Road Safety

Rachel Hopkins Excerpts

Thursday 5th February 2026 Commons Chamber

[Rachel Hopkins (Luton South and South Bedfordshire) (Lab)]

I very much welcome the steps that our Labour Government are taking to improve road safety. From record funding to improve road conditions to the publication of the road safety strategy last month—the first of its kind in a decade—there is a clear commitment to deliver on our manifesto commitments and set out vital reforms to make our roads safer, particularly as the UK has slipped from third to fourth in Europe’s road safety rankings.

One of the key issues that I will highlight is tackling drug driving. Data from the Department for Transport shows that although alcohol remains the leading cause of impairment-related collisions, the gap between alcohol-related crashes and drug-related crashes has narrowed over the last decade. Between 2014 and 2023, the number of drivers killed in fatal collisions with drugs detected rose by more than 70%. I welcome the Government’s decisive steps to give the police additional powers to act at the roadside, including immediate licence suspensions to remove dangerous drivers from our roads, as well as the commitment to explore alternative testing methods such as saliva-based testing and improved processing, including increased roadside testing.

In the short amount of time that I have, let me say that road safety must include pavement safety. I really welcome the work that our Government are doing to bring forward measures to tackle the enforcement of hugely inconsiderate pavement parking. Many of my constituents tell me about the danger it poses, particularly for people who have children in pushchairs, use wheelchairs, or are visually impaired and use a guide dog. They often take the risk of walking into the road simply to go about their day.

The existing legislation restricts the powers of local authorities outside London and Scotland. When will the Government introduce interim secondary legislation, so that local authorities can enforce against unnecessary obstructions on the pavement? I encourage all my constituents to sign my petition on pavement parking.

Road Safety Strategy

Rachel Hopkins Excerpts

Thursday 8th January 2026 Commons Chamber

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Ms Nusrat Ghani)]

Order. We definitely need to speed things up or colleagues will not be able to get in.

[Rachel Hopkins (Luton South and South Bedfordshire) (Lab)]

I thank the Minister for her written statement about enforcement on pavement parking, which is a huge issue in Luton South and South Bedfordshire. I welcome the launch of today’s road safety strategy, particularly the emphasis on tackling drug-driving. There was a trebling of fatal collisions between 2014 and 2023 related to drug-driving, so will the Minister elaborate further on how that will be enforced under the new strategy?

[Lilian Greenwood]

We know that drug-driving is a growing problem. We have already done further publicity on the dangers of drug-driving, because not everyone appreciates how dangerous it is, but we also want to crack down on those who do drive with drugs in their system. We are looking to improve testing and processing so that we can bring more convictions, and more importantly to deter people from ever getting behind the wheel of a car when they have taken drugs.

Conduct of the Chancellor of the Exchequer

Rachel Hopkins Excerpts

Wednesday 10th December 2025 Commons Chamber

[Dan Tomlinson]

Indeed; I heard the point of order loud and clear. It is worth remembering that this is an Opposition day debate—I think it is within the remit to talk about the Opposition and the fact that they have lost all their players to the other team.

I also think it is time to move on from talking about process, because on this side of the House, we have a country to run, an economy to build and public services to mend. Instead of this subject, we could have talked about whether it is right to raise wages for those on the lowest incomes, but the Opposition did not want to bring that up. Maybe that is because wages have risen faster in the first 10 months of this Government than they did in the first decade of the Conservative Government, or maybe it is because it turns out that their latest policy is a real-terms cut to the living wage. We could have talked about the cost of living, but again, the Conservatives did not choose that as a topic because its mini-Budget crashed the economy and added thousands of pounds to mortgages, and since this Government have come to power, the Bank of England has cut interest rates.

[Rachel Hopkins (Luton South and South Bedfordshire) (Lab)]

The Minister makes a point about the previous disastrous mini-Budget of September 2023. The shadow Chancellor, the right hon. Member for Central Devon (Sir Mel Stride), said at that time,

“I welcome much in this statement. There is a great deal that will help millions of families and businesses up and down the country.”—[Official Report, 23 September 2022; Vol. 719, c. 942.]

Does the Minister agree that the reason the right hon. Member focused on process is that his judgment on policy is so poor?

[Dan Tomlinson]

I agree entirely with my hon. Friend. Too many Conservative Members defended the mini-Budget, which crashed the economy and added thousands of pounds to mortgages. In contrast, since this Government have come to power, the Bank of England has cut interest rates five times, taking £1,200 off a typical two-year fixed rate mortgage. At this Budget, we cut £150 from the average energy bill, froze rail fares and prescription charges, and extended bus fare caps and fuel duty cuts, but the Conservatives do not want to talk about that either. They could have chosen in their Opposition day debate to talk about fiscal stability and increased headroom, but again, they chose not to do that because of the £21.7 billion of headroom that the Chancellor secured at the Budget, which will help protect our country from global shocks and unforeseen challenges.

Of course, the Conservatives do not want to talk about child poverty either because they know that this Budget has lifted 550,000 children out of poverty, whereas the last Government were content to leave them, preferring instead to rebrand the hungry children who they let down while in power as benefit scroungers. They should be treated as our future, not as our opponent.

I have a couple more minutes, so let me address some of the points made during the debate. I thank the Liberal Democrat spokesperson, the hon. Member for St Albans (Daisy Cooper), for engaging on policy. We have had conversations on business rates already this week, and I am sure that we will have more. We have begun the work to rebalance the system with a £900 million switch from the highest value properties to those on the high streets.

I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Harlow (Chris Vince) for his Thatcher quote. It was a good quote that bears repeating. She said,

“I always cheer up immensely…if they attack one personally, it means they have not a single political argument left.”

I thank the hon. Member for West Worcestershire (Dame Harriett Baldwin) for going through every single tax change and saying that she opposes them all. That is the sort of opposition we have got used to. Rather than constructive opposition, which comes forward with proposals that would raise revenue in a fair way, such as the changes on electric vehicle excise duty, which will stop us losing £12 billion of fuel duty revenue in the coming years, we just hear, “No, no, no,” over and over again. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Loughborough (Dr Sandher). His experience in economics is richly valued in this place, and I enjoyed his speech, as I always do.

Finally, it has been a short debate, has it not, Madam Deputy Speaker? I am glad that the right hon. Member for Beverley and Holderness (Graham Stuart) took the time during the debate to read the Labour manifesto—that was much appreciated—and that he was able to clarify for the House that my right hon. Friend the Chief Secretary was right to say that we have stuck to our manifesto commitment.

Growing the UK Economy

Rachel Hopkins Excerpts

Wednesday 29th January 2025 Commons Chamber

[Darren Jones]

We hear from businesses, investors, businesspeople, travellers and people who want to be able to come through London or the UK that we are losing trade and investment in comparison with other hub airports on mainland Europe. We have every opportunity to secure that here in the UK, and that will, by its very nature, secure investment, jobs and economic growth.

[Rachel Hopkins (Luton South and South Bedfordshire) (Lab)]

The Chancellor highlighted the redevelopment of Old Trafford in her speech, but similar investment is happening in Luton, where Power Court is set to be the new home of Luton Town football club. That mixed-use housing and commercial development will bring new opportunities and support the regeneration of our town. May I invite the Minister to join me on a visit to see how that will be a key driver of economic growth across Bedfordshire and the eastern region?

Christmas Adjournment

Rachel Hopkins Excerpts

Thursday 19th December 2024 Commons Chamber

[Rachel Hopkins (Luton South and South Bedfordshire) (Lab)]

Given the festive season, I thought it appropriate to use this time to celebrate my constituency and to say a few thank yous. Most importantly, I thank the people of Luton South and South Bedfordshire for re-electing me as their Member of Parliament in July. Following boundary changes, I am proud to represent the good people of south Bedfordshire; a number of villages and swathes of beautiful countryside have been added to the urban landscape of the constituency. I am grateful to people in the new part—including Kensworth, Studham and Eaton Bray, to name but a few places—for electing me, because some of them had never voted Labour before. The new constituency boundary also means that I now represent more animals than ever before—if that is a thing—given that Whipsnade zoo and Appledown rescue and re-homing kennels are both within Luton South and South Bedfordshire. I thank all who work or volunteer with those great charities. My rescue dog, Maisie, would of course want me to remind everybody that a dog is for life, not just for Christmas.

It is an honour and a privilege to represent my home town of Luton—the place where I grew up and went to school, where I live, and where I previously represented residents as a local Labour councillor. This place can be a bit intimidating at times, but I always remember where I came from when faced with challenges. I am Luton born and bred, which keeps me grounded every day.

Luton sometimes has an unjustified bad reputation, but we have plenty to be proud of, and I want to focus on the positives that our town has to offer. This year, Radio 1 brought the Big Weekend to Luton. It was a wonderful opportunity to showcase our town, with brilliant musical performances from stars including Sabrina Carpenter, Teddy Swims, Raye and, much to the delight of many Lutonians, Coldplay. They made up a song entitled “Orange” to celebrate the colours of our brilliant Luton Town football club—but I do not need Chris Martin to say, “I was born in love with Luton and I’m always gonna be.”

Speaking of our football club, it is a brilliant and exciting time for LTFC. This week, the planning committee at Luton council formally approved plans for the new Power Court stadium development. It marks a huge moment of regeneration in our town, with plans for restaurants, a hotel and a music venue alongside the stadium, making Luton a destination not only for football, but for entertainment.

A place is only as good as the people in it, and our beautifully diverse and vibrant community across Luton South and South Bedfordshire is what truly makes the constituency so special. There are some wonderful community organisations and charities that do so much to support those in most need. I thank Luton food bank, as well as NOAH and Signposts, for supporting many people in need. I thank Luton Irish Forum, which provides invaluable support, including debt and welfare advice and so much more. I thank Luton citizens advice bureau for all it does, and for the guidance and support that it offers people across the town in times of need.

We have excellent organisations dedicated to supporting women and girls, and I thank Women’s Aid, Luton All Women’s Centre and Stepping Stones. A healthy society can only be achieved by ensuring that we have support for those who need it, particularly with regard to mental health. I thank Healthwatch Luton, Mind BLMK, Headway, our community mental health hubs and local Samaritans for all that they do. Alongside our civic society, we must remember our faith communities, who, during 14 years of Tory austerity, stepped up to fill the welfare gap that the previous Government created in towns like ours.

Finally, I want to mention all our public service workers who sacrifice so much to keep us healthy and safe, many of whom will not get to rest over Christmas, including Bedfordshire police, Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service and all our doctors, nurses, paramedics and NHS staff at Luton and Dunstable hospital.

Merry Christmas and happy new year to one and all.