Rachel Taylor MP: speeches

Speeches

• 11 Sept 2026 · Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill · Hansard source

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  The hon. Lady speaks with great passion. Does she agree that members in the other place bringing forward amendments such as suggesting that women who had been through the menopause, or men, needed to have a pregnancy test before they could be eligible for an assisted death, was a deliberate attempt to wreck the Bill, as opposed to undertaking their important role of scrutiny?

• 11 Sept 2026 · Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill · Hansard source

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  Will my hon. Friend give way on that point?

• 11 Sept 2026 · Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill · Hansard source

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  Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

• 11 Sept 2026 · Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill · Hansard source

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  Will my hon. Friend give way?

• 11 Sept 2026 · Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill · Hansard source

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  Does my hon. Friend agree that unless this House makes it absolutely clear that it is outrageous and unacceptable for a very small number of unelected peers to block legislation, supported by the elected Chamber, then the same tactic could be used again with any private Member’s Bill that comes forward in this House?

• 10 Sept 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  T4. I regularly hear from young people in my constituency about the challenges they face getting their foot on the career ladder. Will the Minister set out the specific steps that the Cabinet Office is taking to ensure that the Government’s new procurement rules translate into more jobs, more apprenticeships and more opportunities for young people in rural communities like mine?

• 9 Sept 2026 · Jaguar Land Rover: Redundancies · Hansard source

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  My next-door neighbour works at JLR, and people in my constituency have worked there their whole life. They and others in the wider manufacturing supply chain will be rightly concerned about their future, and I share their concern. I welcome the package of measures put in place by Labour Mayor Richard Parker, but what more will the Minister do to support motor manufacturing in the west midlands and protect our industrial future?

• 8 Sept 2026 · Health Bill · Hansard source

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  Will my hon. Friend give way?

• 8 Sept 2026 · Health Bill · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Member for giving way and the tone in which she is conducting this debate. Would she feel more comfortable, however, if a transgender man with balding hair and a full beard, who was behaving like a man and full of testosterone, was attending a female toilet facility at night at a motorway service station? I would not feel safe, but it seems she would feel safer in that situation than she would with a trans woman getting changed in front of nurses or attending a toilet.

• 8 Sept 2026 · Health Bill · Hansard source

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  Will the Minister give way?

• 8 Sept 2026 · Falkland Islands: Sovereignty · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Member for Bicester and Woodstock (Calum Miller) for securing this important question. Brave British servicepeople died defending the Falkland Islanders’ right to freedom and self-determination more than 40 years ago. We must never forget. Will the Minister confirm that this Labour Government will do the right thing and never compromise when it comes to defending British sovereign territory in the Falklands?

• 7 Sept 2026 · Local Government Reorganisation · Hansard source

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  In North Warwickshire and Bedworth, our councils, businesses and voluntary organisations were all preparing for new unitary councils. They will be disappointed with the news, but we must get reorganisation right. Will the Secretary of State assure the councils struggling to recruit and retain high quality officers, the businesses wanting to invest and the voluntary organisations preparing to restructure, that the pause will not be an undue delay and that the towns and villages in my constituency will not be left behind without the investment that devolution will bring?

• 7 Sept 2026 · Surrogacy Law and Legal Parenthood · Hansard source

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  I would like to make some progress, and the hon. Lady has made a number of points in her own speech and in other interventions. Same-sex couples, disabled mums or mums who simply cannot have children have gone through an incredibly demanding process to start a family, and their family is treated differently from the moment their child is born. They can be left in limbo for months while social workers carry out assessments and family courts, with already massively long delays, consider their application for a parental order. That leaves them in limbo if their child is ill, taken into hospital, starts nursery school, or any number of things. Meanwhile, they are changing nappies, comforting their baby through all the sleepless nights and making every decision about their care. Families should not be penalised because of the gender or sexuality of the people who love and raise that child. Our surrogacy laws are more than 40 years old. Families have changed and society has changed; the law must now change too. That is why the Law Commission’s proposals are so important. They set out a new pathway through which intended parents could be recognised as legal parents from birth, rather than waiting for months to obtain a parental order. The work has been done, the evidence has been gathered and a draft Bill has already been produced. Will the Minister listen to the families who have shared their experiences, publish the Government’s full response to the Law Commission’s report and set out a clear timetable for reform? Adam and Jamie became dads the moment they held their daughter. It is time the law recognised that reality.

• 7 Sept 2026 · Surrogacy Law and Legal Parenthood · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Pritchard. I give credit to all Members, who have participated in this difficult and sensitive debate in a thoughtful and constructive manner, and particularly to my hon. Friend the Member for Lichfield (Dave Robertson) for leading it. I thank Adam and Jamie for starting the petition and the more than 113,000 people who signed it. Many of my constituents asked me to attend the debate today, and I am proud to do so to stand up for families created through surrogacy. When Adam and Jamie’s daughter was born, they became her dads the moment they held her. They had chosen to become parents and had prepared for their daughter’s arrival. They had so much love to give her, but the law did not recognise them as her parents. Often parents have to go to court to prove that they are the parents of the child they are already loving and caring for. That is just not right for the parents, for the surrogates and, more importantly, for the children, and it does not reflect the reality of the families involved. It creates unnecessary stress and anguish at an already difficult time when people are raising a newborn child. To suggest that the concept of consent can be questioned after consent has been given is dangerous. No surrogate mother enters into this relationship lightly. It is something that women consider very carefully. I have spoken to friends who would happily be surrogate mums for other families to enable them to have children, because they enjoyed the experience of pregnancy. They would be happy to help in that way, but they would consent to that in the knowledge that they would not be that child’s mum. They would expect that child to have another mother, or mothers, or other fathers. That is the basis on which they give their consent. To take the concept of consent in legal arguments, when people make wills—they might be vulnerable people or, much of the time, elderly people—there are always questions about whether they were put under undue influence, but there are legal mechanisms to check that that was not the case. Similarly, there are mechanisms to check whether a woman has given consent for sexual intercourse. We need to strengthen checks for consent in surrogacy relationships, but we cannot have a situation where somebody can give consent, which has been adequately checked and monitored, and then withdraw it afterwards. We have to be careful about challenging that, because it goes to the very root of consent, and it is dangerous to do so.

• 1 Sept 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  T9. Around the world, countries such as Seychelles are leading the way in decriminalising same-sex acts, while others, such as Ghana, are passing appalling new laws that attack the LGBT+ community simply for being who they are. Can the Minister assure the House that the UK is doing all it can to work with like-minded countries around the world to advance equality and protect the fundamental rights of LGBT+ people?

• 1 Sept 2026 · Direction of Government · Hansard source

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  In my constituency, more than one in five people are employed in logistics and related industries, and they will welcome this Government’s focus on growth in every region. Given the impact that business costs have on consumer prices, what steps will my right hon. Friend take to improve the operating environment for logistics businesses and help ease the cost of living pressures for families? Will he commit to meeting with small family-owned logistics companies in my constituency?

• 16 Jul 2026 · Sir David Amess Summer Adjournment · Hansard source

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  First, may I thank all the House staff, particularly those leaving us this year, and pay tribute to my wonderful team? I could not do this job without them and the work they do for my constituents in North Warwickshire and Bedworth. Sir David was known throughout this House for the pride he took in his constituency. I have always believed that sport has an extraordinary ability to bring people together, never more than when we watch our national team together. As someone who has played tennis throughout my life and become a Wimbledon tennis umpire, I know that sport gives us so much more than benefits to our physical health—although I am beginning to question those physical health benefits after sustaining a broken rib playing for the cross-party parliamentary team! Sport gives us confidence, friendships and the opportunity to meet people outside of our everyday lives. For many people, it just gives us a reason to get out of bed and to get outdoors. That is what I see every time I visit the fantastic grassroots sports clubs in North Warwickshire and Bedworth. They are places where young people build confidence, where volunteers give countless hours to their communities, and where people of all ages and backgrounds come together around a shared passion. Earlier this year, I was delighted to visit Bedworth rugby club and support it in its ambition to install new floodlights. At Atherstone cricket club, I was pleased to attend the Martin Plackett memorial match, which every year raises vital funds for cancer research. I had the chance to join the fantastic ladies team in the nets—and they told me to stick to the tennis! I enjoyed my visit to the bowls club at Water Orton, and I can assure the House that crown green bowls is much harder than it looks. It was a joy to return to the Grove and see the local ladies darts league thriving; Margaret and the other volunteers do a wonderful job. The bowls team there are also a force to be reckoned with, and so many young people are taking up the sport. Coleshill tennis club was a real lifeline for me during covid, and the Adders hockey team, where I played for a few seasons, have so many dedicated volunteers, including Mick and Jill Thomas, and thriving junior, men’s and ladies’ teams. Sport is so much a part of village life in so many of the villages in my constituency, from Fillongley to Newton Regis, from Corley to Austrey and from Warton to Polesworth, with its fantastic annual Office Abbott run, to name just a few. I cannot talk about sport and physical activity without mentioning the two wonderful parkruns in my constituency: the rather hilly Bedworth parkrun in the Miners’ Welfare Park and the picturesque Kingsbury Water parkrun, both of which I have run in and volunteered at. I also cannot talk about sport in my constituency without mentioning the three fantastic non-league football clubs: Atherstone Town community football club, known as the Adders, who nearly clinched promotion this season. I watched the nail-biting match in Coventry, which was wonderful. I also need to mention Bedworth United and Coleshill Town. I have also supported them and watched their matches this season. It was great to welcome young people from Polesworth school and Nicholas Chamberlaine school to Parliament this year to talk about the barriers to them getting involved in sport. I joined the Activity Alliance recently at the junior para swimming championships. I know that I have seen the Paralympians of the future. As we remember Sir David Amess today, I would also like to talk about our late colleague Jo Cox. She reminded us that “we are far more united and have far more in common than that which divides us.” —[ Official Report , 3 June 2015; Vol. 596, c. 675.] It was an honour to join Jo’s sister, my hon. Friend the Member for Spen Valley (Kim Leadbeater), together with her parents Jean and Gordon to run the 10th and last Run for Jo last month. Grassroots sport demonstrates the truth of Jo’s words every single week at the many brilliant sports clubs across North Warwickshire and Bedworth. I thank the House for listening to me, and I thank in particular all those whose volunteer in community sport: they make North Warwickshire and Bedworth and our country a better place.

• 16 Jul 2026 · Local Government Reorganisation · Hansard source

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  I have long advocated for Warwickshire to be served by two unitary councils, so I am absolutely delighted that the Secretary of State has listened. It is the model that is rooted in our place-based, problem-solving approach. It makes the most sense for the way people access local services, and it gives my constituents the best opportunities for transport, growth and jobs. My constituents have not been served well by Warwick, so I look forward to working with my hon. Friends the Members for Nuneaton (Jodie Gosling) and for Rugby (John Slinger) to help make our new council the best it can be for all our residents. Will the Minister outline what support the Department will provide to us and our council through the reorganisation process?

• 16 Jul 2026 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  I joined the Old Meeting church in the centre of Bedworth earlier this summer to celebrate the 300th anniversary of its wonderful building. The church provides a friendly warm space every Friday where everyone can get a great lunch and a good cuppa for a reasonable price, and a repair café every month where people can bring treasured items back to life. Will the Leader of the House join me in thanking Linda and the other volunteers for the wonderful work that they do for our community?

• 16 Jul 2026 · EU Entry-Exit System: Transport Delays · Hansard source

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  Road haulage companies in my constituency have reported huge delays as a result of the introduction of the EU entry-exit system—delays that are costing them time and money. Will the Minister meet me and those in the freight and logistics sector to find solutions?

• 14 Jul 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  T5. The average wait for an endometriosis diagnosis is more than nine years, often because women and girls are not listened to when they experience really painful periods. My constituent Insha waited for over a decade, only to be told that she could face a three-year wait for specialist surgery. What plans do the Government have to reduce diagnosis times, provide better training for GPs and improve access to specialist endometriosis care for all women and girls in North Warwickshire and Bedworth?

• 13 Jul 2026 · Local Government Reorganisation · Hansard source

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  I welcome the Minister’s reassurance that an announcement will be made this week. Two proposals have been put forward for reorganisation in Warwickshire; like my hon. Friend the Member for Burnley (Oliver Ryan), I put on record my support for the two-Warwickshire proposal, because it most accurately reflects how people consider services. Would she say that that the only people who seem to support the one-Warwickshire solution are the Reform administration in Warwickshire, which has failed to improve the situation regarding potholes, buses, SEND or children’s services, and that people in my constituency would therefore really welcome elections taking place in accordance with the schedule?

• 13 Jul 2026 · Immigration and Asylum Bill · Hansard source

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  My constituents in North Warwickshire and Bedworth have been clear that Britain must secure its borders, enforce the rules and remove those with no right to remain here. They also recognise that Britain should continue to uphold our proud tradition of offering sanctuary to people genuinely fleeing war, persecution and violence. Those two principles do not conflict. A system that is firm, fair and fast is the only way to maintain public confidence. My constituents are angry about the fundamental unfairness in the current system at a time when they are having to tighten their belts ever more. Clause 23 tackles that unfairness head-on by giving the Secretary of State the power to require adults who have received asylum accommodation or financial support to make a contribution when they have sufficient means. Those who can afford to contribute should pay their fair share. That principle safeguards taxpayers’ money and creates a stronger incentive to come through safe and legal routes. The new capped routes for genuine refugees being introduced alongside the Bill are so important. Working with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the Government will establish controlled community sponsorship, study and work routes. The numbers will start small, because we have to restore confidence in the system. People arriving through those routes will have proper support in place, so that they can reach safety without dangerous journeys or people smugglers. My constituents are rightly concerned when serious foreign criminals are allowed to remain here by relying on a broad interpretation of article 8 of the European convention on human rights, but the answer is not to leave the ECHR; the answer is to make the law clearer. Clauses 18 to 20 clearly define what constitutes family life and ensure that public safety and the prevention of crime come first. People in North Warwickshire and Bedworth are tired of politicians making promises on immigration without a credible plan to deliver them. They want border security, not slogans, and an asylum system that protects the vulnerable without being open to abuse. I am backing this landmark legislation because it will restore control of Britain’s borders and deliver an asylum system that is fair to the British taxpayer, compassionate to those genuinely seeking safety, and tough on those who seek to exploit our country and its generosity.

• 15 Jun 2026 · Social Media Ban for Under-16s · Hansard source

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  Parents across North Warwickshire and Bedworth responding to my survey told me overwhelmingly that they feel powerless to protect their children from the harms of social media, where they are told that they are not pretty enough, thin enough, cool enough or good enough at their favourite sport—or, worse still, where pictures are shared without their consent or suicide is pushed. Now is the moment that we say enough is enough in order to put children’s health and happiness first. But we know that a ban alone will not be enough. Does the Minister agree that we must ensure that a cliff edge at 16 is avoided and that kids who do get around the rules are protected by compelling big tech to take action to protect everyone, rather than allowing them to profit from doomscrolling, division, hatred and despair?

• 9 Jun 2026 · Road Safety: West Midlands · Hansard source

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  Does the Minister agree that the leader of Warwickshire county council consulting the public on whether children should walk up to 8 miles to and from school was a bad move?