Amanda Martin MP: speeches

Speeches

• 1 Sept 2026 · Direction of Government · Hansard source

  More

  It was a pleasure to welcome the Prime Minister to Portsmouth this summer when he visited His Majesty’s naval base. It was especially good to welcome a fellow north MP to Portsmouth North! He saw at first hand the dedication of our armed forces, so does he agree that supporting personnel and their families remains a priority? Like the police, they should offer proper paternity leave for every serving father and ensure that our self-employed fathers are no longer left behind.

• 16 Jul 2026 · Sir David Amess Summer Adjournment · Hansard source

  More

  Sir David Amess understood what every Member of this House should remember: our greatest privilege is representing the people and places who send us here. He never missed an opportunity to celebrate Southend, and today I want to do the same for Portsmouth. This year is especially meaningful, because we are celebrating 100 years of city status. For a century our city has been shaped by courage, service, resilience and innovation. Portsmouth has defended our nation, openly welcomed people from around the world, built ships, driven industry and produced generations who have been fiercely proud to call themselves Pompey. Throughout this centenary year, our city has come together to celebrate, but Portsmouth 100 is about more than looking back; it is about recognising the people who make our city. Reading through the nominations for the 100 Pompey Belles award, recognising 100 local women, has been inspiring and humbling. They tell the stories of the extraordinary women who quietly make Portsmouth a better place every single day. The hardest part now lies ahead, because we have the impossible task of narrowing down these nominations to just 100. I have learned over the past two years that Portsmouth sometimes has a habit of talking about itself as though it ends at the guildhall. I have therefore made it my mission since being elected to remind everyone that there is another half of Portsmouth that is every bit as special, which is Portsmouth North. It is where so many of my own memories were made: the street parties on Mousehole Road; rolling down Portsdown hill, which I must confess I have done rather more recently than perhaps I should have; spending long summer days sitting on the concrete steps at Hilsea lido, and how wonderful to see this much-loved landmark restored for future generations to make memories, too; catching the bus as a kid into North End to go shopping, before treating ourselves to a burger at Uncle Sams; play dates with mates in the ball pit at the Sovereigns, and later on in the garden of the Rose in June; family picnics at Baffins park after a visit; and going shopping with my Nan in Cosham, or as my Aunty Irene likes to call it, “Cozam”. These moments may seem ordinary, but they are what makes a city extraordinary. As we celebrate 100 years, I want to encourage residents to follow the lion trail, which takes them to so many gems in my city, and to make their own memories. What next for year 101, and what will I strive to change? I will strive for building the homes that local families need, giving every child the opportunity to achieve and thrive, supporting our high streets, protecting our coastlines, backing our armed forces, speaking out for those who often do not feel they have a voice, and making sure every generation can build a good life in my city—the city that I and they love. I want to thank my family and my loved ones for their support, and my fantastic team of Harry, Helen, Lucy, Abbie, Matthew, Jemma, Oscar and Flora—who, with her partner, Neil, welcomed their beautiful baby boy, Sacha Henry, just two weeks ago. Before I finish, I want to pay tribute to our outgoing Prime Minister, and to thank him for his service to our country, and for his kindness, encouragement and friendship. I also want to warmly welcome our new Prime Minister. Around Greater Manchester, he is known as the king of the north. I gently remind him that there is another north that deserves attention, and that is Portsmouth North.

• 16 Jul 2026 · Gibraltar: UK-EU Treaty · Hansard source

  More

  I draw Members’ attention to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests. As chair of the all-party parliamentary group on Gibraltar, I warmly congratulate the Government on successfully securing this historic, landmark agreement. I thank the Minister and his team for engaging with the APPG and for his words today explaining the sheer emotion that this treaty brings to Gibraltarians. Having visited Gibraltar on a number of occasions, and having spoken and listened to its Government, businesses and people, I know that they are really proudly British and want to remain so. This agreement protects Gibraltar’s sovereignty and its sovereign military base, strengthens our relationship with Spain, improves co-operation with our European neighbours and delivers what Gibraltar has consistently asked for. It has been backed by the Gibraltarian Parliament and supported by every former Chief Minister —I thank them for their commitment, dedication and trust in us. Does the Minister agree that those criticising this agreement should spend less time speaking on what they believe is for Gibraltar and more time listening to the people of Gibraltar? They have consistently supported this agreement and, as I have heard today, joyfully welcomed it.

• 8 Jul 2026 · Draft UK-EU Agreement on Gibraltar · Hansard source

  More

  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir John, in this important debate. For more than six years, the people of Gibraltar have lived with uncertainty. As chair of the all-party parliamentary group on Gibraltar, I have had the enormous privilege of visiting the Rock several times since Brexit. I have met businesses, politicians, officials and residents. Wherever I have gone, I have heard the same message: people want certainty, so that they can get on with their lives, grow their businesses and plan for the future. I want to put on record my thanks to the hon. Member for Brigg and Immingham (Martin Vickers) for not only securing this debate but producing a full and thorough report, alongside Baroness Elizabeth Butler-Sloss, after their visit in May. As he noted, after years of determined negotiations we finally have an agreement that delivers certainty. I congratulate the Minister and his team on that, and I pay tribute to the Government of Gibraltar, whose steadfast commitment was instrumental in securing this outcome. I also recognise the constructive engagement of Spain and the European Union. Agreements of such significance are only possible through patience, dialogue and a shared determination to find a way forward. This matters because every day more than 15,000 people cross the frontier to work, trade and support their families. Removing unnecessary barriers will make a real difference to people’s lives, give businesses greater certainty and confidence, and help Gibraltar look to the future with certainty. However, the practical benefits need to be seen and felt, so I would be grateful if the Minister could say a little more about when people can expect to begin seeing them. The economic case is compelling. Gibraltar estimates that the agreement could unlock around £200 million a year for its economy, without costing the UK taxpayer a penny. The agreement is good for Gibraltar, good for British business and good for our wider economy. More importantly, it changes nothing about sovereignty. Gibraltar remains British. The treaty is clear, the Government of Gibraltar’s independent legal advice is clear, and the right of the people of Gibraltar to determine their own future remains untouched. Chief Minister Fabian Picardo said in one of his national day addresses: “We are an integral part of the British family of Nations. And no one can or should try to untie the knot that binds us and Britain.” Those words capture exactly what the treaty has achieved. It provides certainty for Gibraltar’s future while protecting the enduring bond between Gibraltar and the United Kingdom. It is also important to remember that this is the agreement the people of Gibraltar wanted. It was backed by a Government elected on a mandate to deliver, approved unanimously by the Gibraltar Parliament and supported by every former Chief Minister. As we heard from the hon. Member for Brigg and Immingham, it was backed by the many stakeholders that he met during his visit in May. Alongside the constitutional protections come real practical benefits: easier movement across the frontier, improved trading opportunities for Gibraltar businesses, and simpler travel for British and potentially European visitors. The agreement gives Gibraltar the opportunity to thrive while remaining proudly British. However, I hear the concerns that have been raised with regard to the retail sector, security, health and access to the university. Along with the Gibraltar APPG, I look forward to supporting and raising any concerns where possible with our Government. As the Member of Parliament for Portsmouth North, I also welcome the protections for our national security. Gibraltar has stood alongside Britain for more than 300 years and remains one of our most strategically important overseas territories. The strait of Gibraltar is one of the world’s most important maritime gateways, and the ability of the United Kingdom to operate freely from the Rock is fundamental to our national security. I particularly welcome the clear guidance that the movement of UK military personnel and equipment will not be impeded. That was an essential principle throughout the negotiations and I am pleased to see it so very clearly protected. National security is the first priority of any Government, so I would welcome anything the Minister can say about how those defence interests were protected throughout the negotiations and the close work undertaken across Government to secure that outcome. The agreement is about more than protecting and resolving the legacy of Brexit. It gives Gibraltar certainty, protects sovereignty, strengthens our security and creates the conditions for long-term prosperity. For generations, Gibraltarians have shown extraordinary loyalty to the United Kingdom, and the United Kingdom has stood firmly with Gibraltar. The treaty honours that relationship, safeguards its future and allows Gibraltar to look ahead with confidence. As the chair of the Gibraltar APPG, I warmly welcome it.

• 8 Jul 2026 · Rearmament and Warfighting Readiness · Hansard source

  More

  We live in an increasingly unstable world. From Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine to the conflict in the middle east, the threats to our national security have grown, and families across the country have felt the consequences through higher bills and rising prices. We cannot afford to ignore the reality of the world we face, but as my hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham Selly Oak (Al Carns) so eloquently put it, the question we need to address is this: “What does warfighting readiness actually mean to this Government, to our forces and to our country?” It is worth reminding the House and our constituents—as it would not have been thought from the opening speeches today—that this Government inherited armed forces that had been hollowed out by years of under-investment, overstretch and a failure to keep pace with modern warfare. Let me point out to the hon. Member for Tunbridge Wells (Mike Martin) that this destruction was a result of initiatives such as the coalition Government’s 2011 defence basing review, which reduced the number of times our Type 45s were serviced, thus giving us this challenge. Ships, aircraft and tanks, and indeed personnel, are not built overnight, so I am proud that this Labour Government are beginning to put that right—and to put it right across Government, because this is not just the role of the Ministry of Defence. This Government deserve credit for changing course. Over the next four years, we will invest £298 billion in defence. The defence investment plan will help us to modernise our armed forces by investing in drones and autonomous systems, building at least six new warships, and strengthening the capabilities that our services need to respond to today’s security challenges. It reflects and learns from the lessons of recent conflicts, and ensures that our defence capabilities will keep pace with the changing nature of war. Although I do not agree with the hon. Member for Tunbridge Wells that this is too little too late, I do agree that we need to move and ensure that the sector is more rapidly equipped for national security and for growth. We know that increasing defence spending alone is not enough. We also need stronger industrial bases and a system that allows for swift procurement, and that means backing British defence manufacturers and innovative small and medium-sized enterprises with better access to finance so that they can grow and create skilled jobs and apprenticeships and strengthen our national resilience. In my constituency, for instance, defence jobs and national security go hand in hand. That is why I would like to ask the Minister whether the Government will look again at joining the Defence, Security and Resilience Bank. Spearheaded by Prime Minister Carney in Canada, the DSRB could help unlock private investment for the defence sector and support the industrial capacity that our armed forces really need. We should seize every opportunity to work with our allies to strengthen our defence industrial base, and we should seize every opportunity to ensure that we can not only have research and development here, but have the opportunity to scale up British companies so that they choose to invest and grow here and not abroad. Defence is about far more than equipment and technology. Our greatest strength is the people who serve this country. That is why, as well as improving defence design and manufacturing, we must continue to improve the support that those people receive. When we extend the armed forces covenant across Government, we must ensure that our people know about it, and we must continue to deliver the £9 billion defence housing strategy to improve service homes. As I have constantly argued, we should also seek to improve paternity service leave for fathers and families. If we are serious about national security, we must also be serious about recruiting, retaining and supporting the people who keep our country safe. Britain faces significant security challenges, and meeting them requires sustained investment, a strong defence industry, and a firm commitment to those who serve our country. It also requires—as my hon. Friend the Member for Dunfermline and Dollar (Graeme Downie) so brilliantly argued—an open and honest conversation with the public, so that citizens in the United Kingdom can really understand what warfighting readiness means; so that they can understand the challenges and the very real threats that we face in the UK, the priorities that we may need to make, and the misinformation and dangers that the cyber world holds out there. These are conversations that we know are happening in our allied countries, such as Norway and Finland—conversations that will make us all warfighting ready. This Labour Government are rebuilding our armed forces, they are backing British defence jobs, and they are strengthening our national security for the future. Much has been done, and there is still much more to do, but I have every faith that we as a Labour Government will rise to the challenge.

• 6 Jul 2026 · Employment and Training · Hansard source

  More

  Too many of those skilled industrial jobs have disappeared and too many young people today do not see the same opportunities that previous generations had. When we talk about levies like this, we are really talking about whether today’s young people will be given the opportunities that their parents and grandparents had. It is about creating the next generation of engineers and skilled workers who will build, maintain and modernise the infrastructure our country depends on. For many young people, particularly those who do not choose the traditional university route, apprenticeships offer a pathway into secure, highly skilled and well-paid work. By supporting the levy, we are investing in those opportunities and in the workforce our economy will need for decades to come. We need to ensure that the levy enables maximum opportunity and flexibility, for example by supporting those in the construction industry to use the levy creatively for transport by maybe providing driving lessons, as it is not easy to get public transport to building sites at the hours and times that people need to be attending. Will the Minister work with me to consider how we can use the levy flexibly across the sector? The truth is that our ambitions for clean energy, advanced manufacturing, industrial decarbonisation and major infrastructure projects will succeed only if we have the skilled workforce to deliver them. No single employer can solve the skills shortages alone. A collective approach allows industry to invest together in training, ensuring we develop not only the workforce we need today but the workforce for tomorrow. We need to find a way to ensure that larger businesses who do not use their full levy work to support the smaller businesses that need it. Earlier today, the all-party parliamentary group for tradespeople held a roundtable with Checkatrade, presenting new research into young people’s attitudes towards careers in the trades. The findings were encouraging. Almost half are considering becoming a plumber, builder or electrician, while 40% of under-25s now say an apprenticeship is more appealing than a degree. Just 10 years ago, that stood at 3%. An apprenticeship is slowly becoming their first choice. That is a remarkable shift, but it also creates a responsibility. If more young people want to pursue skilled trades, we must make sure the training and opportunities are there. That is particularly important when more than 1 million young people are currently not in education, employment or training. Will the Minister support cross-party, cross-Government working to ensure that this opportunity is available in Portsmouth, where it is much needed and much wanted? I also know there has been a consultation taking place on the future of the ECITB and the CITB. I ask the Minister to engage with the APPG for tradespeople on those discussions and on the progress that will be made. Finally, there is a wider national interest at stake. Engineering construction underpins our critical national infrastructure, from our energy networks to defence facilities. In an increasingly uncertain world, Britain cannot rely solely on importing the skills we need. We must develop the home-grown talent, and indeed the city-grown talent, that strengthens both our economy and our national resilience. To do that, we must recognise the barriers to taking up and completing apprenticeships, and ensure we remove them. For communities such as Portsmouth North, this is about restoring opportunity. It is about giving young people the chance to learn a trade, earn a good wage, build a rewarding career and take pride in contributing to Britain’s future, as they once did in my city.

• 6 Jul 2026 · Employment and Training · Hansard source

  More

  As someone who studied STEM—science, technology, engineering and maths—subjects at college, I agree with the hon. Member. We need to ensure that our young people have the maximum number of opportunities to give our country resilience, whether that is in defence, farming or maritime—also something close to my heart—so I whole heartedly agree with him. For those reasons, I am pleased to support the proposals.

• 6 Jul 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

  More

  T6. Two weeks ago, alongside colleagues, I met a network of families and parents from all three armed forces. I heard from serving personnel about the real strain of starting a family while serving our country. A recent snapshot survey by the Dad Shift of over 450 serving forces members found that 90% believed that two weeks of paternity leave is not enough. Does the Minister agree that increasing paternity leave for those who serve in the armed forces would boost retention, strengthen resilience and give our children a better start in life? Does he agree that our armed forces deserve better?