Martin Rhodes.

Rhodes made headlines in June 2025 by voting against his party on the assisted dying bill — one of the most significant conscience votes of this parliament. He voted against Third Reading, rejecting the bill's final passage through the Commons, and split from the Labour majority on several specific amendments, including opposing a provision that would have excluded voluntary starvation from the terminal illness definition. Taken together, his votes indicate a sceptical position on the legislation rather than a marginal one. More recently he raised the Union Street fire in Glasgow at PMQs, pushing the Prime Minister on UK government funding for repairs — a question that appears to have contributed to Whitehall signalling it would explore options.

At 85% voting participation and 98.3% party alignment, Rhodes is an engaged and broadly loyal backbencher. He votes consistently with Labour on workers' rights, progressive taxation, and housing development, and backed railway nationalisation at Third Reading. His stance profile shows some friction on crime and parliamentary scrutiny, where his votes sit well below the Labour average. His 135 contributions across 80 debates skew heavily toward economy and jobs, social care, culture and community, and local government — a mix that reflects constituency-facing priorities alongside broader policy interests. He sits on the Environmental Audit Committee, though his voting record on climate action (53% aligned with a pro-climate stance) is less consistent than that committee role might suggest.

The high-impact news stories attached to this constituency relate to his predecessor, Patrick Grady, whose sexual misconduct case dominated coverage through 2022 and resurfaced in 2025 — they are not about Rhodes. Recent coverage of Rhodes himself is modest but broadly positive, centred on community engagement and constituency advocacy. His deviations from Labour averages are most notable on end-of-life autonomy (+22 percentage points above his party) and child welfare (+16 points), offering some signal about where his instincts diverge from the parliamentary mainstream.