Warm Homes Plan

Rachel Hopkins Excerpts

Wednesday 21st January 2026 Commons Chamber

[Ed Miliband]

I half thank the hon. Lady for her questions. On the second question, by anyone’s reckoning, this is a very substantial investment. It is multiple times more than was invested in the last Parliament, and there needs to be recognition of that. I recognise that there is further to go. This will help 5 million homes; there are a lot more homes that we want to help, but this is, by any measure, making a difference. On her first point, I reassure the hon. Lady that we absolutely see the value of making fabric and insulation part of this agenda, but the focus has to be on what works to cut bills. That is what our constituents want us to focus on.

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

I, too, warmly welcome the warm homes plan, which will benefit families in Luton South and South Bedfordshire, and especially the measures targeted at helping low-income families out of fuel poverty. Does the Secretary of State agree that, after a decade of failure from the Conservative party, the Labour Government recognise the cost of living crisis, and are taking definitive action, through this record public investment in home upgrades, to help reduce bills for good?

[Ed Miliband]

My hon. Friend puts it very well. We are turning the page on a decade of failure. It is really important that the public know that we get the scale of the crisis that they are facing—the long-term crisis that this Government were determined to deal with when we came into office. We are not over-claiming for this plan, but it will make a difference. We are about making a difference to the costs that people face, so that we can help tackle the cost of living crisis.

Offshore Wind

Rachel Hopkins Excerpts

Wednesday 14th January 2026 Commons Chamber

[Ed Miliband]

I agree with my hon. Friend. I am old enough to remember Boris Johnson, and he used to trumpet the potential of this. He used to talk about it as the future and how it was going to build future jobs, but the Conservatives have abandoned all that. They are miserable pessimists about our country.

As for my hon. Friend’s question, I think she is absolutely right. She will welcome the fact that NESO has undertaken the biggest overhaul of the grid we have seen in a long time, reordering the queue to ensure that we procure the power we need in the right places and that we give priority to the projects we need.

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

Today’s announcement of a record-breaking auction securing over 8 GW of wind power—enough electricity to power over 12 million homes—is clear evidence of this Labour Government delivering on our clean power mission, and it will help my constituents have lower bills in the future. Does the Secretary of State agree that this is good for jobs, good for growth and good for energy security?

[Ed Miliband]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right, and I think the point about energy security is crucial because we live in an uncertain world. We need our own home-grown clean energy, and that is what we are doing.

Oral Answers to Questions

Rachel Hopkins Excerpts

Tuesday 14th October 2025 Commons Chamber

[Jacob Collier (Burton and Uttoxeter) (Lab)]

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

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

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

[The Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero (Ed Miliband)]

Earlier this month, Great British Energy jointly funded 46 new community energy projects in Scotland, including an island solar farm, a community ice rink and a small community wind farm. Great British Energy is also helping public services in England with their energy bills through its solar for all programme, which benefits schools and hospitals. In this way, GBE is transferring money from the pockets of energy companies to local communities and frontline services.

--- Later in debate ---

[Ed Miliband]

The hon. Gentleman says that we did not need GB Energy to do that, but the Conservatives never did it—not in 14 years. It is precisely through a publicly owned energy company that we are doing this, to the benefit of citizens across our country. I agree with my hon. Friend the Member for Burton and Uttoxeter (Jacob Collier) that there is huge opportunity here, and we intend to expand the plan.

[Rachel Hopkins]

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?

[Ed Miliband]

This is really important. Public institutions face significantly high energy bills because of the legacy of the last Government. GBE, with its programme, is cutting those bills. That is a transfer of resources from energy bills to frontline public services. The hon. Member for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine (Andrew Bowie) is chuntering from the Front Bench. He should visit some of the teachers and NHS staff who think that this is a brilliant programme.

Oral Answers to Questions

Rachel Hopkins Excerpts

Tuesday 29th April 2025 Commons Chamber

[Miatta Fahnbulleh]

I welcome the right hon. Member’s commitment to our plans to upgrade homes. However, he is trying to rewrite history, because when we look at the record of the previous Government, we see many failures, but the most abject and egregious was the failure to insulate enough homes to ensure that households were protected from price rises. That is the Conservatives’ legacy, and it is one we are determined to turn around. That is why we are committed to upgrading millions of homes across the country.

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

16. What discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the opportunities for industry through the National Wealth Fund.

[The Minister for Industry (Sarah Jones)]

The National Wealth Fund has a critical role to play alongside Great British Energy in driving investment and jobs into clean energy industries. The fund is already making great progress, including participating in the latest round by GeoPura, a UK-based green hydrogen pioneer, as well as supporting critical minerals in Cornwall, as part of our mission for clean power by 2030.

[Rachel Hopkins]

Our Labour Government are driving economic growth in Luton and Bedfordshire through our support for the sustainable expansion of Luton airport and the exciting new Universal Studios. Does the Minister agree that we need to match those positive developments with incentivising investment in renewable energy to ensure that the pursuit of growth contributes to meeting our climate commitments?

[Sarah Jones]

The Government welcome the plans to invest in and around Luton, including the expansion of Luton airport and the incredibly exciting Universal theme park, which is on the “perfect site”, as its president said. It also has perfect MPs. These projects, along with the mass clean power investments we are delivering, will grow the economy and deliver direct benefits to the communities that host this vital clean power infrastructure which will take all of us off the fossil fuel market rollercoaster.

Oral Answers to Questions

Rachel Hopkins Excerpts

Tuesday 4th February 2025 Commons Chamber

[Michael Wheeler (Worsley and Eccles) (Lab)]

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

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

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

[Ms Polly Billington (East Thanet) (Lab)]

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

--- Later in debate ---

[Miatta Fahnbulleh]

My hon. Friend is 100% right. The reason we are so exposed as a country to global fossil fuel markets and the rollercoaster that is damaging business and hurting consumers is the Conservative party’s failure to invest in home-grown clean power and to upgrade people's homes to insulate them from high prices. That is a record of which the Conservatives should be ashamed, and it is a record that we are determined to change.

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

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?

[Miatta Fahnbulleh]

My hon. Friend is completely right. Every solar panel and every wind turbine that we put up takes us closer to delivering the energy security that we need to achieve financial security for families. That, combined with our drive to upgrade people’s homes, is what will protect households in the long term. It is the central mission of this team, this Department and this Government, and it is why we are running at clean power by 2030.

Oral Answers to Questions

Rachel Hopkins Excerpts

Tuesday 27th February 2024 Commons Chamber

[Andrew Bowie]

The Secretary of State will be happy to engage with my hon. Friend, and I too would be delighted to visit the site to look into the issues that he has raised.

[Rachel Hopkins (Luton South) (Lab)]

T8. At last we have heard the excellent news from Stellantis that it is to build electric vans at Luton’s Vauxhall plant from 2025, as a result of the tireless efforts of both management and workforce in pursuit of efficiency and quality. What plans have the Government to invest in electric vehicle charging infrastructure to help to stimulate the EV consumer market?

[Graham Stuart]

The hon. Lady is right to salute the astonishing investments that we are seeing throughout the automotive sector, and I am delighted that the Government have been able to help to bring them about. As she knows, we are committed to spreading more and more charging across the United Kingdom, not least in motorway service areas, so that we have the infrastructure to facilitate the decarbonisation of transport alongside all our other emitters.

Oral Answers to Questions

Rachel Hopkins Excerpts

Tuesday 18th April 2023 Commons Chamber

[The Minister for Energy Security and Net Zero (Graham Stuart)]

The Government want communities to participate in and benefit from onshore wind proposals for their areas, and we will shortly issue a consultation on onshore wind partnerships in England to enable supportive communities hosting new onshore wind infrastructure to enjoy the benefits of doing so, exactly as my hon. Friend says, by getting developers to support local energy discounts, new community infrastructure projects and the like.

[Rachel Hopkins (Luton South) (Lab)]

T2.   Energy-intensive businesses need Government support to transition to a low carbon economy, including the Vauxhall van plant in Luton South, yet last month’s “green day” saw only weak reannouncements on carbon capture and storage and nuclear, and no new money for industry. Can the Minister explain why the Government are failing to help our motor manufacturing industry to decarbonise?

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero (Amanda Solloway)]

We have announced an unprecedented £20 million investment in the development of carbon capture, utilisation and storage and a £185 million extension to the industrial energy transformation fund, and confirmed the first winners of the £240 million net zero hydrogen fund. In addition, this Government have provided more than £2 billion since 2013 to energy-intensive industries to make electricity costs more competitive.