Brian Mathew MP: speeches 2025

Speeches

• 15 Dec 2025 · Sudan: Humanitarian Situation · Hansard source

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  Clearly, the No.1 priority is to achieve a ceasefire in Sudan, but peace needs to be secured. Will the UK Government, as the UN penholder, organise and host a Lancaster House-style peace conference for all the parties to the conflict, with civilians represented by the head of the previous civilian Government, Abdalla Hamdok?

• 10 Dec 2025 · Kashmir: Self-determination · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Sir Roger. I thank the hon. Member for Bradford East (Imran Hussain) for securing this debate, and I thank all Members who have spoken so far with such eloquence, passion and knowledge. The Liberal Democrats are deeply concerned about the ongoing conflict between India and Pakistan over Jammu and Kashmir. This is not a new conflict, but a particularly long and devastating one that affects many in the UK, particularly those in communities with strong personal ties to the region. We have all learned from other long-running conflicts, such as in the middle east, that unresolved disputes can lead to immense suffering. Now, in the season of good will, the UK Government must play an active role in advocating for peace and reconciliation between India and Pakistan by hosting a peace conference that includes the representatives of the area’s population, including AJK. We urge both Governments to engage in a peace process that delivers a sustainable solution. The UK should work with the international community to provide diplomatic support for a just and lasting settlement. The region remains one of the most militarised in the world, with widespread allegations of suppression and discrimination. With the UN reporting serious human rights abuses in Jammu and Kashmir in 2018 and 2019, and the revocation of article 370 in 2019, the subsequent restrictions on Kashmiri rights are deeply disturbing. When the world is on the brink of so many disasters, let us see peace in Jammu and Kashmir, a peace conference held, and a referendum organised. The UK must use its influence to support UN inspections and engagements in Kashmir so the people of the area can prosper in peace. The Liberal Democrats believe in defending human rights and equality globally; we think that UK foreign policy should promote those values internationally. The UK must reverse its cuts to official development assistance and ensure that aid focuses on poverty and human rights, and indeed on ending wars. Where better to do that than in Jammu and Kashmir by utilising the soft power of our aid programme? The Kashmir crisis is a long-standing issue that cannot be ignored. The UK must use its diplomatic channels to promote peace, hold human rights violators accountable and support those affected by the conflict. More importantly, it must see that those who stand with guns on both sides of this long-standing conflict do the same. We stand for a peaceful, just and humanitarian approach to resolving conflict. We also say, in all humility, humanity and love: let us put this conflict in the bin of history and remind both sides that, in the words of the late Jo Cox, there is so much more that unites us than divides us. Happy Christmas, everyone. Let’s hope it’s a good one without any tears.

• 10 Dec 2025 · International Human Rights Day 2025 · Hansard source

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  Does the hon. Gentleman agree that, as the UN penholder for Sudan, the UK has the moral responsibility to ensure the ongoing human rights travesty there does not continue, most importantly by ending all arms trade to the United Arab Emirates?

• 9 Dec 2025 · Railways Bill · Hansard source

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  Does the hon. Member agree that there is also a danger of a conflict of interest? At present, the ORR, an independent body, holds the power to grant track access rights. Under the Bill, those powers will transfer to GBR, while the ORR’s role is watered down. If GBR is able to block applications, it becomes judge and jury. Open access operators such as Go-op may struggle to get the access rights that they need to run new services, including through Melksham.

• 8 Dec 2025 · Digital ID · Hansard source

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  Quite apart from the excellent points made by my hon. Friend and by Members on all sides of the Chamber, Singapore has a population that is 10 times smaller than ours, and it took it over 12 years to develop its system. How long would it take us to develop ours: 100 years?

• 3 Dec 2025 · Local Media · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Dr Allin-Khan. I thank the hon. Member for Bromley and Biggin Hill (Peter Fortune) for securing this timely debate, and everyone who has spoken so far. This really is an important issue. In Melksham and Devizes, we are lucky to have a local print newspaper in the Melksham News , which is both well regarded and widely read. It is staffed by fantastic journalists who work hard to bring local people the news that matters most to them. Importantly, those journalists are rooted in the local community, something that is essential to good local journalism. Speaking to the Melksham News , I have been made aware that many local authorities exclusively publish their statutory advice for things such as road closures and consultations with larger corporate news outlets. I agree with the paper that it would surely be fairer, and indeed provide wider and more effective reach, if some of that ad spend was shared out among local, independent news outlets. Those notices should be an important source of income for small, independent publishers and it would be one small way in which we elected officials can continue to help our free and fair press. Of course, it must be acknowledged that the way in which people consume their news is changing, and has been for many decades now—from broadsheets to radio to television and social media. However, we must do everything we can to preserve and help independent local news organisations, which are keeping the flame of honest journalism alive. It was not lost on me that local papers were essential in pushing back on the misinformation spreading online last summer. If the Government are serious about changing local media and its landscape and helping local journalists, they need to implement the changes recommended in the 2023 “Sustainability of local journalism” report. I now have a regular column in the Melksham News myself, and I have noticed that what I write about is picked up and discussed around the town. It is clear that it is being read and that there is a real desire for local news for local people.

• 2 Dec 2025 · Budget Resolutions · Hansard source

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  While increased investment in the NHS and the lifting of the two-child benefit cap are welcome, for the second year in a row, the Government have largely failed to deliver on their promise to tackle the cost of living crisis and grow the economy. In neglecting to fix our relationship with Europe, they are overlooking the easiest solution to turbocharge our economy and repair the mess left by Brexit. A closer, more pragmatic partnership with our closest neighbours through a customs union would mean faster growth, improved competitiveness and a reduction in the red tape that is holding back small and medium-sized businesses, like those in my constituency of Melksham and Devizes. Last week, the owner of a transport company in Broughton Gifford told me that he had been up until the small hours doing the paperwork needed for his company to export to Europe. These businesses want to expand, export and hire new staff, but they are being held back by a Government that do not seem to understand, or want to understand, business. Our hospitality sector tells the same story. In the towns and villages in my constituency, hospitality is not just an industry but an essential part of the social fabric. I have visited a number of the outstanding pubs in my constituency, including the British Lion in Devizes and the Lamb in Urchfont, and spoken to the landlords, staff and customers. They are being squeezed by high energy costs, pressures from supply chains, staffing shortages and rising prices. Wadworth, a family-run independent brewer and pub company based in Devizes that produces the much-loved 6X beer, is facing increased charges of thousands of pounds at its tenanted pubs. Despite the reduced multiplier, those pubs face an increase of 76% in their business rates, and will pay an extra £12,900 on average over the next three years, with some paying much more. That will likely lead to pub closures and job losses. I remind the Chancellor that a closed pub pays no taxes, so those measures are not only a nail in the coffin of one of our most valued assets, namely the Great British pub, but a major shot in the foot for the Chancellor and her Government. The Liberal Democrat policy to cut 5p on VAT for the hospitality sector would help those businesses not only to survive but to ensure that people can afford the little things that brighten up life, such as a pint after work, fish and chips on a Friday or a family meal, which should not break the bank. This low-growth, high-tax Budget is punishing people, hitting them with stealth taxes on their wages and failing to tackle the actual problems that our residents and businesses face. It fails to reverse the unpopular and self-defeating farm inheritance tax or at least to raise the threshold so that it protects working family farms. The Lib Dems wanted this Budget to be forward-thinking, going for growth with a deal for Europe, saving our high streets, and helping families with the cost of living. Instead, sadly, it was a missed opportunity and squandered the chance to deliver the change that is needed.

• 2 Dec 2025 · Criminal Court Reform · Hansard source

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  Justice delayed is indeed justice denied, but we have a proud history of juries in this country. If juries are to be suspended for cases in which a sentence of less than three years is expected in order to clear the backlog, will that just be for a limited time, and when will normal jury service be resumed?

• 24 Nov 2025 · Flood Resilience: New Housing · Hansard source

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  Over the past week, I am sure many of us have seen and felt the proof that our weather is becoming more extreme. That is why it is ever more important to be proactive and forward-thinking in our housing strategy. Does the Minister agree that sites that flood frequently, such as the old golf course in Bradford-on-Avon in my constituency of Melksham and Devizes, should not be included in local plans and not be called upon for development?

• 24 Nov 2025 · Flood Resilience: New Housing · Hansard source

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  16. What steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to ensure that new housing developments are adequately flood-resilient.

• 18 Nov 2025 · Gaza and Sudan · Hansard source

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  I welcome the statement, but why is the FCDO’s atrocity prevention team not working with the Sudan team? Our briefing this morning gave a minimum estimate of 60,000 murdered thus far by the RSF in El Fasher, with bodies being buried by bulldozers. El Obeid is likely to be next, and Tawila camp is expected to be attacked on Christmas day. This is the worst human atrocity since Rwanda. The Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary need to call it out for what it is—mass murder—engage with the UAE to see it stopped, and end trade if it is not.

• 11 Nov 2025 · Remembrance Day: Armed Forces · Hansard source

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  Since being elected, it has been my honour to represent my constituency at remembrance events, parades, ceremonies and services. Last weekend, I laid a wreath in Devizes. For me, it was an opportunity not just to remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice, but to appreciate the community’s patriotic spirit. So many have given so much. Everyone from the Brownies and the cadets to servicemen and women, town councillors and veterans on motorbikes came out on Sunday. It was not just good to see it, but humbling to be a part of it. As a member of the Royal British Legion, it has been a privilege to campaign alongside veterans and fellow members and to meet service families. A few years ago, I had the chance with friends and fellow RBL members to take part in “Pedal to Ypres”, a fundraising cycle ride that takes participants along the frontline of the first world war as far as Vimy ridge. As we cycled back to Dunkirk with the sea wind in our faces and the situation in Ukraine very much on our minds, the curtain between the events of 1940 and the present day seemed poignantly thin. Walking around these last few weeks, it has been good to see the poppies on people’s coats and jackets and to see poppy sellers outside shops and at railway stations. Indeed, the short ceremony in Westminster Hall this morning to mark the 11th hour of the 11th day was particularly striking. At a time when the country has felt divided, it is important to remember those family and community members who served and, in doing so, to unite people across the country.

• 5 Nov 2025 · Conflict in Sudan · Hansard source

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  In last night’s Adjournment debate, I called for a Lancaster House-style conference for all the parties to the Sudan conflict, so that a way to peace can be found. Government Members also called for a peacemaking force. Given the urgency of the situation, can the Minister please see to it that both of those suggestions are investigated, and that discussions are opened with our partners in the region, including Nigeria, so that the suggestions can be acted on?

• 4 Nov 2025 · Sudan: Government Support · Hansard source

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  I completely agree with the right hon. Lady and thank her for raising that point. A third of children under five in El Fasher are suffering from acute malnutrition, and some are resorting to eating animal feed and plant waste to survive. I would hope that everything possible will be done to allow humanitarian corridors to open for civilians to leave besieged areas, and to be assured they are not going from the frying pan into the fire. The supply of weaponry and military equipment is the oxygen keeping this conflict alive, and we as penholder should lead efforts to impose a binding, enforceable arms embargo across all of Sudan.

• 4 Nov 2025 · Sudan: Government Support · Hansard source

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  I heartily agree with the hon. Member. Humanitarian workers are also under threat, and I commend the work being done as we speak by groups like Doctors without Borders—MSF—and the International Committee of the Red Cross. MSF has been treating hundreds fleeing El Fasher over the last week, including men, women and children suffering from severe malnutrition, gunshot wounds and other injuries linked to beatings and torture. As a former aid worker who has lived and worked in Sudan, although many years ago, I want to express my deep sadness over the killing of five Sudanese Red Crescent Society volunteers in Bara, North Kordofan. Humanitarian workers are often the first and sometimes only responders for people in desperate situations around the world, and they selflessly give their time and skills, as well as their courage and compassion. My heart goes out to their families.

• 4 Nov 2025 · Sudan: Government Support · Hansard source

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  We are in Remembrance Week, when we remember the dead of past wars. Right now in Sudan, a war as murderous and horrible as anything the world has faced is shattering the lives of civilians, of children, of women and of men, in ways we can scarcely countenance. I have secured this debate because what is going on in Sudan cannot continue. The fall of the city of El Fasher, after a brutal 18-month siege, is the latest disaster in what the Foreign Secretary accurately described at the weekend as “the largest humanitarian crisis in the 21st century.” Over the past week, reports have been coming in of executions, forced expulsions and organised massacres—the evidence of which is literally visible from space, with images of carnage and bodies strewn in the streets. Conditions in El Fasher have been described as “apocalyptic”. However, this was not unexpected. Tragically, it was very much predicted, with warnings from numerous sources. Descriptions of El Fasher as another Srebrenica are not misplaced, although they are in many ways worse.

• 4 Nov 2025 · Sudan: Government Support · Hansard source

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  I very much agree with the hon. Lady, and I hope that my speech will bring some ideas to the floor. The Government need to be bolder, more direct and proactive in their work to support Sudan and the Sudanese people. As UN Security Council penholder on Sudan and lead in the core group on Sudan at the UN Human Rights Council for the protection of civilians, it is our duty to try every possible avenue to push for peace and change. I am sure we are all glad to see the recent announcement from the Foreign Secretary that £5 million in aid will be going to Sudan, in addition to the £120 million already allocated this financial year, with £2 million specifically going to support survivors of sexual violence. This conflict has been particularly devasting for the women and girls subjected to that violence. They often have no potential recourse, justice or even access to the most basic health services after being attacked. We need to look to the future and to recommendations from the sources that predicted the ongoing violence. Protection Approaches, an organisation that repeatedly predicted the potential for extreme violence in El Fasher, has pointed to the city of Tawila as a next step in the trajectory of the Rapid Support Forces’ strategy.

• 4 Nov 2025 · Sudan: Government Support · Hansard source

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  I totally agree; we need to be far more outspoken on this issue.

• 4 Nov 2025 · Sudan: Government Support · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Gentleman for his comments, and I agree with him. Will the Government do for Tawila what was not done for El Geneina, Zamzam, or El Fasher, and recognise its precariousness before it is too late? Will the Government use every diplomatic pressure and avenue available to secure guarantees that humanitarian assistance and aid can be delivered unimpeded?

• 4 Nov 2025 · Sudan: Government Support · Hansard source

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  I agree with my hon. Friend. I call on the Government to follow on from the London Sudan conference held in April and hold a Lancaster House-style peace conference for all the parties to the conflict. They must hold it in a place of safety, on neutral ground, where peace in Sudan and the means to achieve it can be fully debated and a way forward can be found for peace, reconciliation and rebuilding. Some may say that such a journey is impossible, but if we do not try, we will not succeed. If a journey begins with a single step, let this be such a step. We cannot and must not allow the killing, torture and rape to continue.

• 4 Nov 2025 · Sudan: Government Support · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Member for his kind comments. I agree with him, and I hope to put forward some ideas that may prove useful. There are no United Nations peacekeepers on hand even to witness the killings. Current events are a continuation of a calculated political strategy to destroy and ethnically cleanse a province that gives its name to one of the tribes —namely the Fur. The Zaghawa, Berti and Masalit tribes have been similarly targeted in a strategy that began, arguably, well over 20 years ago. Despite the commendable efforts to improve international accountability—including through support for the International Criminal Court and UN fact-finding missions—as well as the efforts of many Members here and our UK aid programme to raise awareness and support the Sudanese people, what has been done so far is clearly not enough.

• 4 Nov 2025 · Sudan: Government Support · Hansard source

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  I totally agree. I thank my hon. Friend for that point. With that, I will conclude my remarks.

• 4 Nov 2025 · Sudan: Government Support · Hansard source

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  I agree with my hon. Friend. We must ensure that this business with arms is stopped. The atrocities that we are witnessing through the news, with the work of Barbara Plett Usher at the BBC, others at The Guardian and Al Jazeera, and through social media trickling through the media blackout, will be remembered for generations. El Fasher, like Srebrenica before it, will sadly likely stand as a symbol of what happens when the world turns a blind eye.

• 4 Nov 2025 · Sudan: Government Support · Hansard source

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  I agree with the hon. Gentleman; the world needs to wake up. As the penholder, we have the means and the moral responsibility to act and ensure that we and the rest of the world do not turn our backs on Sudan once more.

• 4 Nov 2025 · Sudan: Government Support · Hansard source

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  I know my hon. Friend has military expertise so I thank him for his points. Crucially, we must also suspend arms sales to the United Arab Emirates. The fact that British-made weapons, tools and equipment could be flowing into the hands of those perpetrating these actions is terrible beyond words, and I echo the words of my hon. Friend the Member for Esher and Walton (Monica Harding), who said that equipment made on our soil must never end up in the hands of those committing such atrocities.