Rachel Hopkins

Rachel Louise Hopkins (born 30 March 1972)[1] is a British Labour Party politician who has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Luton South since the 2019 general election.[2] She has been on Luton Borough Council since 2011, and served as the cabinet's executive member for public health.[3][4]

For the cricketer, see Rachel Hopkins (cricketer).
Rachel Hopkins
MP
Official portrait, 2019
Shadow Minister for the Cabinet Office
Assumed office
4 December 2021
LeaderKeir Starmer
Preceded byPosition established
Member of Parliament
for Luton South
Assumed office
12 December 2019
Preceded byGavin Shuker
Majority8,756 (20.8%)
Personal details
Born
Rachel Louise Hopkins

(1972-03-30) 30 March 1972
Luton, England
Political partyLabour
Other political
affiliations		Socialist Campaign Group (2019–present)
Parent(s)
RelativesHarold Hopkins
(grandfather)
WebsiteOfficial website

Early life and education

Hopkins was born in Luton and Dunstable University Hospital and raised in the area of Biscot. She attended Denbigh High School and then Luton Sixth Form College before going on to study at the University of Leicester. Her first full-time job was at TSB Bank. She later studied part-time for a master's degree from the University of Bedfordshire.[5]

Hopkins' father, Kelvin, was also a Labour Member of Parliament for the Luton North constituency between 1997 and 2019. Her grandfather, Harold, was a physicist.

Career

Hopkins previously worked at the Electoral Commission and the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority.[6] She has been a governor for Luton Sixth Form College since 2014.[5]

Hopkins has been on Luton Borough Council since 2011 and served as the cabinet's executive member for public health.[3] On Friday 1 November 2019, she was selected as the Labour candidate for the Luton South constituency. She was selected by a panel of four, rather than by the local membership.[7][3]

Hopkins is considered to be on the left of the Labour party,[3] as her father was.[8] She is also known to have voted for Brexit, like her father, making her one of the few known Labour MPs (alongside Graham Stringer and John Cryer) to have voted for it.[9]

She won the 2019 United Kingdom general election for Luton South with 51.8% of the vote.[2] She is a member of Labour's left-wing Socialist Campaign Group.

On 15 October 2020, Hopkins resigned as PPS to Marsha de Cordova to vote against the proposed Covert Human Intelligence Sources (Criminal Conduct) Bill, disagreeing with the Labour whip to abstain.[10]

Personal life

She currently lives in High Town with her partner, Iain.[5]

References
  1. Brunskill, Ian (19 March 2020). The Times guide to the House of Commons 2019 : the definitive record of Britain's historic 2019 General Election. p. 265. ISBN 978-0-00-839258-1. OCLC 1129682574.
  2. "Luton South Parliamentary constituency". BBC. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  3. Chappell, Elliott (2 November 2019). "Local councillor Rachel Hopkins selected in Luton South". Labour List. Retrieved 21 December 2019.
  4. "CMIS > Councillors". democracy.luton.gov.uk. Retrieved 23 December 2019.
  5. "Rachel Hopkins for Luton South". Labour Luton. Retrieved 21 December 2019.
  6. "Class of 2019: Meet the new MPs". Politics Home. 16 December 2019. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
  7. "Rachel Hopkins selected by Labour to fight for Luton South in general election". www.lutontoday.co.uk. Retrieved 23 December 2019.
  8. "Kelvin Hopkins: Electoral history and profile". The Guardian. 2 October 2013. Archived from the original on 2 October 2013. Retrieved 23 December 2019.
  9. Chappell, Elliot (2 November 2019). "Local councillor Rachel Hopkins selected in Luton South". LabourList.
  10. Rodgers, Sienna (15 October 2020). "34 Labour MPs break whip to oppose 'spycops' bill as seven frontbenchers quit". LabourList.
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