Speeches by Rayner.

“There are two questions in there. First, I think the Bill is going a very long way. You will have seen, from the work that Michael did in the previous Government and some of the interactions we have had since we have been in this Session, the balancing act between getting these reforms put in and ending over 1,000 year…”

“There are a number of things that we could have put in the Bill; there have been consultations on that, and the Bill is already long. It is a balancing act between getting the Bill through and the other parts—like I say, in the 2024 Act—that can go some way towards that. There is a balance in terms of how much is in th…”

“No. I think it is absolute rubbish. Michael set it out quite clearly. His Government were clear on this and had to take action. It’s like whack-a-mole. They all blame one another: “It’s not our fault; it’s the other person’s fault,” “It’s the people who built the building,” “No, it’s the freeholders that own the buildi…”

“Like I say, I think there are fixes in the 2024 Act that will help with service charges. There is a challenge in respect of how that affects enfranchisement, so it is not quite as easy as one would hope, and that needs to be pushed forward. Lord Best’s proposals on the regulation around management agents need to be tak…”

“I agree with Michael that we should have the shortest period, but it is not an ideal world and we know the situation we are going to end up in. My message to the Treasury is that the High Court rightly dismissed the freeholders’ attempts to challenge parts of Michael’s Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act, so although we …”

“I think there is a lot we can do to support that. There are organisations out there already and, quite frankly, as Liam said—I think his description was of the dinosaurs looking at the asteroid—I would like to see the regulation of management agents and a new culture around commonhold and how we can support that. I get…”

“I am Angela Rayner, the MP for Ashton-under-Lyne. I changed the Department’s name to MHCLG as Secretary of State following Michael. I have been a Member of Parliament since 2015. It was one of my proposals that brought this legislation forward.”

“If I had had a huge amount of time for the legislation, as Michael said—but when I was Secretary of State the proposed legislation was some of the meatiest and the largest to be brought forward. I do not apologise for that. The Renters’ Rights Act was incredibly important legislation. Of course it would be great to put…”

“Yes. Like I say, Lord Best’s proposals on the regulation of management agents are absolutely right. I give credit to Lord Gove for the work done in the wash-up to get the Act over the line in 2024. There are glitches in that legislation—the Housing Minister has accepted that—and we are in a highly litigable arena. We n…”

“I appreciate what Michael is saying. The previous Government said they were going to do that, and we have gone much further. There are challenges, to be fair, and if we had a magic wand—but we’re not Secretaries of States in that challenge. What we do not want is to end up with a high probability of litigation. Of cour…”

“Yes, if they stick to it—and they need to, because millions of people are affected by this and it is what we said on the tin. As I said at the beginning, we are changing 1,000 years of history here. We are ending our current feudal system. We can start to do that with the measures in the Bill. We can be ambitious and w…”

“I alluded to the amount of legislation, as did Lord Gove. One of the reasons why, as Secretary of State, I pushed hard with my colleagues to take up more than my fair share of the timetable in Parliament was that I felt we needed the lag time to put the legislation in place so that it could have the desired effect befo…”

“Given the public disgust, the sickening behaviour of Peter Mandelson, and the importance of transparency, in 2022 I proposed a Humble Address, seeking information about personal protective equipment, which the Conservative party resisted—my hon. Friend the Member for Hackney South and Shoreditch (Dame Meg Hillier) ment…”

“I thank my hon. Friend for this extremely welcome statement. I know how much work he has put into this. We know, however, that vested interests have repeatedly resorted to lawfare to block such measures, and may do so again; we have already seen the scaremongering begin, with outrageous claims that these changes will i…”

“What message does it send to the British public when 33 hereditary peers defeat the Government by 24 votes on a manifesto promise? Some of the wealthiest are blocking measures on sick pay for some of the lowest earners, which will miss the April deadline. Should we not get on—go through the night if we have to—and get …”

“rose—”

“I thank the shadow Minister for giving way again; he is being generous with his time. Why does he not have a problem with people being often in insecure, low-paid work without any contract that gives them regular hours? Does he realise how difficult that makes it for young people—any person—to have any security in thei…”

“I know where this came from—the new deal for working people—and so do businesses and the trade unions. As the Minister pointed out, there have been discussions, and they came to that conclusion. What is it about protecting people from unfair dismissal that the shadow Minister has a problem with?”

“To the shadow Secretary of State’s point, of course I declare an interest as a trade union member. Like millions of people who have been wanting this Bill for many years—as my hon. Friend the Member for Altrincham and Sale West (Mr Rand) said, the Conservatives failed to deliver following promise after promise—I am rea…”

“I refer hon. Members to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests. I am proud to declare an interest as a lifelong trade unionist in the labour movement, which has helped me to get where I am today. Let me start by placing on record my thanks to my right hon. Friend the Member for Stalybridge and Hyde (J…”