Dr Simon Opher

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Parliament's party history for this member: Labour (4 Jul 2024 – present).

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1. 2 Nov 2026·Parliament·Dr Simon Opher

   Budget Resolutions

   At the close of the third day of debate on the Budget, I will not go into all the detail that I might have gone into. I will concentrate on support for our high streets, and the transfer of power from Westminster and Whitehall. Over the weekend, I had the opportunity to go to our high street and talk to business owners. I talked, for instance, to Tom Berry, who owns probably the coolest record shop in Stroud, Sound Records. His business rates have been reduced from £400 a month to nothing. A great many businesses have had all their business rates removed because of the change to the small business rate relief threshold. A number of pubs now pay no business rates. For properties worth over £18,000, there will be a two-year real-terms rates freeze, providing much-needed stability at a time of great global economic uncertainty. I was delighted that the small producer relief on alcohol duty became more generous. Stroud Brewery and, in particular, my village brewery, Uley Brewery, have benefited. Uley Brewery’s famous pint of Old Spot ale will soon be available in the Strangers’ Bar, so I hope that Members will sample it. I would also like to say a little about pubs and VAT. This was not in the Budget, but we are looking at trying to reduce VAT on hospitality. A blanket cut to 10% would cost £12 billion and benefit organisations such as McDonald’s, but having a targeted approach would really help pubs. On devolution, I strongly welcome this Government’s intention to shift power out of Westminster and Whitehall. We have one of the most centralised countries in the world, with over 95% of tax revenues going to central Government. We in Gloucestershire do not have a devolution deal at the moment, and I ask all parties involved to form a consensus, so that we can benefit from devolution. That is one of the best things that this Budget delivers. The Budget has 98 measures to help with the cost of living. There is also £65 million for a community asset programme, which will help with community buy-outs. A little hidden thing is probably the most important thing in this Budget: prevention is ringfenced. That will be transformative for preventive therapies, particularly in health and elsewhere. I really welcome this Budget. Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker, for including me.

   Hansard source
2. 28 Oct 2026·Parliament·Dr Simon Opher

   Flood Resilience

   The hon. Lady is making an excellent speech. I would like to talk about natural flood management and how it sits naturally with district councils. In my constituency we have had more than 1,200 interventions over 12 years—I think we lead nationally on this. I want in particular to praise Chris Uttley, who works for the district council, and who does an absolutely fantastic job with natural flood management—he has saved hundreds of homes and businesses from a repeat of the terrible 2007 floods. Would the hon. Lady join me in urging the Government to make it as easy as possible for councils to access the £25 million funding that the Government have earmarked for natural flood management so that we can unlock this tremendous potential in local government?

   Hansard source
3. 27 Oct 2026·Parliament·Dr Simon Opher

   West Bank: Illegal Settlements

   Just over a year ago, I and my hon. Friend the Member for Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket (Dr Prinsley) were detained and then deported by Israeli authorities as we tried to enter the west bank. Yesterday, my hon. Friend the Member for Norwich South (Clive Lewis), the hon. Member for Arbroath and Broughty Ferry (Lara Bird), and the former MP Sam Tarry were similarly detained by Israeli authorities for eight hours while they tried to enter the west bank. Will the Secretary of State join me in condemning these cases and outline what steps the Government will take to ensure that MPs can visit the occupied west bank without obstruction or intimidation?

   Hansard source
4. 26 Oct 2026·Parliament·Dr Simon Opher

   Performance of Royal Mail

   My hon. Friend is being so generous with his time. I echo what he said about my hon. Friend the Member for Lichfield (Dave Robertson), who has led this campaign so strongly in Parliament. In Stroud, our Cotswold Vale Talking Newspaper puts news and music on USB sticks and sends them out to blind and print-disabled listeners in Dursley; the chairman says that those now take six weeks to arrive and that many subscriptions are being cancelled. Does my hon. Friend agree that we need to take Royal Mail back into public ownership?

   Hansard source
5. 20 Oct 2026·Parliament·Dr Simon Opher

   House of Lords Reform

   I beg to move, That this House has considered House of Lords reform. It is a pleasure to bring this debate to Parliament as chair of the all-party parliamentary group on House of Lords reform. A few weeks ago, I showed a group of United States doctors around Parliament, which involved sitting in the Public Gallery of the House of Lords, looking at the King Charles throne, the Woolsack and a scattering of some quite elderly peers. One doctor said, “How do these guys get in here?”. When I answered that they were appointed by their mates, they all laughed—surely I was joking. Sadly, I was not joking. Reform of the House of Lords has been on the cards for centuries. The House was actually abolished in 1649, but was reinstated a few years later, and it has been the subject of intense debate ever since. The idea of unelected peers having inherited access to Parliament alongside crony appointees controlling the laws that Parliament produces is clearly ridiculous. It is no wonder that the crisis of confidence in our political system is at an all-time high. This Government have actually taken quite big strides—probably more than others—on the long overdue removal of hereditary peers. I also welcome proposals to impose a retirement age and a minimum participation requirement, but we cannot afford to push this constitutional necessity further down the road. I will take this opportunity to set out the case for reform of the House of Lords and how we can go about implementing it. The function of our second Chamber is to scrutinise and amend legislation passed by the elected Commons. There are many exceptional Lords who do a really good job at that, but their contribution is undermined by their complete lack of legitimacy. It is simply not right that our Parliament has more unelected lawmakers than lawmakers with a mandate from the people. During the Makerfield by-election, the Prime Minister called it “scandalous” and expressed support for an early change to the Lords. One of the things that has most surprised me is learning that the House of Lords remains a self-governing institution. In the last session, we saw a handful of unelected peers, many of whom were rejected by the voters at the last election, abuse that fact to stall the progression of legislation passed by the elected Commons. The other place is also deeply unrepresentative of our country. Over 55% of peers live in London and the south-east. I know that our Prime Minister is very concerned with that, and that he has called for a senate of nations and regions to replace the Lords, so that every corner of our country is properly represented in both of our Chambers. The public also want change. Only 16% support the current status quo; 70% have little or no confidence in the institution, and a majority want an entirely elected upper Chamber. The voters gave a very clear mandate for a Labour manifesto that included a commitment to replacing the House of Lords with an alternative second Chamber, more representative of the regions and nations.<span id="361WH" class="column-number" data-column-number="361WH"></span> What could a second Chamber look like? That is a complex issue; we should convene a commission of citizens and experts to decide on its role and make-up. It should still absolutely be possible to retain the expertise that we have there, and that is exactly what our manifesto has committed us to.

   Hansard source
6. 20 Oct 2026·Parliament·Dr Simon Opher

   House of Lords Reform

   I would say that we need experts to look at how our democracy works and to devise a better way of doing it.

   Hansard source
7. 20 Oct 2026·Parliament·Dr Simon Opher

   House of Lords Reform

   I have been working with Baroness Smith on her Bill. We need to get the great minds of this country to devise a good political system, one that reflects our country and gives us our best government. I suggest that we need a commission to look into the matter. That commission could take many experts. How it is actually constituted remains something we can debate. The Government have announced a commission on electoral reform; maybe that could be extended to examine the composition of the second Chamber, because that would be a holistic approach to the system. I see some hon. Members shaking their heads. I will briefly touch on an issue that many hon. Members care about: the lack of transparency in the other place. According to research by Transparency International UK, 128 peers hold paid political advisory roles that risk breaching parliamentary rules. We must strengthen the House of Lords code of conduct to put beyond doubt that legislators who serve in the House of Lords should not be lobbyists. Since 2013, almost a quarter of all nominations from political parties have been political donors—that is the ultimate cronyism. I know many hon. Members wish to speak, so in conclusion I ask the Minister to meet with the APPG on House of Lords reform to discuss how the Government intend to fulfil their manifesto commitment to consult the public on an alternative second Chamber. Will the Minister consider expanding the remit of the commission on electoral reform to cover the role and composition of the other place? It is time—to quote someone who I do not normally agree with— to “take back control.”

   Hansard source
8. 20 Oct 2026·Parliament·Dr Simon Opher

   House of Lords Reform

   Will the hon. Member give way?

   Hansard source
9. 20 Oct 2026·Parliament·Dr Simon Opher

   House of Lords Reform

   I thought that, in Reform’s manifesto, it was going to abolish the House of Lords and replace it with a much smaller, more democratic second Chamber.

   Hansard source
10. 20 Oct 2026·Parliament·Dr Simon Opher

    Young People’s Health

    <Question HRSContentId="{CC7AA7FC-E801-4D31-9B22-CC0F0E25B421}">5. <QuestionText HRSContentId="{1FD42087-4075-419A-8F90-DCA4F58E2565}">What steps she is taking to help improve the health of young people. </QuestionText></Question>

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