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Rebecca Paul (British politician)
British politician From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Rebecca Sheila Paul is a British Conservative politician and accountant who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Reigate since 2024.
Biography
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Rebecca Paul has worked in tax management for businesses and charities.[1] She worked in Parliament for Robin Millar, MP for Aberconwy, from 2019 to 2024.[1]
Political career
Paul was elected as the councillor for Tadworth, Walton and Kingswood at the 2021 Surrey County Council election with 70 per cent of the vote share.[2] She served as the Deputy Cabinet Member for Levelling Up on Surrey County Council from 2021 to 2023.[3]
In July 2023, Paul was selected as the Conservative prospective parliamentary candidate for Reigate.[1] The incumbent MP, Crispin Blunt, was elected as a Conservative but had the whip removed and did not stand again.[4]
Member of Parliament
At the 2024 general election, she won the seat with 35 per cent of the vote share and a majority of 3,187.[5] She said that she was "really concerned that there will be a rush of parents applying for an Education, Health and Care Plan which will put significant pressure on the local authorities" as a result of government plans to put VAT on independent school fees.[6] At Prime Minister's Questions, in September 2024, she asked if Keir Starmer would consider broadening Winter Fuel Payment eligibility for lower income pensioners.[7] She and five other MPs argued in an open letter to the chancellor Rachel Reeves in September 2024 that families of children with special educational needs (SEND) should be exempt from government plans to put VAT on independent school fees.[8] She was appointed as Opposition Assistant Whip on 18 November 2024.[9] She expressed support in December 2024 for the construction of a new fire station in Banstead.[10][11]
Paul voted against the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill and served on the committee examining the legislation.[12] She said that she opposed the bill as she believed that the healthcare system was too stretched to ensure protection for vulnerable people.[13] Paul supported Juliet Campbell's amendment to the bill which would have required the next of kin to be informed if an adult under the age of 25 had their application for an assisted death approved.[14] In response to comments made by Dame Esther Rantzen, who suggested that opponents of the bill have "undeclared personal religious beliefs which mean no precautions would satisfy them", Paul declared that, whilst she opposed the bill, she was not against assisted dying "in principle" and that she had "no personal religious beliefs".[15] She put forward an amendment to the bill which would have prevented employees from providing assisted dying while working for an employer that had chosen not to take part in the process, but was rejected.[16] Paul also objected to loopholes in the bill which would have allowed people with anorexia, mental health problems, or learning difficulties to become eligible for assisted dying in some circumstances.[17]
Paul raised concerns regarding assaults on officers at HM Prison Downview in March 2025.[18] She spoke in favour of a ban on the advertisement of prostitution online during the second reading of the Crime and Policing Bill in March 2025.[19][20] She launched a campaign to support pubs in the constituency in April 2025.[21] In a letter to Surrey County Council in May 2025, Paul and six other Conservative MPs criticised the council's decision to not respond to constituent SEND cases.[22][23] In June 2025, she wrote in favour of the ban on the use of puberty blockers in treatment for gender dysphoria in children.[24] She spoke against Tonia Antoniazzi's amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill to decriminalise women who induce their own abortion in June 2025, warning that "if this becomes law, fully developed babies up to term could be aborted by a woman with no consequences".[25] The All-Party Parliamentary Group for Better Roads was launched by Paul in June 2025.[26] Paul criticised special educational needs and disabilities support services in Surrey in a debate in Parliament in July 2025.[27]
She has expressed concern "about the proliferation of adverts targeting young women to donate their eggs" and called on the government to "conduct a proper study on the long-term health impact of such procedures on women – particularly in the case of women going through multiple rounds".[28] She has campaigned against the inclusion of biological males in women's prisons and called for the removal of seven men at HM Prison Downview.[29][30] In August 2025, Paul asked Wes Streeting, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, to commit to the new emergency area hospital in Sutton and improvements to Epsom Hospital and St Helier Hospital following the announcement by Rachel Reeves of a review into hospital and road projects.[31]
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Electoral history
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References
External links
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