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Emma Hardy
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Emma Hardy
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Emma Ann Hardy[1] (born 17 July 1979) is a British Labour Party politician who has served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Water and Flooding since July 2024.[2] She was previously the Member of Parliament (MP) for Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle[3] until the 2024 general election and is the current Member of Parliament (MP) for Kingston upon Hull West and Haltemprice.[4] Until May 2019, she was also a member of Hessle Town Council focusing on NHS and education.[5] Hardy is a member of Labour's National Policy Forum and was an education union employee.[6]

Key Information

Early life and education

[edit]

Emma Hardy was brought up in North Newbald, Humberside, a few miles from the Kingston upon Hull West and Haltemprice constituency she now represents in Parliament. She attended Wyke Sixth Form College to do A-Levels before doing an undergraduate degree in Politics at the University of Liverpool, graduating in 2001. She then completed a PGCE at the University of Leeds in 2004 and taught for more than ten years at Willerby Carr Lane Primary School.[7]

Hardy became politically active in 2011 after joining a campaign protesting against school cuts and meeting Alan Johnson, the then MP for Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle. She left teaching in 2015 to become a full-time organiser for the National Union of Teachers,[7] and served as Deputy General Secretary of the Socialist Educational Association before being elected to Parliament.[8]

Parliamentary career

[edit]

Hardy was selected as the Labour Party's prospective parliamentary candidate for Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle after the then-MP, Alan Johnson, announced his retirement just weeks before the general election in 2017.[9] She was one of 256 women candidates put forward by the Labour Party at that election,[10] and was elected on 8 June 2017, with a majority of 8,025.

Hardy has sat on the House of Commons Education Select Committee. from 11 September 2017 to 6 November 2019 and the House of Commons Treasury Select Committee from 20 April 2021 to 11 March 2024.[11]

From 2017 to 2020, Hardy served as Parliamentary Private Secretary to Keir Starmer in his role as Shadow Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union.[7]

Hardy was Joint Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Endometriosis[12] and worked closely with the women's health charity Endometriosis UK to push for "menstrual wellbeing" to be included as part of the sex and relationship education in schools.[13] On 25 February 2019, the UK government announced that menstrual wellbeing would be included in the curriculum going forward.[14] She continues to work with local charity HEY Endo to enable better recognition of endometriosis in the workplace.[15]

Hardy was also the Vice Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Mesh,[16] and campaigned to suspend the use of vaginal surgical mesh in the NHS. In October 2018, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) declared that vaginal mesh surgery should only be used as a "last resort" to treat pelvic organ prolapse and urinary incontinence.[17]

Hardy campaigned locally in her constituency to secure the funding for the A63 Castle Street development, prevent any further delays and ensure a bridge was built as soon as possible. Following delays to the project, building of the bridge started in October 2018,[18] and it opened to the public in March 2021.[19] Preparation for the A63 road development commenced in October 2020 with the exhumation of 19,000 bodies from the Trinity Burial Ground.[20]

Hardy also lobbied successfully to bring money to Hull for a new Children and Adolescent Mental Health Unit. The money was agreed by the Government in July 2018[21] and the project was finally completed in January 2020.[22]

In January 2020, Hardy was appointed to Labour's frontbench as a Shadow Education Minister, succeeding Gordon Marsden, who lost his seat in the 2019 general election.[23]

Hardy nominated Keir Starmer in the 2020 Labour Party leadership election and Angela Rayner in the deputy leadership election.[24][25]

In March 2021 Hardy resigned from her role as a Shadow Education Minister, being succeeded by Matt Western.[26] She cited an increase in constituency work due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[27]

Hardy campaigned for better flood prevention, protections and insurance, presenting a ten minute rule Bill, Flooding (Prevention and Insurance) on 16 November 2021,[28] referencing the 2007 floods which devastated parts of Hull and the East Riding.[29]

In the 2023 British shadow cabinet reshuffle, she returned to the frontbench as Shadow Minister for Flooding, Oceans and Coastal Communities.[30]

In the 4 July 2024 general election, she was elected as Member of Parliament for the constituency of Kingston upon Hull West and Haltemprice with a majority of 8,979 on a turnout of 52.1%.[31]

Hardy was appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Minister for Water and Flooding) at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on 9 July 2024.[32]

References

[edit]
[edit]
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Emma Hardy

View on Grokipedia
from Grokipedia

Emma Hardy (born 1979) is a British Labour Party politician serving as the (MP) for Kingston upon Hull West and Haltemprice since 2017. She currently holds the position of Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Water and Flooding at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, appointed in July 2024 following the Labour government's election victory. Prior to her ministerial role, Hardy served in various shadow positions, including Shadow Minister for and Universities from 2020 to 2021 and Shadow Minister for Flooding, Oceans and Coastal Communities in 2023. Before entering Parliament, she worked as a teacher for over a decade and later as a full-time organiser for the , eventually becoming Deputy General Secretary of the Socialist Educational Association. Elected in the 2017 , she retained her seat in 2019 and 2024, supporting Keir Starmer's leadership bid in 2020 which led to her shadow cabinet promotion. Her parliamentary focus has included education policy, environmental issues, and constituency concerns such as flooding and coastal communities, reflecting her background and regional representation in eastern .

Early Life and Background

Family Origins and Upbringing

Emma Hardy was born in in 1979 and relocated to North Newbald in the at the age of four, following her father's appointment as headteacher of the local . North Newbald, a small rural village, provided the setting for much of her childhood, where she attended the village school with approximately 65 pupils until reaching junior level, after which her father stepped down to avoid directly teaching her. Her father's career trajectory exemplified through ; he initially left school with limited qualifications, worked at W.H. Smith where he was dismissed for striking independently, and later retrained as a teacher via a further education college before ascending to headteacher roles, including in North Newbald. This background instilled in Hardy an appreciation for educational opportunities and labor activism, reinforced by her father's sharing of protest songs and stories of workplace struggles. Family narratives further shaped her early worldview, including accounts from her grandfather, who was sacked from Tetley's Tea for union organizing, and her grandmother, a single mother raising five children in council housing who emphasized maintaining connections to one's roots despite later hardships. These influences, drawn from working-class experiences of resilience and rather than partisan allegiance, contributed to Hardy's formative commitment to left-wing principles, leading her to join the Labour Party at age 17.

Education and Early Influences

Emma Hardy was born in in 1979 and moved to the village of North Newbald in East at the age of four, when her father took up the position of headteacher at the local with 65 pupils. Her father, who had left school with few qualifications, had returned to college to train as a teacher, a path that later inspired Hardy's advocacy for adult learning opportunities. The family's working-class roots included her grandfather's dismissal from Tetley’s for unionizing efforts and her father's own experience of being sacked from WH Smith for striking, stories that exposed her early to themes of labor struggles and . Hardy attended the North Newbald primary school under her father's headship before progressing to in and Wyke in Hull for her A-levels, which she completed over three years after switching subjects midway. She then pursued an undergraduate degree in at the University of Liverpool, having applied intending to study but been accepted based on predicted grades for , followed by a (PGCE) at the . During her university years, Hardy did not engage in student , focusing instead on part-time work in bars, restaurants, and briefly as a customer service manager at . Key early influences included her history teacher's description of her as a "radical" during , alongside familial emphasis on resilience and as a means of , reinforced by her nanny's reminders to "remember where you came from" amid council housing and single-parent hardships. Her father's protest songs and union anecdotes further shaped a left-leaning prioritizing workers' and public , though formal political involvement emerged later in her career.

Pre-Parliamentary Career

Professional Experience as a Teacher

Emma Hardy commenced her teaching career in 2003, serving as a teacher at an unnamed school in , . She subsequently relocated to the Hull area, where she taught at Willerby Carr Lane Primary School, maintaining family-friendly hours consistent with school schedules. Hardy accumulated over a decade of experience in , specializing in early years instruction amid challenges such as demands and welfare. Her tenure emphasized practical and subject delivery in state-funded settings, reflecting the routine of teaching in during the 2000s and early 2010s. In 2015, Hardy departed full-time teaching to assume a position as an organiser with the (later the ), marking the end of her direct classroom involvement after approximately 12 years. This shift followed her from the , which qualified her for the profession.

Local Activism and Union Involvement

Prior to entering , Hardy engaged in local centered on and funding in Hull. In 2011, she joined protests against proposed school budget cuts and downsizing at her workplace, Willerby Carr Lane Primary School, marking her initial foray into organized opposition to government austerity measures affecting local education. As a teacher, she publicly defended by Hull educators on June 30, 2011, arguing that evidence indicated no fiscal deficit justified the demanded contributions from workers, emphasizing the need to protect teaching resources amid claims of financial strain. Hardy's union involvement deepened within the (NUT). She became active in the NUT locally from 2011, participating in campaigns against and appraisal systems perceived as undermining teacher autonomy. By 2014, she advocated for national strikes, speaking in support during NUT discussions and contributing to broader resistance against education reforms under the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition. She addressed the NUT annual conference in on April 22, 2014, highlighting grassroots concerns over workload and pay erosion. Hardy also played a role in organizing efforts documented in analyses of teacher union responses to policy changes, including coordination during periods of heightened . In 2015, Hardy transitioned from classroom teaching to a full-time NUT organiser role, focusing on strengthening ties between the union and the Labour Party amid lingering tensions from prior disputes. In this capacity, she worked to rebuild relationships strained by historical conflicts, such as those over union funding and political alignments. Concurrently, she served as Deputy General Secretary of the Socialist Educational Association, an affiliate group advocating for reforms, which amplified her influence in left-leaning policy circles. Her pre-parliamentary efforts positioned her as a known figure in Labour and education union networks in Hull, informed by a family legacy of union militancy—her father and grandfather had faced dismissal for organizing activities.

Entry into Politics

2017 Election and Initial Tenure

In the held on 8 June, Emma Hardy was selected as the Labour Party candidate for Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle, a seat long held by the party under predecessor . Hardy won with 18,342 votes, equivalent to 53.0% of the valid vote share, defeating Conservative candidate Christine Mackay's 10,317 votes (29.8%) by a of 8,025 votes (23.2 percentage points). Turnout stood at 57.4% among an electorate of 60,181, with 34,565 valid votes cast across seven candidates. Following her election, Hardy joined the Education Select Committee on 11 September 2017, remaining until 6 November 2019, where she contributed to inquiries on school funding, teacher recruitment, and special educational needs, leveraging her background as a . She also took on an unpaid role as parliamentary private secretary (PPS) to , then Labour's Shadow Brexit Secretary. In , Hardy consistently supported Labour positions on , including votes favoring of teacher pay determination and oversight. Hardy's early constituency work emphasized casework on welfare, , and , including a campaign against implants that prompted a safety review and revisions to NHS guidelines. She pressed for funding a dedicated children's inpatient unit in Hull, criticized delays on local like the £400 million A63 Castle Street upgrade, and intervened on poor rail connectivity and sick pay disputes at FCC Environment's waste operations. These efforts aligned with broader advocacy for Hull's deprived areas, though progress on projects like the pedestrian bridge over the A63 remained incremental.

Re-elections in 2019 and 2024

In the 2019 general election on 12 , Emma Hardy secured re-election as the Labour MP for Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle with 13,384 votes, representing 42.7% of the vote share—a decline of 10.4 percentage points from her 2017 result. The Conservative candidate, Scott Bell, received 10,528 votes (33.6%), yielding Hardy a of 2,856 votes, a sharp reduction from her 2017 margin amid a broader national shift toward the Conservatives that diminished Labour's hold in many seats. Despite predictions of a tight contest, Hardy retained the seat, with turnout at approximately 62.5%. Boundary changes implemented for the 2024 election redrew the constituency as West and Haltemprice, incorporating areas such as , Tranby, Willerby, Derringham, Newington, and parts of Haltemprice. On 4 July 2024, Hardy was re-elected with 17,875 votes (46.8% share), outperforming candidate Julie Peck, who garnered 8,896 votes (23.3%) in second place, for a of 8,979 votes (23.5% of the total). The Conservative candidate, Rachel Storer, finished third with a reduced vote share, reflecting Labour's national and a fragmentation of the right-wing vote. Turnout stood at 57.1%, lower than in 2019.

Parliamentary Roles and Contributions

Shadow Cabinet Positions

Emma Hardy first joined the Labour frontbench in January 2020 as within the Shadow , succeeding following his defeat in the . In this role, she focused on advocating for increased investment in post-secondary education sectors amid ongoing debates over tuition fees and skills training. She resigned from the position on 8 March 2021, attributing the decision to an intensified workload in her constituency during the , which included heightened casework related to lockdowns and support services. After a period on the backbenches, Hardy returned to the frontbench on 5 September 2023 as Shadow Minister for Flooding, Oceans and Coastal Communities in the Shadow Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, a portfolio aligned with her advocacy on regional issues like and flood defenses in Hull. This appointment came during Keir Starmer's shadow cabinet reshuffle, emphasizing environmental resilience. She held the role until 30 May 2024, when Labour formed the government after the general election victory, transitioning her to a ministerial position in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Government Appointment in DEFRA

Emma Hardy was appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) on 9 July 2024, shortly after the Labour Party's victory in the 4 July 2024 general election. In this position, she holds responsibility for water and flooding policy, aligning with longstanding concerns in her Hull West and Haltemprice constituency, which has experienced severe flooding events. The appointment marked Hardy's transition from opposition scrutiny roles, where she had served as a shadow DEFRA spokesperson since October 2020 and contributed to parliamentary debates on environmental matters. As of September 2025, she remained in the role under Emma Reynolds, focusing on regulatory reforms for the amid criticisms of inadequate enforcement against and failures. Her ministerial duties include overseeing flood resilience measures and water quality standards, with initial emphasis on addressing systemic issues in privatized water companies' compliance.

Key Legislative Activities and Local Advocacy

During her time in opposition, Hardy introduced a Private Member's Bill in June 2022 to enhance flood protections for residential and commercial properties, reflecting concerns over Hull's vulnerability to inundation. In March 2024, she tabled another seeking statutory regulation of private car parks, prompted by reports of aggressive debt collection tactics and inflated fines affecting her constituents. She also co-sponsored the Multi-Academy Trusts ( Inspection) Bill in the 2021-22 session, which aimed to mandate full inspections of multi-academy trusts rather than sampling. Appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Water and Flooding in July 2024, Hardy has overseen implementation aspects of the Water (Special Measures) Bill, including provisions addressing water company debt and regulatory failures during its committee stages on 14 January 2025. She delivered a ministerial statement on flooding on 6 January 2025, announcing £60 million in aid for affected farmers from winter 2024 storms and an additional £50 million for recovery efforts. Hardy provided oral evidence to the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee on 9 September 2025 regarding reforms and to the Environmental Audit Committee on flood resilience strategies. In the All Water Bill debate on 28 March 2025, she highlighted sewage pollution risks in rivers and impacts on local schools closed due to flooding in her constituency. On local advocacy, Hardy has prioritized flood mitigation in Kingston upon Hull West and Haltemprice, a region prone to severe inundation; in a 15 February 2022 column, she drew on her teaching experience during Hull's 2007 floods, which disrupted schools for weeks, to call for integrated urban planning, property-level defenses, and community education on resilience. As minister, she opened the University of Hull's Flooding Innovation Lab at The Deep aquarium on 13 October 2025, a facility developing flood-resistant technologies with £10.5 billion in national investment pledged through 2036 for defenses. She has promoted Flood Action Week initiatives, including ambassador-led preparation workshops and business awareness campaigns in Hull during October 2025.

Political Positions and Ideology

Views on Education Policy

Emma Hardy, a former primary school teacher with over a decade of experience, has advocated for education policies emphasizing , oracy, and equitable access, drawing from her classroom background to critique standardized testing pressures. In her 2017 maiden speech, she warned against transforming schools into "learning factories" dominated by and exams, arguing instead for curricula that foster skills to combat and in the digital age. Hardy has consistently supported nationalizing teacher pay and conditions alongside greater central control over the curriculum to ensure consistency and reduce regional disparities, as reflected in her parliamentary voting record from 2017 onward. She co-founded the on Oracy in 2019, promoting spoken language skills as essential for pupil development, and has called for embedding oracy training in teacher and school inspections to address deficiencies exposed by post-pandemic catch-up efforts. On special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), Hardy has prioritized family consultations and systemic reforms, hosting round-table discussions in her constituency in August 2025 to address delays in provisions and implementation timelines. She endorses inclusive practices, as seen in her praise for local Hull initiatives integrating SEND pupils, while pushing for national reforms to enhance support and reduce stigma. In further and higher education, Hardy opposes policies restricting access for low-income students, criticizing government measures in 2020–2023 that she argued would exacerbate regional "cold spots" without local universities, and has welcomed Labour's post-2024 funding boosts, such as £4 million allocated to Hull further education in April 2025. She supports cost controls like the 2021 Education (Guidance about Costs of School Uniforms) Bill to alleviate family burdens and age-appropriate relationship education under the 2019 curriculum changes, stressing sensitivity to protect equality rights without overreach.

Stance on Environmental and Flooding Issues

Emma Hardy has emphasized practical flood resilience measures, drawing from personal experience with the 2007 Hull floods, which devastated local communities and infrastructure. As Minister for Water and Flooding since July 2024, she has prioritized community preparation and infrastructure investment, stating that "flooding is personal to me" and advocating for no community to be "left behind when it comes to flood protection." In October 2025, she launched Flood Action Week initiatives in Hull, promoting tips from local "Living With Water" ambassadors for household preparedness, and opened a flood resilience lab at The Deep aquarium to support businesses in mitigating risks. She has also endorsed consultations on reformed flood investment approaches, aiming to enhance defenses while addressing farmland inundation, expressing sympathy for farmers impacted by winter storms that reduced crop yields. On broader environmental issues, Hardy supports balanced regulation that protects ecosystems without unduly hindering development. In October 2025, she announced a "common-sense approach" to environmental permitting in England, intended to facilitate new housing while safeguarding air, water, and land quality, as part of the government's Plan for Change. Her parliamentary voting record shows consistent support for measures improving environmental water quality, with four votes in favor and one absence between 2021 and 2024. She has backed international commitments like the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction Bill, highlighting strengthened ocean protections on national and global scales. Regarding climate adaptation, Hardy has welcomed advice from the (CCC) to fortify objectives against weather extremes, including preparation for up to 2°C global warming scenarios, underscoring urgency in addressing current and projected risks like intensified flooding. This aligns with her oversight of clean air, noise, and emergency responses within DEFRA, focusing on resilience to domestic environmental disasters. Prior to her ministerial role, as an opposition MP, she advocated for mandatory Sustainable Drainage Systems in new developments to future-proof homes against changing climate patterns.

Positions on Social and Economic Matters

Hardy advocates public investment, particularly in the green economy, as the primary driver of growth rather than tax cuts or , arguing in 2022 that the Office for Budget Responsibility estimates the investment multiplier at three times the effect of tax cuts, which she views as unjustified benefits to the wealthy without broader economic stimulus. She has pressed for reforms to eliminate the "poverty premium," whereby low-income households pay higher costs for essentials like and due to prepayment methods and risk profiling, exacerbating financial strain amid the cost-of-living crisis. On welfare administration, Hardy has criticized complex benefits application processes as an effective barrier to support for disabled individuals, labeling them an attack on vulnerable claimants in 2018. Regarding immigration, Hardy has nearly always opposed stricter asylum policies, casting 20 votes against such measures and absenting herself twice between 2020 and 2024, consistent with Labour's general resistance to tightened controls. She expressed opposition to the Illegal Migration Bill in March 2023, unable to vote in person due to illness but stating it undermined fair processing of claims, and has called for humane, effective solutions to curb exploitation in illegal routes while defending rights of legal migrants who integrate and contribute taxes. In 2018, she supported an immigration framework that balances inflows with incentives for employers to upskill domestic workers. On gender-related matters, Hardy has opposed the dilution of sex-based language, asserting in a 2021 social media post that violence against women and girls is committed by men, not indeterminate "people," to preserve clarity in addressing female-specific harms. She advocated in March 2024 for explicit inclusion of women in regulations, emphasizing biological differences beyond scale and criticizing unisex standards that fail to account for female physiology in industries like . Hardy generally supports equal rights for individuals, having voted accordingly in relevant divisions. She backed extending indoor bans in a 2025 vote, aligning with restrictions. Hardy promotes social tolerance, condemning incitement of racial hatred as antithetical to a decent Britain and pledging to counter such division, as stated in October 2025 amid unrest.

Controversies and Criticisms

Rental of Overseas-Owned Property

In October 2021, the investigation revealed that Emma Hardy had rented a one-bedroom flat near Westminster in , owned by Milrun International Ltd, a British Virgin Islands-registered company linked to Kenya's former first family, including Mama and her daughters Wambui Pratt and Anna Nyokabi Muthama. The property, purchased in 2000 for £280,000, was valued at approximately £1 million at the time of the disclosure and had been held through the offshore entity to obscure , with the last UK Land Registry filing in 2017 confirming the company's proprietorship. Hardy, who represented Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle, had leased the apartment until summer 2021 for use during parliamentary sessions away from her constituency, paying £2,600 monthly rent reclaimed from public funds via a standard tenancy agreement arranged through an agency approved by the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA). A spokesperson for Hardy stated she had "absolutely no knowledge" of the ownership structure or the Kenyatta family's involvement, describing herself as shocked by the revelations and emphasizing the need for greater transparency in property dealings. No evidence emerged of impropriety in Hardy's rental process, which complied with IPSA guidelines, though the offshore opacity drew scrutiny amid broader concerns over hidden foreign ownership of UK properties.

Policy and Voting Record Scrutiny

Emma Hardy's parliamentary voting record reflects strong loyalty to the Labour Party, with alignment on 98% of divisions and no recorded rebellions against the party . This consistency has been scrutinized for potentially prioritizing party over constituency-specific concerns, such as flooding resilience in Hull, where local advocacy for increased funding intersects with broader fiscal constraints imposed by Labour's economic policies. On welfare reforms, Hardy voted in favor of the government's and Bill on July 1, 2025, endorsing provisions for stricter fraud investigations and benefit adjustments, despite a by over 40 Labour MPs opposing perceived cuts to disability support. Critics, including conservative outlets, have highlighted this as evidence of endorsing measures that could exacerbate in working-class areas like hers, amid claims of insufficient safeguards for vulnerable claimants. In a free vote on the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, Hardy opposed the legislation, voting against it at the third reading on June 20, 2025, after an active abstention at the second reading in November 2024, citing inadequate protections against coercion and pressure on the elderly or disabled. This stance diverged from a majority of Labour MPs supporting the bill's passage (330-275), drawing commentary on tensions between individual conscience votes and party trends toward liberalization on end-of-life issues. Her environmental policy positions, particularly as Under-Secretary for Water and Flooding, have faced criticism for inconsistencies in scientific claims. Advocacy groups have accused her of misleading statements on gene-edited precision-bred organisms, including falsely asserting they involve no foreign DNA and misrepresenting economic impacts by citing EU-derived figures not applicable to deregulation efforts under the Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Act 2023. These claims, made in ary debates, ignored scrutiny committee reports deeming Defra's impact assessments inadequate and contradicted advisory evidence on genetic modification classifications. Foreign policy scrutiny has centered on her October 8, 2025, interview response declining to label an "enemy," despite acknowledging challenges from the regime, amid a collapsed trial linked to hesitance on designations. Opponents argue this reflects a broader Labour reluctance to confront adversarial states, potentially undermining realism in light of documented Chinese interference cases.

Personal Life

Family and Personal Beliefs

Emma Hardy resides in with her partner James and their two daughters, Olivia and Isabel. She was born in on 17 July 1979 and relocated to North Newbald at the age of four after her father accepted the position of headteacher at the local . Her father had departed formal education with limited qualifications but later returned to college, enabling his career in . Hardy identifies as a Methodist Christian, having discovered her faith after entering a church during a period of personal stress. In 2021, she expressed support for following a Methodist vote, stating that "love is love" and that the decision would bring joy to many couples. Her personal values emphasize tolerance, decency, and opposition to incitement of racial or , which she views as antithetical to British society. On , she acknowledges deeply held personal, moral, and religious perspectives, expressing for diverse viewpoints without endorsing a singular position. In educational contexts, she advocates for teaching and equality as core British values, including neutral discussions of sexuality akin to other personal characteristics.

References

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  3. https://www.gov.uk/government/people/emma-hardy
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  47. https://www.facebook.com/EmmaHardyHullWestandHessle/posts/good-news-for-hull-west-and-haltempricei-want-everyone-in-hull-west-and-haltempr/1247345413655375/
  48. https://parallelparliament.co.uk/mp/emma-hardy/bill/2019-21/educationguidanceaboutcostsofschooluniforms
  49. https://parallelparliament.co.uk/mp/emma-hardy/debate/2019-07-16/commons/commons-chamber/relationship-education-in-schools
  50. https://www.facebook.com/EmmaHardyHullWestandHessle/videos/flooding-is-personal-to-me-i-saw-firsthand-in-2007-the-devastation-it-caused-to-/1985196835635728/
  51. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cpd2ve9v0yvo
  52. https://www.facebook.com/EmmaHardyHullWestandHessle/videos/to-round-off-flood-action-week-heres-some-brilliant-tips-from-hulls-very-own-liv/1978645256310526/
  53. https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-statements/detail/2025-06-03/hlws679
  54. https://www.parallelparliament.co.uk/mp/emma-hardy/debate/2025-01-15/commons/westminster-hall/farmland-flooding
  55. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-common-sense-approach-to-environmental-regulation-to-support-new-homes-drive
  56. https://www.parallelparliament.co.uk/mp/emma-hardy/bill/2024-26/biodiversitybeyondnationaljurisdiction
  57. https://www.theccc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/CCC-letter-to-Minister-Hardy-15-October-2025.pdf
  58. https://www.theccc.org.uk/publication/letter-ccc-letter-to-minister-hardy-advice-on-the-uks-adaptation-objectives/
  59. https://www.gov.uk/government/ministers/parliamentary-under-secretary-of-state--270
  60. https://committees.parliament.uk/work/9339/climate-and-weather-resilience/
  61. https://www.emmahardy.org.uk/2023/07/10/the-changing-climate-a-meeting-of-minds-considers-future-proofing-homes-against-flooding/
  62. https://www.politicshome.com/thehouse/article/tax-cuts-and-deregulation-dont-grow-economies-investment-does
  63. https://fairbydesign.com/emma-hardy-mp-presses-ministers-to-end-the-poverty-premium/
  64. https://www.emmahardy.org.uk/2018/03/26/emma-hardy-mp-complicated-benefits-process-is-attack-on-disabled-people/
  65. https://www.emmahardy.org.uk/2023/03/13/emma-hardy-mp-statement-on-illegal-migrant-bill/
  66. https://www.facebook.com/EmmaHardyHullWestandHessle/videos/our-asylum-and-immigration-system-needs-to-be-fair-this-means-implementing-effec/9377242485689676/
  67. https://parallelparliament.co.uk/mp/emma-hardy/debate/Commons/2018-12-19/debates/9BA7B2F2-3B9A-4E09-8E02-EC7F459592F6/FutureImmigration
  68. https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=4592101964162357&id=1451722481533670&set=a.1743061349066447&locale=en_GB
  69. https://www.constructionnews.co.uk/health-and-safety/women-should-be-mentioned-in-ppe-law-says-mp-15-03-2024/
  70. https://www.facebook.com/EmmaHardyHullWestandHessle/posts/%25EF%25B8%258Fi-know-that-the-majority-of-people-are-good-and-decent-and-tolerant-they-are-th/1385362326520349/
  71. https://www.financeuncovered.org/stories/pandora-papers-kenyatta-family-offshore-secrets-kenya-revealed
  72. https://www.icij.org/investigations/pandora-papers/kenya-uhuru-kenyatta-family-offshore-wealth/
  73. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-58775944
  74. https://www.pulselive.co.ke/articles/news/british-mp-claims-she-didnt-know-her-flat-was-owned-by-the-kenyatta-family-2024082215464919564
  75. https://www.publicwhip.org.uk/mp.php?mpn=Emma%2520Hardy&display=summary
  76. https://www.express.co.uk/news/politics/2075745/How-did-my-mp-vote-welfare-cuts
  77. https://www.emmahardy.org.uk/2025/05/16/my-statement-on-terminally-ill-adults-end-of-life-bill/
  78. https://votes.parliament.uk/votes/commons/division/1877
  79. https://news.sky.com/story/how-did-your-mp-vote-on-the-assisted-dying-bill-13262957
  80. https://beyond-gm.org/beyond-gm-misleading-statements-emma-hardy-mp/
  81. https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld5901/ldselect/ldsecleg/98/98.pdf
  82. https://www.express.co.uk/news/politics/2118551/stuttering-labour-minister-emma-hardy
  83. https://www.facebook.com/EmmaHardyHullWestandHessle/videos/emma-hardy/1084711929296661/
  84. https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=4308941549145068&id=1451722481533670&set=a.1743061349066447&locale=en_GB
  85. https://www.premier.plus/a-mucky-business-with-tim-farron/podcasts/episodes/emma-hardy-student-mental-health-bishops-and-cats
  86. https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1302122151511034&id=100051397843327&set=a.468883454834912
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