Call for General Election

Rupa Huq Excerpts

Monday 12th January 2026 Westminster Hall

[Dame Harriett Baldwin]

On a point of order, Dr Huq. Could you clarify whether it is in order for so many Government speakers in the debate to have left the Chamber before the Front-Bench speeches to listen to their beleaguered Prime Minister at the parliamentary Labour party meeting?

[Dr Rupa Huq (in the Chair)]

I think they all had to ask for permission. They should return for the concluding speeches, but we are finishing a bit earlier than we thought. We are already on the Front-Bench speeches. Usually, that would be 45 minutes before the end. I can inform the Chairman of Ways and Means and get some clarification for the future, because these things are always fluid. Anyway, I call the first of our Front Benchers, Lisa Smart.

--- Later in debate ---

[Kevin Hollinrake (Thirsk and Malton) (Con)]

It is a pleasure to speak with you in the Chair, Dr Huq, not least because when I was a teenager Dr Hook was one of my favourite bands—not all hon. Members will have heard of them.

[Dr Rupa Huq (in the Chair)]

When you were “in love with a beautiful woman”!

[Kevin Hollinrake]

I was, absolutely.

I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk (John Lamont) for his excellent opening speech. He made so many good points, not least about the level of support for this petition. With 1 million signatories—including 2,040 people from my constituency of Thirsk and Malton—this is the eighth most-signed petition in history. This is such an important debate. The petition states that this country wants and needs “an immediate general election”.

I am the first to admit, having been in government myself, that governing is not easy; it is a difficult business. But one or two Labour Members, including the hon. Member for Edinburgh South West (Dr Arthur), said that this petition was somehow about us sowing division. The hon. Member for Southport (Patrick Hurley) said that there was somehow a Conservative plot to bring this petition to a debate. As a number of hon. Members have said, there are real people out there very concerned about what they see as betrayal and about how much they have been let down. They are angry. Dismissing their concerns on the basis that there is some kind of political plot is a big mistake. It was also a mistake for the Government to respond, as they did to this petition on 11 August 2025, by saying that they are

“fixing the foundations, rebuilding Britain and restoring…confidence”.

This Government are not listening and do not understand what the people are saying to them.

--- Later in debate ---

[Kevin Hollinrake]

I agree with the hon. Member entirely. That is a terrible Bill, which we have opposed at every stage. Paying tens of billions of pounds of taxpayers’ money to give away our own territory and rent it back is ludicrous.

[Dr Rupa Huq (in the Chair)]

Order. I am being told by the Clerk that this is getting way out of scope. We are debating a petition to have a general election.

[Kevin Hollinrake]

That issue is one of the many things that the people who signed the petition are concerned about, Dr Huq.

One of the big things that the Government promised, which I agree with them about, is the need to encourage faster growth in our economy. Of course that is right, but look at where that growth is. There is growth in inflation and in unemployment—including youth unemployment, which is rising significantly, with 5.2% of the working-age population unemployed compared with 4.2% when this Government took over. Taxes are also growing, to the tune of £60-odd billion a year. That is against the backdrop of the promises made about a fully costed, fully funded manifesto. No wonder people are angry. Debt and borrowing are up—on interest alone, gilt yields are higher than ever, at 5.72%. We pay £116 billion every year purely in debt interest. Small boat numbers are up 13%, year on year.

The cost of living is one of the greatest concerns of my and no doubt all hon. Members’ constituents. Against the backdrop of a promise to cut electricity prices by £300 a year, the average household now pays £190 more.

--- Later in debate ---

[Kevin Hollinrake]

I will make some progress. What have we seen in terms of that policymaking? We have seen U-turn after U-turn. My hon. Friends the Members for Stockton West (Matt Vickers) and for West Worcestershire (Dame Harriett Baldwin) mentioned the number of U-turns. [Interruption.]

[Dr Rupa Huq (in the Chair)]

Order. We will suspend for 15 minutes for a Division in the House.

--- Later in debate ---

On resuming—

[Dr Rupa Huq (in the Chair)]

We will resume with Kevin Hollinrake.

[Kevin Hollinrake]

Thank you, Dr Huq. I was talking about the many U-turns we had seen from this Government, which my hon. Friends also mentioned, such as on the winter fuel allowance and the family farm tax. I praise my hon. Friend the Member for Keighley and Ilkley (Robbie Moore) for the incredible job he has done campaigning on that, as well as on the family business tax, of course, which is even more pernicious in many ways, and the grooming gangs, which he did a huge amount on. Business rates is the latest U-turn coming down the track.

That is why people feel betrayed and angry. I am sure—having been there in the past as well—that hon. Members on the Government side of the House also feel betrayed and angry with their own leadership, for marching them up to the top of the hill and marching them back down again on many of these issues, but they do not feel as betrayed as the businesspeople in this country in particular. Those businesspeople need stability and need to understand exactly what is coming down the track next.

We have had a Chancellor who constantly allowed speculation to take place, months before a Budget. That destroys confidence, which damages the economy—the source of the investment needed to drive forward the economy and the number of jobs. That is the antithesis of what a responsible and good Chancellor should do.

As I said before, governing is not easy; we had many challenges ourselves, and we did not get everything right, but what we did during that difficult period of time—those 14 years—was get 1.2 million more people employed in our economy. Unemployment was halved during our time in office. Our schools went from 68% good or outstanding to 90% by the end of our tenure. We got 100,000 more doctors and nurses in the NHS. We got record numbers of houses being built—a 50-year record. That was all against the backdrop of covid, the cost of living crisis, and the other challenges that we had when we were governing this country. That shows what is possible, and, of course, at the same time, we were keeping the very dangerous right hon. Member for Islington North (Jeremy Corbyn) out of No. 10 Downing Street. Of course, many Government Members supported his leadership challenge.

We are here now, looking forward to a general election coming down the track. We are ready for a general election when the Government are, because, unlike them, we have a strong leader—against their weak leader. We will bring forward a stronger economy, with stronger borders and a stronger country. We will cut the cost of doing Government and make £47 billion of savings. With those savings, we will reduce the debt and, crucially, cut the cost of doing business, particularly for small businesses. We will scrap stamp duty for primary homes and scrap business rates for any business spending less than £110,000 a year on business rates. These measures support small businesses. That is what we would do, given the opportunity. We are all here in the national interest of course—to try to do the best by this country—but in our view, it is in the national interest for this Government to leave office and put a general election to the people.

--- Later in debate ---

[Robbie Moore]

That is just not what people in Keighley and Ilkley and across the Worth valley are feeling. Why are the Labour Government increasing the amount of tax that a basic rate taxpayer is paying by another £220 this year? Why is it that Labour-run Bradford council has tried to increase council tax by 14.99% this year? On top of that, the Government are making decisions that were not in their manifesto, such as rolling out digital ID at a cost of £1.8 billon or the £47 billion Chagos deal. Those are things that the Government are doing beyond their manifesto promises, but which they are taxing hard-working people across Keighley for.

[Dr Rupa Huq (in the Chair)]

Order. That is a bit on the long side for an intervention.

[Anna Turley]

I appreciate the hon. Member’s attempt to reiterate the speech that he made, but I would have thought that he would be grateful that there are 3,250 children in Keighley who will benefit from the lifting of the two-child limit. Those are children who we are investing in and who are going to contribute to the future. We are breaking cycles of dependency. I would have thought that the hon. Member would welcome that. I am sure that people in his constituency whose mortgages have come down would also be very grateful for that.

In November, the Chancellor of the Exchequer delivered a Budget that is bearing down on the cost of living and lifting millions of children out of poverty. In the constituency of the hon. Member for Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk, children will benefit from the abolition of the two-child benefit cap thanks to action taken by this Labour Government.

G20 and Ukraine

Rupa Huq Excerpts

Tuesday 25th November 2025 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I will not disclose all the details of my discussions, but the right hon. Gentleman can rest assured that the principles I have set out to the House guide me in all those discussions.

[Dr Rupa Huq (Ealing Central and Acton) (Lab)]

I thank the Prime Minister for his statement and for updating us all—this is obviously a fast-moving situation. Last week, at the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe, we harrowingly heard from our Ukrainian counterparts how 20,000 children have been abducted by Russia since this war began. May I ask him to reiterate that in the just and lasting peace we all seek, they are at the centre of all this? Will he send a clear and immediate message to say, as Pink Floyd might have put it, “Hey, Putin! Leave those kids alone!”?

[The Prime Minister]

I agree with the principle that my hon. Friend puts forward; I am not sure I would put it in quite the terms that she does, but the sentiment is shared. This is just shocking—the idea of kidnapping children as an act of war and a weapon of war is just so disgusting, frankly. We should do absolutely everything we can to ensure not only that the children are safe, secure and returned, but that there is full accountability.

Oral Answers to Questions

Rupa Huq Excerpts

Wednesday 10th September 2025 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I am sorry to hear about the hon. Gentleman’s constituent. That is an awful situation for anyone to find themselves in. I will of course look at his Bill.

[Dr Rupa Huq (Ealing Central and Acton) (Lab)]

Q14. I am sure that the Prime Minister recalls visiting the Ukrainian community in Acton with me soon after Putin’s illegal invasion. They still remember it fondly. They want me to ask him whether, next week at Trump’s state visit, he will harness to the max his unique role—with influence in the US and the coalition of the willing in Europe—and redouble all efforts to find a just peace, with security guarantees for them and war crimes punished, so that we can end this war, which has gone on far too long?

[The Prime Minister]

I do recall that visit—it was extremely good and very welcoming. Our support for Ukraine remains unwavering. The attack last night in Poland shows that Putin’s belief is that he can somehow act with impunity. That is why we are working so hard with the coalition of the willing to ensure that there are security guarantees as we go forward. We have made real progress in recent weeks; we must continue to ramp up the pressure on Putin.

Oral Answers to Questions

Rupa Huq Excerpts

Wednesday 3rd September 2025 Commons Chamber

[Bridget Phillipson]

If the hon. Gentleman will provide me with some more details of his constituent’s case, I would be happy to make sure it is looked into by Ministers and that he receives a full response.

[Dr Rupa Huq (Ealing Central and Acton) (Lab)]

T5. A constituent and mum has got in touch because she has lost her entitlement to the 30 hours of childcare this Government so brilliantly rolled out, as well as the student finance version, because she is doing law as a mature student. Can the Minister look into closing that loophole so that women who retrain mid-career are not penalised?

[Bridget Phillipson]

We recognise the value of parents continuing in education, which is why there are often available mechanisms such as the childcare grant and the parents’ learning allowance. As I do not know the full circumstances of her constituent’s case, I would be grateful if my hon. Friend would write to me, so I can make sure that we give her constituent full advice on the childcare support that might be available to her.

UK-EU Summit

Rupa Huq Excerpts

Tuesday 20th May 2025 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

The hon. Lady raises an important issue. I am not going to pretend that I have the answer in my back pocket, but I will make sure that she gets a proper, detailed answer to her question, which she can then make use of with her constituents.

[Dr Rupa Huq (Ealing Central and Acton) (Lab)]

It is brilliant that the Brexit logjam that has cast a long shadow over this House for so many years has been smashed by this Prime Minister. Could he indicate when we might hear a bit more about the youth experience scheme that has been so yearned for and so welcomed by the universities and the English language teaching sector, and also by my staff, team and son, who were born too late to have a say in any of the mess that the Tories left behind?

[The Prime Minister]

We will develop the plan on the youth experience scheme with our partners. We have instructed our teams to move on all fronts as quickly as we can.

Defence and Security

Rupa Huq Excerpts

Tuesday 25th February 2025 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I do not think the plans put forward by the hon. Lady, as far as I have seen them, are realistic. To make a commitment such as the one we have made, we have to put forward a credible, costed plan in which we can say with certainty precisely where the money is coming from. That is why we have taken the difficult decision that we have taken today.

[Dr Rupa Huq (Ealing Central and Acton) (Lab)]

The Prime Minister’s statement hits the nail on the head, unlike the rantings of J. D. Vance on European freedom of speech at the Munich security conference. I know the statement will be particularly welcome at the Ealing ex-servicemen’s club, so will the Prime Minister recommit to our veterans, to the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe, and to organisations like the Army cadet centre in Acton and the Territorial Army reservists in Wood Lane, either of which would welcome a visit, for those who have served our nation and those who will do so in the future?

[The Prime Minister]

Yes, I am happy to make that commitment. I ask my hon. Friend to carry that message to her constituents, along with my thanks and those of the Government and the House.

Oral Answers to Questions

Rupa Huq Excerpts

Wednesday 9th October 2024 Commons Chamber

[Mike Martin (Tunbridge Wells) (LD)]

11. What discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for the Home Department on violence against women and girls.

[Dr Rupa Huq (Ealing Central and Acton) (Lab)]

12. What steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help tackle violence against women and girls.

[The Minister for Women and Equalities (Anneliese Dodds)]

My colleagues and I are working closely together to tackle the national emergency of violence against women and girls and to deliver our mission to halve violence against women and girls in a decade. We have begun our work to make streets, homes and workplaces safer for women by announcing that domestic abuse specialists will be placed in emergency control rooms and that adult victims of rape in England and Wales will get access to free legal advocates.

--- Later in debate ---

[Anneliese Dodds]

I am happy to write to the hon. Member when the Act does indeed come into force. To be absolutely clear, the new Government are determined to halve violence against women and girls within a decade, which includes on the street as well as in workplaces and homes. I know that the Home Secretary takes that incredibly seriously, so she is working with us on it.

[Dr Huq]

Women welcome this Government finally implementing buffer zones around abortion clinics, as repeatedly voted for by MPs in the House. Will the Minister tell me when that will happen and whether it will apply to those who, knowingly or not, silently intimidate at the clinic gates? The Tories were trying to scrap that bit on the sly.

[Anneliese Dodds]

I thank my hon. Friend for her important question. I pay tribute to her, the Home Secretary and the Minister for Policing, Fire and Crime Prevention along with others across the House who have campaigned on this issue for years. The new Government have been able finally to take urgent steps to address this issue. Protection zones around abortion clinics will be in force from 31 October—the end of this month. The Government are determined that anyone exercising their legal right to access abortion services should be free from harassment and intimidation. The police will now have the power to deal with anyone they reasonably suspect to be obstructing, causing harassment or distress, or influencing within a buffer zone.

Anniversary of 7 October Attacks: Middle East

Rupa Huq Excerpts

Monday 7th October 2024 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I thank the right hon. Member for that question. This is a really important issue. We have had numerous discussions with our colleagues and with leaders, and I do think there is an important role that can be played and pressure that can be applied through those discussions. We will continue to do so, so I thank her for her question.

[Dr Rupa Huq (Ealing Central and Acton) (Lab)]

Among those killed in the horrors of 7 October were children, with a number still held hostage to this day. In Gaza since then, there is a grisly new acronym—WCNSF: wounded child, no surviving family—to add to the child death toll, which is now rising in Lebanon as well. Will my right hon. and learned Friend press for the protection of children in advocating for a ceasefire and in his humanitarian efforts, and does he agree that no parent should ever have to bury their child?

[The Prime Minister]

I absolutely agree with that, whether it is children taken as hostages—it hardly seems possible to say that sentence without recoiling—or those orphaned in Gaza, as my hon. Friend rightly suggests.

Oral Answers to Questions

Rupa Huq Excerpts

Thursday 25th July 2024 Commons Chamber

[Chris Vince (Harlow) (Lab/Co-op)]

5. What recent estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of fraud and error in Government departments and agencies.

[Dr Rupa Huq (Ealing Central and Acton) (Lab)]

10. What recent estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of fraud and error in Government departments and agencies.

[The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (Pat McFadden)]

Government estimates of the amount of money lost to fraud and error vary hugely, in truth: the latest estimate has a range of between £40 billion and almost £60 billion, which is a huge range. The public rightly expect us to do all we can to minimise fraud in the use of public funds, which is one reason why my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer has announced the establishment of a covid corruption commissioner, whose job it will be to track down as much as possible of the money lost to fraud during the pandemic. The Cabinet Office will work closely with the Chancellor on this to try to ensure best value for money for the public and, of course, crack down on fraud right across Government Departments and agencies.

--- Later in debate ---

[Pat McFadden]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right: there is potential for greater use of AI in detecting and rooting out fraud. We want the UK to be an excellent place to develop new uses of AI, both in its public sector applications and the development of private business. There is already a single network analytics platform, which is an AI-based detection tool to help public sector organisations detect fraud, but like many AI applications, we are probably only at the beginning of what can be achieved in this area. We should use every technological tool at our disposal to secure best value for money for the taxpayer.

[Dr Huq]

As well as Matt Hancock’s pub landlord scoring a PPE contract despite having zero relevant expertise, non-covid error, fraud and waste cost the public purse £58.5 billion in the year 2020-21 alone. Could my right hon. Friend tell us how those colossal sums of money will be recovered? He mentioned a commissioner; can he also tell us how we will get rid of cronyism and nepotism, so that these things never happen again?

[Pat McFadden]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right to draw attention to the scale of the problem. The truth is that, according to the latest figures, the amount that has been recovered is relatively small compared with the scale of loss. The previous Government’s own former Minister for counter-fraud described the Conservative party’s record as “nothing less than woeful” and riddled with “schoolboy errors”, and the shadow Business Secretary, the hon. Member for Thirsk and Malton (Kevin Hollinrake), described the previous Prime Minister’s handling of this issue as dismissive. We cannot afford to be dismissive: we have a duty to take it seriously and use whatever means we can to bear down on fraud, so that money meant for public services and legitimate recipients of public funds is used for its intended purposes.

NATO and European Political Community Meetings

Rupa Huq Excerpts

Monday 22nd July 2024 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I thank the right hon. Gentleman for raising those three issues. On the international courts, we respect the independence of the Court and international law—let me be very clear about that. I will not get tempted by questions about the US elections later this year, save to say that it will obviously be for the American people to decide who they want as their President, and as Members would expect, we will work with whoever is the President after they have made their choice. I take the right hon. Gentleman’s point about the low numbers of troops, which will be looked at in the strategic defence review that we are carrying out into threats, capability and resources.

[Dr Rupa Huq (Ealing Central and Acton) (Lab)]

It was incredibly pleasing to see the Prime Minister both at NATO and welcoming leaders from across our continent to Blenheim palace, at a historic moment for a reset with Europe after the disastrous legacy that the departing Government left behind. Did the subject of youth mobility for students and suchlike arise, and could his Government look into repairing it for its soft power, cultural exchange and growth-boosting properties that have been so valued, as we are now in a post-Erasmus era?

[The Prime Minister]

I thank my hon. Friend for her question. The reset with our European allies was well received, and there was clearly an appetite to work in a different and better way with the UK, which I think will stand us in good stead as we go forward. We did have discussions about a closer relationship with our EU allies, but I made it very clear from the outset—as I have done in opposition—that that does not mean rejoining the EU, it does not mean going back into the structures of the EU, and it does not mean freedom of movement. I took the early opportunity to make that clear to our European allies so that we can move forward progressively, but with the right framework in mind.