Business of the House

Rachel Hopkins Excerpts

Thursday 26th February 2026 Commons Chamber

[Sir Alan Campbell]

The hon. Lady is right to raise this important matter. I cannot give her the answer that she is looking for this morning, but I will make sure that Ministers are aware of this issue and that she gets a reply directly from them.

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

This week my home town of Luton celebrates a very important milestone as we mark the 150th anniversary of the borough and its elected council. Will the Leader of the House join me in celebrating this anniversary and paying tribute to our local councillors of all political stripes across the country for their democratic service and representation of their local communities?

[Sir Alan Campbell]

I absolutely join my hon. Friend in celebrating the incredible anniversary that she describes. Local councillors are vital to the work of local government and to supporting our constituents on all manner of issues, and I thank them for their work, not just in her area but across the country. However, let me just say that I am disappointed that we do not have a representative from Reform here today, because I would like to have heard from them what their party leader refused to say yesterday: whether or not there would be condemnation and the sacking of the deputy council leader in Lancashire for disgraceful comments about my hon. Friend the Member for Bolsover (Natalie Fleet).