Let's put an end to the cruelty of rogue bailiffs for good - Luke Charters MP
Amidst the noise, the headlines, and the daily battles in Westminster, it’s easy to lose sight of what truly matters. At its heart, being a Member of Parliament is about fighting to improve people’s lives.
In that spirit, nothing has moved me more than my campaign to crack down on rogue bailiffs and push for new laws to hold them to account.
Let me take you back to the start of last year, to a cold day in Leeds on a visit to StepChange, the debt advice charity. That was the day things truly sank in for me.
I was sitting opposite Michael, a lovely man who had been through the most horrific ordeal after a motorcycle accident. He recounted his story, that after many weeks in hospital, he was put on sick pay, and unpaid utility bills started to mount up.
Instead of coming home to focus on recover from his life-changing injuries, Michael was hounded by bailiffs. He told me how he was worried aggressive bailiffs would take away his baby daughter’s cot and toys.
As a dad to two young children myself, it breaks my heart to know that any parent in Britain today could ever be made to feel that way.
The fact is that bailiffs have never been properly regulated. This is a sector that takes money from some of the most vulnerable people in society yet has operated for years without real safeguards or clear rules.
It is completely shameful. It represents a dereliction of duty that has lasted far too long and been allowed to continue under successive governments of all parties.
Even as a former regulator at the Financial Conduct Authority, and having worked at the Bank of England, it’s only been relatively recently that I learnt about just how much of a wild west some parts of the enforcement sector are.
Even in the wild west, there were sheriffs. But in parts of this sector, there is no one keeping order.
As a Labour MP, I felt a responsibility to act. From holding debates in Parliament to tabling my own Bill, I ‘ve been doing everything I can to push this campaign forward. A major milestone was the government announcing a consultation, the results of which we now eagerly await.
This is not about banning bailiffs. In any society, bailiffs can have a legitimate role in collecting debt that is rightfully owed.
But this is about regulating a sector that has gone without the necessary guardrails for far too long, allowing a minority of bad actors to behave in ways that are completely wrong.
Politics is toxic right now. Noise and outrage so often drown out the campaigns like this that could have an enormous impact on the millions of families who suffer in silence. That is why I am grateful to be working with The Yorkshire Post to raise awareness.
So thinking back to Christmas, when your loved ones were knocking on your door full of laughter and joy, just remember that across the country there were families whose hearts sink at the sound of a knock.
They feared it could be a rogue bailiff, ready to take the little they have left.
I wish you and your family a joyful 2026. And together, let us make sure this year we finally put an end to this cruelty, and fix the enforcement sector for good.
Luke Charters is the Labour MP for York Outer.