Rother Valley / data
Jake Richards · Labour Party · sitting since 04 Jul 2024 · every division, speech and committee appearance.
Since election
659days
from 04 Jul 2024
Divisions
382
of 504 possible
Attendance
76%
122 absent / paired
Whip alignment
100%
vs party majority
Speeches
206
50 debates
Written Qs
20
20 answered
Committees
0
memberships
Expenses
£187k paid
FY 2024–2025 · 148 claims
Interests
4
4 categories
A · Overview
Issue volume
Top issues by total divisions voted — engagement only, not direction.
| Issue | Volume | Votes |
|---|---|---|
| Taxation | 79 | |
| Economy | 65 | |
| Employment | 45 | |
| Crime & Policing | 41 | |
| Education | 37 | |
| Welfare and Benefits | 25 | |
| Housing | 24 | |
| Constitution and Democracy | 24 |
Speech topics
Words spoken, by topic. Source: Hansard.
| Topic | Debates | Words |
|---|---|---|
| Crime | 37 | 32,455 |
| Fiscal Policy | 4 | 8,768 |
| Economy Jobs | 9 | 6,659 |
| Social Care | 12 | 6,573 |
| Culture Community | 4 | 2,812 |
| Labour Market | 6 | 2,328 |
| Immigration | 6 | 2,094 |
| Technology | 1 | 994 |
B · Notable divisions
Free votes, rebellions and high-salience whipped votes — the moments that distinguish this MP from the party machine. The full division-by-division record will follow once the per-MP archive is wired.
No notable votes recorded for this MP yet.
C · Speeches
| Date | Contribution | Words |
|---|---|---|
| 26 Mar 2026 | Prison Officers: Mandatory Body ArmourI absolutely accept the principle that prison officers should be safe at work and be given the tools to be so. Every prison of each different category has a different context, cult… CrimeLabour Market | 46 |
| 26 Mar 2026 | Prison Officers: Mandatory Body ArmourIt is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Betts. I am grateful to the right hon. Member for New Forest East (Sir Julian Lewis) for securing today’s debate on this very … CrimeLabour Market | 314 |
| 26 Mar 2026 | Prison Officers: Mandatory Body ArmourForgive me; I misunderstood the original question. I am very happy to look into what data is published and what is not, and to make sure that appropriate data—where it is safe, sec… CrimeLabour Market | 334 |
| 26 Mar 2026 | Prison Officers: Mandatory Body ArmourI reassure the right hon. Member that details on violence in both the adult and the youth estate are seen by Ministers, and the Lord Chancellor and Deputy Prime Minister, on a regu… CrimeLabour Market | 100 |
| 26 Mar 2026 | Prison Officers: Mandatory Body ArmourI accept the principle that too often there are attacks in all sorts of prisons, but of course there are more acute settings where that risk is greater. I accept that we have to ta… CrimeLabour Market | 427 |
| 23 Mar 2026 | Court and Tribunal TranscriptsAs I say, and as the hon. Member will appreciate, the interplay between the ULS scheme and the provision of transcripts of sentencing remarks is at the heart of our consideration d… Crime | 850 |
| 23 Mar 2026 | Court and Tribunal TranscriptsThe right hon. Member says that we cannot let perfection be the enemy of the good, but he no doubt understands that it is paramount that court transcripts are perfect. I will come … Crime | 472 |
| 23 Mar 2026 | Court and Tribunal TranscriptsIt is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Pritchard. I welcome today’s debate. There is general cross-party consensus about the need to ensure more open justice and to … Crime | 1,099 |
| 17 Mar 2026 | Right to ProtestNo, I do not agree with my hon. Friend on that point. The Home Secretary has been very clear that that judgment will be appealed in the courts. We have been absolutely clear as a G… CrimeCulture CommunityImmigration | 69 |
| 17 Mar 2026 | Knife Crime: Support for ChildrenThis Labour Government are committed to halving knife violence. We have introduced reforms to ensure that every child caught with a knife receives a mandatory plan to prevent reoff… CrimeEducationHealth | 54 |
| 17 Mar 2026 | Right to ProtestThe hon. Member raises an important point, as I know he has repeatedly in the past, and I will raise the issue with the Home Office. I put on record that the incidents of antisemit… CrimeCulture CommunityImmigration | 55 |
| 17 Mar 2026 | Topical QuestionsThe practicalities of that case are for colleagues in the Department of Health and Social Care, but the hon. Gentleman is absolutely right to say that human rights in a health sett… CrimeImmigrationHousing | 59 |
| 17 Mar 2026 | Topical QuestionsMy hon. Friend raises the important issue of knife crime, as did my hon. Friend the Member for Erewash (Adam Thompson). Every incident of knife crime is taken seriously and has a d… CrimeImmigrationHousing | 131 |
| 17 Mar 2026 | Right to ProtestAs I have said, this is a matter for the Home Secretary. She has made it abundantly clear that, although there is a right to protest in this country—an important right that should … CrimeCulture CommunityImmigration | 55 |
| 17 Mar 2026 | Topical QuestionsLord Timpson and I are looking at this issue in the round. We are ensuring that where prisons have education contracts, they are being given full effect, which often is not the cas… CrimeImmigrationHousing | 51 |
D · Written questions
Top departments
| Department | Questions | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Treasury | 6 | 30.0% |
| Home Office | 4 | 20.0% |
| Department for Education | 3 | 15.0% |
| Department of Health and Social Care | 2 | 10.0% |
| Department for Transport | 1 | 5.0% |
| Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office | 1 | 5.0% |
| Department for Science, Innovation and Technology | 1 | 5.0% |
| Ministry of Justice | 1 | 5.0% |
Most recent
| Date | Department | Question | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 17 Jul 2025 | Department of Health and Social Care | To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress he has made on implementing 24/7 mental health text lines. | Answered |
| 17 Jul 2025 | Home Office | To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people have been granted entry clearance to the UK under the (a) Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy, (b) Afghan citizens resettlement scheme and (c) Afghanistan Response… | Answered |
| 03 Jul 2025 | Department of Health and Social Care | To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of extending the Armed Forces Covenant Duty across his Departmental responsibilities. | Answered |
| 03 Jul 2025 | Home Office | To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of extending the Armed Forces Covenant Duty across her Departmental responsibilities. | Answered |
| 03 Apr 2025 | Home Office | To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people (a) claim asylum and (b) receive leave to remain based solely on Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights. | Answered |
| 21 Feb 2025 | Department for Education | To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children under the care of English local authorities were living in (a) Wales and (b) Scotland on (i) 31 March 2024 and (ii) for each of the preceding four years. | Answered |
| 21 Feb 2025 | Department for Education | To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children in care in England were living more than (a) 50 and b) 100 miles from home on (i) 31 March 2024 and (ii) for each of the preceding four years. | Answered |
| 06 Feb 2025 | Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs | To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many consultations his Department (a) initiated and (b) completed in the last Parliament between (i) 13 February 2020 and 6 September 2022, (ii) 6 September 2022 and… | Answered |
| 23 Jan 2025 | Treasury | To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the cost to the public purse would be to not claim back child benefit from parents who have lost a child in the year after the upfront payment. | Answered |
| 23 Jan 2025 | Treasury | To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what her Department's policy is on claiming back child benefit from parents who have lost a child in the year after the upfront payment. | Answered |
| 20 Jan 2025 | Treasury | To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an estimate of the cost to her Department of not claiming back child benefit from parents who have lost a child in the year since the original payment. | Answered |
| 20 Jan 2025 | Treasury | To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what her Department's policy is on claiming back child benefit from parents who have lost a child in the year since the payment was made. | Answered |
| 20 Jan 2025 | Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office | To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to (a) support and (b) help secure the early release of Marcus Fakana. | Answered |
| 27 Nov 2024 | Treasury | To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps she is taking to increase economic productivity. | Answered |
| 19 Nov 2024 | Treasury | To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how the money raised from the Immigration Skills Charge has been spent over the last five years. | Answered |
E · Committees
No committee memberships recorded for this MP.
F · Expenses
Every business-cost claim reimbursed by IPSA in the current financial year, grouped by category. “Aggregated” rows are IPSA’s own year-end totals for cost types like payroll and rent that aren’t itemised claim-by-claim.
Category breakdown
| Category | Claims | Paid (£) | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Office Costs | 111 | 29,299 | 15.6% |
| Accommodation | 23 | 11,163 | 6.0% |
| Staffing | 1 | 139,102 | 74.2% |
| MP Travel | 0 | 5,694 | 3.0% |
| Staff Travel | 0 | 1,209 | 0.6% |
| Dependant Travel | 0 | 915 | 0.5% |
Top itemised cost types
| Cost type | Category | Claims | Paid (£) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rent | Accommodation | 8 | 8,174 |
| Rent | Office Costs | 10 | 7,800 |
| Equipment - purchase | Office Costs | 7 | 7,070 |
| Stationery & printing | Office Costs | 51 | 6,927 |
| Pooled staffing services | Staffing | 1 | 3,000 |
| Software & applications | Office Costs | 2 | 2,040 |
| Maintenance, Redecorations & Repairs | Office Costs | 5 | 1,950 |
| Postage & couriers | Office Costs | 8 | 1,678 |
| Council tax | Accommodation | 2 | 1,521 |
| Utilities | Accommodation | 10 | 1,344 |
| Utilities | Office Costs | 5 | 559 |
| Venue hire, meetings & surgeries | Office Costs | 7 | 427 |
Most recent
| Date | Category | Description | Paid (£) | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 Apr 2025 | Office Costs Rent | Rent | 1,200 | Paid |
| 31 Mar 2025 | Office Costs Cleaning services | Cleaning products for constituency office [200011781-100] | 24 | Paid |
| 31 Mar 2025 | Accommodation Rent | 2024-25 [***] rent pro-rata | -526 | Paid |
| 31 Mar 2025 | Office Costs Rent | 2024-25 [***] rent pro-rata | -1,200 | Paid |
| 21 Mar 2025 | Office Costs Venue hire, meetings & surgeries | [200011782-254] | 105 | Paid |
| 20 Mar 2025 | Office Costs Equipment - purchase | Printer, photocopier & scanner | 4,404 | Paid |
| 20 Mar 2025 | Office Costs Equipment - purchase | Printer, photocopier & scanner | 948 | Paid |
| 20 Mar 2025 | Office Costs Stationery & printing | Banner March 2025 | 229 | Paid |
| 20 Mar 2025 | Office Costs Stationery & printing | Banner March 2025 | 229 | Paid |
| 20 Mar 2025 | Office Costs Stationery & printing | Banner March 2025 | 229 | Paid |
| 20 Mar 2025 | Office Costs Stationery & printing | Banner March 2025 | 186 | Paid |
| 20 Mar 2025 | Office Costs Stationery & printing | FREELANCE OFFSET SERVI [200011725-6896] | 159 | Paid |
| 20 Mar 2025 | Office Costs Stationery & printing | Banner March 2025 | 121 | Paid |
| 20 Mar 2025 | Office Costs Stationery & printing | Banner March 2025 | 102 | Paid |
| 18 Mar 2025 | Accommodation Rent | Rent | 975 | Paid |
| 18 Mar 2025 | Office Costs Landline phone & internet - rental & usage | Landline & internet package | 98 | Paid |
| 13 Mar 2025 | Office Costs Equipment - purchase | Other office equipment | 16 | Paid |
| 12 Mar 2025 | Office Costs Postage & couriers | Postage to Westminster Office | 4 | Paid |
| 11 Mar 2025 | Office Costs Stationery & printing | Stationery for constituency office | 11 | Paid |
| 06 Mar 2025 | Office Costs Website hosting and design | www.jakerichards.co.uk | 24 | Paid |
G · Register of interests
Every financial interest declared by the MP, grouped under the Register’s official categories. Retracted entries are hidden but counted above.
1. Employment and earnings1 entry
04 Sept 2024
Role, work or services: Legal services provided before my election to Parliament
Payer: Deka Chambers (Barrister Chambers), 5 Norwich Street, London EC4A 1DR
Additional information: Any payments will be listed below.
(Registered 28 August 2024)
3. Gifts, benefits and hospitality from UK sources1 entry
23 Oct 2025
Name of donor: Google UK Ltd
Address of donor: 1-13 St Giles High Street, London WC2H 8AG
Amount of donation or nature and value if donation in kind: Hospitality as a guest of YouTube at Glastonbury Festival 2025, value £2,908.02
Date received: 27 June 2025
Date accepted: 27 June 2025
Donor status: company, registration 03977902
(Registered 26 July 2025)
8. Miscellaneous1 entry
16 Aug 2024
Associate member of Deka Chambers.
(Registered 4 August 2024)
10. Family members engaged in lobbying the public sector on behalf of a third party or client1 entry
16 Aug 2024
Name: Steve Richards
Relationship: Father
Role: Freelance
(Registered 3 August 2024)
H · Ward results
Most recent winning councillor in each ward — 9 wards, 21 councillor seats.
| Ward | Councillor | Party | Votes | Election |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anston Woodsetts | Drew Tarmey | Liberal Democrats | 1,227 | 02 May 2024 |
| Anston Woodsetts | John Michael Blackham | Conservative and Unionist Party | 1,217 | 02 May 2024 |
| Anston Woodsetts | Timothy James Baum-Dixon | Conservative and Unionist Party | 1,325 | 02 May 2024 |
| Aston Todwick | Joshua Bacon | Conservative and Unionist Party | 1,234 | 02 May 2024 |
| Aston Todwick | Sarah Ann Allen | Labour Party | 1,090 | 02 May 2024 |
| Aughton Swallownest | Lyndsay Pitchley | Labour Party | 879 | 02 May 2024 |
| Aughton Swallownest | Robert Paul Taylor | Labour Party | 730 | 02 May 2024 |
| Dinnington | Amanda Marie Clarke | Labour Party | 1,196 | 02 May 2024 |
| Dinnington | Julz Hall | Conservative and Unionist Party | 1,397 | 02 May 2024 |
| Dinnington | Sophie Dack | Conservative and Unionist Party | 1,252 | 02 May 2024 |
| Hellaby Maltby West | Lynda Jayne Stables | Conservative and Unionist Party | 911 | 02 May 2024 |
| Hellaby Maltby West | Simon Ashley Ball | Conservative and Unionist Party | 994 | 02 May 2024 |
| Maltby East | Adam James Tinsley | Conservative and Unionist Party | 751 | 02 May 2024 |
| Maltby East | Donna Sutton | Labour Party | 796 | 02 May 2024 |
| Sitwell | David Frank Fisher | Conservative and Unionist Party | 1,357 | 02 May 2024 |
| Sitwell | Mick Bower | Independent Berwick Hills Resident | 1,145 | 02 May 2024 |
| Sitwell | Paul Stewart Thorp | Conservative and Unionist Party | 1,186 | 02 May 2024 |
| Thurcroft Wickersley South | Thomas Ryan Collingham | Conservative and Unionist Party | 1,300 | 02 May 2024 |
| Thurcroft Wickersley South | Zachary Aron Collingham | Conservative and Unionist Party | 1,163 | 02 May 2024 |
| Wales | Dominic Edward Beck | Independent Berwick Hills Resident | 1,184 | 02 May 2024 |
| Wales | Marnie Anne Havard | Independent Berwick Hills Resident | 873 | 02 May 2024 |
I · Demographics
| Indicator | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Population (2021 Census) | 95,139 | Electorate 69,459 (2024) |
| Median age | 44 | years |
| Degree-educated | 24.9% | level 4 or above |
| Ethnicity (White) | 95.7% | 2021 Census ethnic group |
| Owner-occupied | 70.9% | households |
| Private-rented | 13.9% | households |
| Social-rented | 14.9% | households |
| Employment rate | 55.7% | 16-64 in work |
J · Public spending
HMT publishes headline spending identifiable by region in PESA. Constituency-level capital allocations (Levelling-Up Fund, Towns Fund, UKSPF, transport capital, BEIS R&D) are published as separate departmental datasets. We are evaluating the cleanest reconciliation for a per-constituency view.