diseases—highlighted problems with the six-month criteria and the inequity that arises. Again, I reference the testimony of medical practitioners from Australia, where some states have eligibility criteria for assisted dying that includes an illness, disease or condition that is expected to cause death within 12 months. It is out there in practice, so it is not a new concept. Professor Meredith Blake said in oral evidence: “Queensland legislation is different: it sets a 12-month period of expected death, and the reason for that approach was in response to feedback from people living with neurodegenerative disease that they felt that they were being put in a different position to people suffering from, or experiencing, other terminal illnesses.” –– [ Official Report, Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Public Bill Committee, 30 January 2025; c. 211, Q270.] I will draw my remarks to a close, but there is a personal reason why it is important to me that we reflect on 12-month eligibility: the case of Diane Pretty. Diane Pretty was from Luton, albeit she lived in the neighbouring constituency, and some 25 years ago she was diagnosed with motor neurone disease. She tried to change the law then so that she could access assisted dying, such was the pain and suffering that she endured because of her terminal illness. What she said is fundamental and at the heart of what we are trying to do here, 25 years later: “I want to have a quick death, without suffering, at home and surrounded by my family.” In the end, Diane Pretty was not successful, and she died aged 43 on 11 May 2002. She did not have a choice. She could not choose the death she wanted. Much has been said about rushing the Bill, but that was over 20 years ago, so the debate has been going on for many years. That is why I speak in support of amendment 234, so that those with neurodegenerative terminal illnesses, whose death is reasonably expected within 12 months, can access assisted death.

• 24 Feb 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  T10. On Friday night, I joined Bedfordshire police officers on a ride-a-long to see first hand the great work they do to help vulnerable people. However, the Policing Minister knows that Bedfordshire police rely heavily on specific grants to tackle serious, violent and organised crime. Will she confirm that those grants will continue, and when we might we hear about that?

• 24 Feb 2025 · Breakfast Clubs: Early Adopters · Hansard source

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  I am delighted that Denbigh primary school and Someries infant school are two of the first schools to benefit from Labour’s universal free breakfast clubs. We know that a balanced, nutritious breakfast will set children up for the school day and improve attendance and attainment. Does the Secretary of State agree that Labour’s delivery on its manifesto commitment, through our plan for change, is clear evidence that we are committed to breaking down barriers to opportunity and ensuring that all children have the best chance in life?

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

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  UK Sport-supported events generated £373 million in 2023 alone. Luton Hoo in my constituency is bidding to be a venue for the 2031 Ryder cup. Will the Leader of the House agree to a debate in Government time on attracting major international sporting events to the UK as part of supporting our growth agenda, attracting local investment, providing good jobs and inspiring pride in local communities?

• 12 Feb 2025 · Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Eleventh sitting) · Hansard source

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  I hope that my hon. Friend will accept that I was not questioning her ability to understand the importance of the matter. I wanted only to place on record the importance of having those conversations and to ask whether she recognised that. I am really pleased that she has had so many conversations. That is why so many of us are here and want to see the change in the law, but we do not want to tie it so tightly that it would reduce the autonomy of an individual.

• 12 Feb 2025 · Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Eleventh sitting) · Hansard source

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  The point about conversations is really important. I wonder how many conversations my hon. Friend has had with terminally ill people, their family members and children, because I have had quite a few, like the example given by the hon. Member for Solihull West and Shirley, over a number of years now. It is so important to recognise that it is about the individual’s autonomy, but we cannot take away the fact that their loved ones may also derive a benefit in a way that the hon. Gentleman elucidated. Can my hon. Friend see how so many of us here want clarity, but do not want to put at risk an individual’s autonomy with a very subjective decision?

• 12 Feb 2025 · Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Eleventh sitting) · Hansard source

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  Will my hon. Friend give way?

• 12 Feb 2025 · Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Tenth sitting) · Hansard source

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  If the Bill becomes law it would be a different situation, which is exactly what we are scrutinising.

• 12 Feb 2025 · Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Tenth sitting) · Hansard source

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  Will the hon. Member give way?

• 12 Feb 2025 · Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Tenth sitting) · Hansard source

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  I reassure the hon. Lady that her sweeping statement about us all being squeamish when talking about suicide may not be accurate. I would put it back to her: how squeamish is she when talking about assisted death, because we are actually talking about two separate things here? I reiterate the point made by the right hon. Member for North West Hampshire: a healthy person taking their own life by suicide is different from a terminally ill person, who is facing their death, ending their life by shortening their death. Would she accept that point?

• 11 Feb 2025 · Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Ninth sitting) · Hansard source

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  The proposal in the Bill is not about someone doing something to someone: it is about self-administration and someone being able to do something to themselves. The point is about the choice to do that.

• 6 Feb 2025 · Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories · Hansard source

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  Yesterday, we welcomed the Prime Minister’s comments about how the Palestinians must be allowed home and must be allowed to rebuild. We should be with them in that rebuild and on the way to a two-state solution, yet settler violence against Palestinians continues to increase. Will the Minister confirm that this Government have no intention of lifting the sanctions that the UK has imposed on Israeli settlers and settler groups, and will the Government even consider expanding them?

• 5 Feb 2025 · Police Grant Report · Hansard source

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  I begin by putting on record my congratulations to Trevor Rodenhurst, the chief constable of Bedfordshire police, on being awarded the King’s Police Medal for distinguished service. It is well deserved. Like others, I thank the police officers, PCSOs and all police staff at Bedfordshire police for their service. After years of campaigning for better funding for Bedfordshire police, I am very pleased that this Labour Government have demonstrated our commitment to safer streets and more police in our communities by bringing forward this core funding settlement. Bedfordshire police has been awarded £67.8 million, an increase of 6.6%, as well as £1.8 million in neighbourhood policing guarantee funding for 2025-26. This increase comes after 14 years of Tory cuts and underfunding.

• 5 Feb 2025 · Police Grant Report · Hansard source

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  I will not give way. Those cuts and that underfunding have required Bedfordshire police to cut spending by over £50 million. I thank our Labour police and crime commissioner for Bedfordshire, John Tizard, for his commitment to ensuring that we make the best use of our funds to increase policing capacity, and for his dedication to tackling violent crime across our county. I particularly thank him for his ongoing desire to work in partnership with other public services and the voluntary sector, with a focus on prevention. Bedfordshire has a diverse landscape, and our police cover urban, densely populated towns including Bedford and Luton, which suffer from crime associated with metropolitan areas. Our county has significant transportation links—road, rail and air—making Bedfordshire a particular hotspot for organised crime, including firearms and drug supply offences. Unfortunately, our police force is also tackling the impact of knife crime; in the period from January 2023 to March 2024, there were 449 knife crime-related incidents in Luton alone, and in recent weeks we have seen more violent crime in Luton. Two stabbings have taken place, one of which tragically resulted in a fatality. Despite those factors, Bedfordshire police is still currently funded as a rural police force, due to failures by the previous Government to fix the archaic funding formula. Special grants have been provided each year since 2019-20 to tackle the disproportionately high gun and gang crime in Bedfordshire, with a further grant awarded since 2021-22 to combat organised crime. I cannot comment on the contributions made by the shadow Minister, the hon. Member for Stockton West (Matt Vickers), but I and many other Members from across the House who represent constituencies in Bedfordshire have spoken many times about the funding formula for our police force. It is currently awaiting confirmation of the continuation of those special grants, which equate to 5% of its total budget. Announcements are expected later this month, so I urge the Minister to consider the specific circumstances of our police force when taking those decisions, as the impact of those grants cannot be overestimated. I will close by saying how pleased I am to see multi-year settlements for local government coming in, because that provides local government with more stability in its partnerships with our police forces, working to ensure community safety.

• 4 Feb 2025 · Energy Suppliers: Winter Support for Consumers · Hansard source

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  11. What discussions he has had with energy suppliers on support for consumers during winter 2024-25.

• 4 Feb 2025 · Energy Suppliers: Winter Support for Consumers · Hansard source

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  Many households in my constituency are struggling with high energy bills because the last Government left us exposed to the unpredictable fossil fuel market. Does the Minister agree that the only way in which to protect residents in my constituency and across the country permanently is to unlock clean power that we control here in the UK?

• 30 Jan 2025 · Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Seventh sitting) · Hansard source

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  Q Claire, you mentioned multidisciplinary teams and decision making. We have heard in a couple of other evidence sessions from palliative care social workers, nurse practitioners and the Royal College of Nursing about the multidisciplinary approach in care. What are your thoughts on the ultimate approval as set out in the Bill being a doctor, another doctor and then a legal okay at the end? Would a more multidisciplinary approach to approval have stronger outcomes or better safeguards? Claire Williams: I absolutely agree that a panel/committee approach would have better safeguarding for patients, because the decision is being made collectively with legal expertise and with other healthcare professionals—that might be palliative—or ethicists like myself. It is having that collective view, ensuring that everybody is happy and that that is exactly what the patient wants. I believe it should be a committee/panel-based approach for the final decision. As I said before, expecting a High Court judge—just one individual—to make that decision alone is hugely burdensome and not an approach that we should be taking.

• 30 Jan 2025 · Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Seventh sitting) · Hansard source

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  Q Thank you all for sharing your family stories today. It is really moving. Julie, I want to ask about your experience in Spain and how you found that particular process in comparison with what we have in the Bill. How did it work? What was positive or difficult for you? Julie Thienpont: Guido had decided right from the word go, even before he got sick, that that was the way he would want to end his life, if there was a possibility of it. He was from Belgium originally, so he expressed a wish that if ever he needed it, he would like to go back there. The law in Spain is very similar to the Bill, which I have read through countless times. There are a lot of similarities. There were very rigorous checks. It involved much paperwork, counselling and family liaison. The difference was that it went before a board, so it was a panel that would allow or not allow the decision—it was not decided in a court. That would be the main difference, but the process was rigorous. It was slightly difficult for me, because although I can speak Spanish, the terminology was frequently more difficult, so they very kindly translated for me. They explained everything: what would happen and how it would happen, if it happened. It was a big celebration for Guy when he was actually granted this. They also told us that he could change his mind after he had made the decision, should he wish to. He did once. It was me who asked him to do that, because I did not feel he was sick enough, which sounds a bit silly, I know. He was an intensely private person. The palliative care in the part of Spain where we were is excellent, but it was quite irrelevant for him because he had already expressed that he wanted to die at home. We lived up a mountain; we were quite remote. Being such a private person, he never wanted to be in a situation where somebody else had to see him in any vulnerable situations, especially with personal hygiene and so on—even me, although I was able to help him in many ways. I had to do a lot of procedures for him, after being trained to do so, but he was more than happy with the situation of having assisted dying once it was granted. He did not need any other sort of care, although we still had a nurse coming every few days and the family doctor came up at least once a week. That does not sound much, but he did not want her any more often than that.