Richard Baker.

All five of Baker's rebel votes in June fell on the same day and the same bill: he voted against the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill at Third Reading, breaking with the majority of Labour MPs who backed its passage. His voting pattern on that bill ran consistently against the grain — he opposed amendments backed by the bill's supporters and backed New Clause 16, which would have blocked applications where the desire to die was substantially driven by disability, financial hardship, or fear of being a burden. His stance on assisted dying sits 47 percentage points below the Labour average, with a correspondingly stronger lean toward assisted dying restrictions and outright opposition to the bill than most of his colleagues.

Beyond that high-profile break, Baker is a 97% party-line voter whose participation rate of 75% is somewhat below the Commons average. His voting record shows strong alignment on workers' rights and progressive taxation, and near-total opposition to tax cuts. He scores low on parliamentary scrutiny and civil liberties stances — partly explicable by his membership of the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee, where scrutiny work happens in committee rather than through rebellious votes on the floor. His speeches, numbering 130 across 84 debates, cluster heavily around economy and jobs, defence, and social care.

Much of that speech activity reflects a consistent local focus: Baker has publicly campaigned for MoD shipbuilding contracts to go to the Methil yard in his constituency, led a Commons debate criticising the SNP for skipping a shipbuilding debate, and submitted an Early Day Motion supporting a Fife male suicide prevention charity. News coverage over the past year has been predominantly positive in tone, centred on constituency advocacy around jobs and local services. No recent news data covers the last 90 days.