Mr Luke Charters

Party affiliation

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

Register of interests

Register on Parliament's site

Latest on this tracker 217

1. 28 Oct 2026·Parliament·Mr Luke Charters

   Engagements

   <Question HRSContentId="{0C800EF7-CED9-4F74-A79F-2A1E9D005FF5}">Q1. <QuestionText HRSContentId="{6FE92474-4194-4C94-A188-92F320F7A2F5}">If he will list his official engagements for Wednesday 28 October.</QuestionText></Question>

   Hansard source
2. 28 Oct 2026·Parliament·Mr Luke Charters

   Engagements

   Last week I saw sewage pouring into the river Ouse, all while doing a BBC interview on pollution! I have worked out that during the average length of a Budget statement, the equivalent of four Olympic swimming pools’ worth of water will have leaked across the network. If only Yorkshire Water guarded its assets as closely as the Yorkshire Chancellor guards the HP sauce in his Red Box. Does the Prime Minister agree that it is time for stronger public control of our region’s water?

   Hansard source
3. 12 Oct 2026·Parliament·Mr Luke Charters

   Rejoining the EU

   It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Sir Edward. I thank the nearly 200 of my constituents who put their signatures to the petition. I will start on familiar territory. This year, I took two of my boys to Spain. On the trip, my eldest, who turns four this week—he is an inquisitive fella—looked at the border queues and asked me bluntly, “Daddy, why aren’t we in that empty one?” My youngest, who is one, and clearly not ready for a debate about sovereignty, took a rather different approach, instead choosing to run underneath the barriers altogether. That story is just a reminder that all the children of Britain know is a Britain standing apart from its closest neighbours. Let’s unpack that. A fortnight ago in Liverpool, I heard the Prime Minister make a clarion call about something that many of us have felt for years: our present relationship with the European Union is not good enough. He did not stop at diagnosis; he actually had the courage to say that he would set out options for Britain’s long-term relationship with our nearest partners. He carried that message to Berlin last week—schöne Arbeit indeed. Clear-eyed pragmatism about our relationship with Europe is what my constituents in York Outer expect. As the Prime Minister outlined today, we have a great opportunity on 20 November to take steps forward on agrifood, energy and immigration, and to build a new long-term strategic direction that is not based on just slogans and soundbites. My own family see it the way that millions do, and many of them voted to leave. If I ask them about Brexit today, I do not get a lecture about the referendum a decade ago; I get a shrug and a <span id="22WH" class="column-number" data-column-number="22WH"></span>modest dose of “Bregret”. That is because in West Yorkshire, North Yorkshire or wherever, they are paying the price in their weekly shop or standing in endless passport queues. By working with our European partners on an agrifood deal, as the Prime Minister set out today, it does not have to be this way. By reducing red tape in the food sector, we can lower the cost of the weekly shop for millions of working-class families. By co-operating on immigration and working on other issues of mutual interest, such as immigration and energy, we can get control back. The Prime Minister, however, said that the British public are the boss, and that is why this conversation must not be held just in Westminster Hall. In a fortnight, I will be holding a town hall for my constituents about the relationship they want Britain to have with Europe. York has always been outward looking. In fact, it voted nearly 60:40 to remain—the strongest remain vote in Yorkshire and the Humber. I believe that the proportion is far higher for those who now want a stronger relationship. I always end up coming back to the fact that I am the youngest parent in Parliament. Rebuilding this relationship means restoring opportunity for young people like my children. A young person from York should find it no harder to study or work in Barcelona, Amsterdam or Copenhagen than they do in Sydney or Toronto.

   Hansard source
4. 12 Oct 2026·Parliament·Mr Luke Charters

   Rejoining the EU

   I absolutely do. My right hon. Friend is a great advocate for universities in her constituency, as is my hon. Friend the Member for York Central (Rachael Maskell), my constituency neighbour. I think about the first day that my boys will go on the Eurostar on their own to go adventuring or even to study. As they set off, I will tell them how proud I am of them for the fact that, with every friendship they make along the journey, they are helping to make our continent more peaceful and more prosperous in the process. I welcome the Prime Minister’s boldness in daring to get things done. We should be honest: Brexit has not worked. As a nation, we have a collective case of “Bregret”. It is time to get on with the job and build on the Prime Minister’s bold honesty about our future relationship with Europe.

   Hansard source
5. 12 Oct 2026·Parliament·Mr Luke Charters

   Baby Loss Awareness Week

   The hon. Lady’s comments remind me of our family’s experience. We had a traumatic first birth, and the second birth was an elective C-section. That was the only game in town; that is for sure. We said to the registrar—I will never forget it—“Do you tell women about the clinical risks of a vaginal birth—the same clinical risks that you have talked to us about for half an hour? Do you give women and families that data, so that they can make an informed choice?”. The registrar said, “No one’s asked me that in my entire career.” That is the precise point that the hon. Lady is making, and I thank her for making it.

   Hansard source
6. 12 Oct 2026·Parliament·Mr Luke Charters

   Baby Loss Awareness Week

   I am grateful for the opportunity to contribute to the debate. I am reminded of the words of Jo Cox that we have more in common. In sharing experiences tonight, I hope that the public and my constituents will see that there is more in common between us in this House. We all recognise that baby loss brings an unimaginable grief. No family should have to face that loss in isolation. This is the 24th Baby Loss Awareness Week, and I pay tribute to Tommy’s, Sands and the many charities, NHS staff and volunteers in York who are supporting families through their darkest moments. Through their compassion, they help to ensure that bereaved families know that they are never alone. For too many families, baby loss could have been preventable. Too often, families have said that they were not listened to when they raised concerns. Although my own family’s experience is different from that of families who experienced a loss, this debate is personal. When my wife and I welcomed our first child, we experienced a traumatic birth. We are fortunate, blessed and lucky, but it was traumatic none the less. It left a profound mark on our family, particularly on my own mental health from witnessing it all. I pay tribute to the Sky journalist Sarah-Jane Mee who, with her empathy, gave me the confidence to share my story. The findings of Baroness Amos’s independent review into maternity and neonatal services are important, but in the short time I have, I would say that they are insufficient in terms of non-birthing partners. I warmly welcome the new Health Secretary to her place, and I am appreciative of her predecessors who met me and showed me empathy in sharing my experiences. I know that many other Members feel the same and share her view that there is a national crisis around the standards of maternity care. I will touch on what my hon. Friend the Member for Sherwood Forest (Michelle Welsh) said. Given the time limit, I will focus on just one of her remarks, which was around the GMC, professionals and holding people to account. As one of those families affected, too few professionals seem to have been struck off or held to account. That is echoed through some of the work in the Ockenden review and the other investigations at Nottingham. I am now working with her in her review of maternity services at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS trust, where ours was one of the families involved. I will just say on record that Donna has been respectful, kind and empathetic, and I thank her for that. At the heart of every recommendation must be one simple principle: that families must be listened to, that no non-birthing partner should feel helpless as their warnings go unheard, and that no bereaved family should be left wondering whether a different response could have changed the outcome for their baby. I pay tribute to Hayley Patrick-Copeland and the two daughters that she lost: Alya and Aleah. She is a powerhouse of a northern mum, and her knit and natter groups, which I have visited in my constituency, have been <span id="123" class="column-number" data-column-number="123"></span>knitting hats and gowns for stillborn children. She texted me to say that awareness was important so that people feel less alone and can more openly share their wonderful babies’ stories. She has channelled her grief into helping others, creating ribbon displays across York that offer remembrance, comfort and solidarity to families affected by baby loss. I pay tribute to Hayley, and to the local organisations supporting her. I thank Huntington working men’s club and the Joseph Rowntree Housing Trust, and I say, “Hayley, you are amazing—you really are.” I will end my speech now, because I want to let other Members in, but I will first speak with some candour. The test of every review, recommendation and action plan is whether families’ experiences actually improve, not only in the immediate aftermath of loss but in the months and years that follow. I was immensely grateful to the team at York hospital who were there for us during the second birth. On Thursday evening, the global “Wave of Light” will bring people together to remember those who have been lost too soon. However, I must say that the overwhelming message I receive from families in York is that sympathy is never enough, and I hope that tonight’s debate is a clamouring call for action. We owe those families the action that they deserve, and we owe it to the babies we remember this week to learn every possible lesson from their loss.

   Hansard source
7. 14 Sep 2026·Parliament·Mr Luke Charters

   Student Loans

   May I, too, pass on my condolences to the Prime Minister and his family? I declare that I am a plan 2 borrower, and I know from first-hand experience how unclear the loans were at the time. Will my right hon. Friend say a little more about how the Government are clearing up the guidance given to borrowers? How does she wish to overhaul the Student Loans Company?

   Hansard source
8. 10 Sep 2026·Parliament·Mr Luke Charters

   Fathers and Positive Male Role Models

   It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mrs Hobhouse. I am chuffed that we are having this debate, as, reportedly, I am the youngest parent in Parliament. I was the first dad to take extended parental leave as an MP by appointing an MP representative, but we want a similar opportunity for all dads across the country. Post-war Britain was built by working-class families, who frankly deserved more time with their kids. The fact is, they never really got it, and that continued into the ’60s and ’70s—my dad’s generation. My dad came from a council house to become a joiner, but it was his dad who went down the pit, and it was my mum’s dad who worked on the floor of a bacon factory—one powered the nation, one fed it, and my dad helped to build it. I will never shy away from telling their stories, because I am proud of them. For their generation, work came first, because they felt it had to. The role of a dad in society has shifted and continues to evolve. Fathers rightly taught important lessons about graft, grit and hard work, but the role is changing, and now, as society shifts, the greatest contribution a man can make to society is by being a present father. The biggest barrier to that is the fact that Britain’s paternity leave remains among the weakest in western Europe, and I am proud that this Labour Government are committed to ending that injustice. We have been lagging behind, because Sweden began normalising hands-on fatherhood in the ’70s. The image was simple: the latte papas—a dad with a toddler, a pram and a coffee, spending time with his children alongside his friends. Norway went further in 1993, introducing four paid weeks reserved for fathers with full-wage compensation. Yes, it was a Labour Government who introduced statutory sick pay in the noughties, but the fact of the matter is, right here, right now, in Britain, we are 40 years behind Norway and Demark. Research from the University of Copenhagen links longer parental leave with better wellbeing, better emotional stability and behaviour later in life. Swap Stockholm’s pastries for Yorkshire puddings, swap Copenhagen’s Lego and follow the shared Viking heritage, and we can see that York is leading on advocacy for greater parental rights today. The Joseph Rowntree Foundation, which is headquartered in my constituency, has published research that shows that six weeks of statutory paternity leave at 90% of earnings could deliver a net economic gain of £2.7 billion a year to the UK economy. Whether it is the University of York’s equal parenting project, or my constituent Joeli Brearley, founder of Pregnant Then Screwed, York is putting parental rights firmly on the national agenda. I try to balance my job with being a present father, including bringing my boys here to Parliament. That might mean explosive nappies before votes, running around in the family room, or even sneaking them into the Tea Room for jelly and toast. My boys have become two little mascots who have joined me every step of the way in my campaign for better paternity leave for dads. I remember being at the Movember head office, where <span id="440WH" class="column-number" data-column-number="440WH"></span>I was talking to the legendary Dad Shift and Mother Pukka. I will never forget the kindness of Amy O’Connor at Movember, who made Robin, my son, some slices of toast. Putting my kids first does not make me a worse MP; it makes me a better, more grounded one. When my boys are here with me in Parliament, we make happy memories together as a family, but when they are not here, we miss each other. This week, we all cried at the end of a FaceTime call. Even at three, Robin understands that when his daddy is away, he is out there maybe fighting for other families. I really believe that a world powered by a parent’s love of their children is just a world that is better for all of us.

   Hansard source
9. 10 Sep 2026·Parliament·Mr Luke Charters

   Fathers and Positive Male Role Models

   I welcome the Minister back to his post. Will he commit to working with the new class unit set up by the Minister for Women and Equalities as part of her work?

   Hansard source
10. 8 Sep 2026·Parliament·Mr Luke Charters

    World Suicide Prevention Day

    I thank my hon. Friend for all her work on this issue. I struggled with my own mental health after the traumatic birth of my son, as I think she knows. It was friends and family, including my hon. Friend the Member for Scarborough and Whitby (Alison Hume), who helped me, but in York we also have fantastic local groups like Menfulness, founded by Dr Jack Woodhams. Will she praise them and thank them for getting men to talk, whether through sport, football or walking?

    Hansard source

2024 General Election: York Outer

Election result on Parliament's site

Parliamentary career

Career on Parliament's site

Published contact details

Only the details Parliament publishes for this member. Contact page on Parliament's site