Matthew Patrick MP: speeches 2025

Speeches

• 19 Nov 2025 · Film and Television Productions · Hansard source

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  If you’re directing it, Mr Speaker! I look forward to my visit to Strangford—I do not see enough of the hon. Member in this House. The creative industries in Northern Ireland are booming, as he says, and they are backed all the way by this Government. We have a modern industrial strategy and a 10-year plan to back our strengths and unlock potential, and the Government have committed to increasing investment in the creative industries to £31 billion by 2035.

• 19 Nov 2025 · Film and Television Productions · Hansard source

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  Northern Ireland’s creative industries are thriving and are an important source of growth, and I have discussed that topic with Northern Ireland Executive Ministers. Whether it is “Derry Girls”, “Game of Thrones”, “Trespasses”, “Blue Lights” or “Line of Duty”, which has just been renewed and will be filmed in Belfast, producers choose Northern Ireland for its world-class talent and studios. To coin a phrase, it is a sector that is sucking diesel.

• 19 Nov 2025 · Film and Television Productions · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend speaks with enormous experience and I know that she wrote the impactful report, “Employing the change-makers”. I agree that expanding opportunities for disabled people to take part in the creative industries is important. As the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport often says, talent exists everywhere but opportunity does not. That is why I am pleased that the creative industries new entrants programme, delivered in partnership between Northern Ireland Screen, the BBC and the Northern Ireland Executive, is working to broaden access for disabled actors.

• 19 Nov 2025 · Community Groups: Northern Ireland and Great Britain · Hansard source

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  I thank the right hon. Member for the opportunity to champion the growth taking place in Northern Ireland, with exciting work in the creative industries and the tech sector. On the opportunities for secondments and shared learning, I made the offer to the Executive Ministers I met last month that where we can share best practice, knowledge and learning, we should do so. I am happy to take forward other suggestions that the right hon. Member may have.

• 19 Nov 2025 · Community Groups: Northern Ireland and Great Britain · Hansard source

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  I have seen no such proposals. We have agreements in place with the European Union to ensure that there is engagement with Northern Ireland on any matters that might impact it.

• 19 Nov 2025 · Community Groups: Northern Ireland and Great Britain · Hansard source

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  I am happy to speak to colleagues about the success of the connect fund and how it works. My hon. Friend should know that applications are open to anyone across the United Kingdom, provided that they are working with a group in Northern Ireland. I would be delighted to see applications from his constituents if they wish to do that.

• 19 Nov 2025 · Community Groups: Northern Ireland and Great Britain · Hansard source

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  I look forward to the next meeting of the East-West Council. The right hon. Member will know that I met Minister Givan to discuss education matters and how we can ensure that students in Northern Ireland have the best education possible. I agree with the right hon. Member about the importance of shared bonds, and I hope we can progress those further.

• 19 Nov 2025 · Community Groups: Northern Ireland and Great Britain · Hansard source

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  I am proud that this Government are investing £1 million into the connect fund to strengthen collaboration between communities across the UK. Mr Speaker, I know that as a dedicated supporter of our veterans you will be pleased to hear that I recently visited Castle Community Trust in Belfast, which through this funding is bringing together veterans in Belfast and Shrewsbury to overcome social isolation. Whatever part of the United Kingdom people are in, they have our support to tackle shared challenges.

• 19 Nov 2025 · Community Groups: Northern Ireland and Great Britain · Hansard source

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  The Secretary of State has been clear that currently, there is no evidence that there is a majority in favour of constitutional change. Of course, we defend the principle of consent and the right of the people in Northern Ireland to determine their constitutional future. It is totally legitimate for people to advocate for the future they want to see.

• 18 Nov 2025 · Northern Ireland Troubles Bill · Hansard source

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  I apologise, but I will not as I am short of time. The hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar raised the idea of immunity. As I have said in response to the reasoned amendment, we should remember that no veteran ever received immunity—it was undeliverable and a false promise. The conditional immunity championed by the Conservatives would have meant that someone who murdered a UK citizen on UK soil would have walked away scot-free, and that is what they are calling for us to return to. The right hon. Member for Tonbridge was right when he said that their offer of immunity was pretty abhorrent. As my hon. Friend the Member for Beckenham and Penge (Liam Conlon) set out so powerfully, the immunity offer was an insult to the families of those killed and, as my hon. Friend the Member for South Ribble (Mr Foster) indicated, an insult to veterans too. On the issue of on-the-run letters, they did not grant immunity— [ Interruption. ] The case of John Downie was cited as proof. He is currently subject to live criminal proceedings for the murder of two soldiers in 1972, which is clear proof that those letters grant no immunity. I am grateful to the hon. Members who drew our attention to the voices of victims and survivors. It is important that those families are at the heart of the legislation, and they are. We must ensure that we increase confidence in the new Legacy Commission and enable more families to come forward, which is why we are significantly reforming the commission through this legislation. The Chair of the Select Committee, my hon. Friend the Member for Gower (Tonia Antoniazzi), asked about the definition of family members. We believe that the definition set out in clause 93 is right and proportionate. Clause 8 of the Bill sets up a victims and survivors advisory group, which is designed to ensure that the voices of victims and survivors are heard. The question of who will be appointed to that group was raised by many colleagues, including the right hon. Member for Belfast East (Gavin Robinson) and the hon. Member for Wimbledon (Mr Kohler). It is absolutely vital that this group can command confidence, and this Government will therefore not appoint to it anyone who has previously been involved in paramilitary activity. That is a clear commitment made by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State from this Dispatch Box. A number of hon. Members from across the House have raised issues relating to prosecutions. Let me be really clear on this important point: as I have set out, decisions to prosecute are independent. Our judiciary is independent. I disagree with those Members who claim that prosecutions are vexatious or political.

• 18 Nov 2025 · Northern Ireland Troubles Bill · Hansard source

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  It is a real pleasure to close this Second Reading debate for the Government, and I thank all right hon. and hon. Members who have contributed. I wish to declare an interest. Members should be aware of my declaration in the “List of Ministers’ Interests”, where I have flagged that two family members work for the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery. Today’s debate has been powerful to listen to, and many right hon. and hon. Members have raised important points and asked important questions. In the time available, I will try to address as many of those points as I can, and I will write to Members on any specific points that I am unable to address in time. I will start my remarks with enormous thanks to the veterans who served us in Operation Banner, serving in intolerable conditions, and standing in harm’s way to protect life, as other Members have powerfully described. Quite simply, our armed forces are the best of us. I wish to thank those who served in the police—a job of enormous difficulty that brave men and women set out to do with distinction. We owe a particular duty of care to those who served our nation, and there will never be equivalence between our armed forces and police service, and the terrorists who set out to cause death and destruction. As the Secretary of State has set out, this Bill is about helping people to get answers. I cannot begin to understand the pain of not knowing what happened to a loved one who was killed or disappeared. I can only imagine that the need for an answer, to know what really happened, never fades.

• 18 Nov 2025 · Northern Ireland Troubles Bill · Hansard source

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  I will not take interventions, as I am very short of time. The right hon. Member for Tonbridge (Tom Tugendhat) said that this legislation will be “reopening wounds”, but I believe they never closed. I have sat with families who simply want to know what happened to their loved one. More than 3,500 people were killed during the troubles. The Good Friday agreement recognised that it was essential to address and acknowledge the suffering of victims and survivors, and it is our collective duty to deliver on that remaining Good Friday agreement commitment. If through this process, those relatives can be supported to get answers, then we will have met that duty. There are many things that the last Labour Government achieved of which I am proud. As the hon. Member for Runcorn and Helsby (Sarah Pochin) noted, the Good Friday agreement rightly sits among their very finest achievements. I recently had a conversation with a veteran in my constituency who told me how important it is to deal in facts, so let us set some of those out. It is a long-standing principle in this country that decisions to prosecute are independent. Judicial independence has served our country very well for over 300 years. That is why when people read about recent cases, such as the trial of Soldier F, it is not relevant that the decision to prosecute was taken while the Conservative Government were in power, because the decision was independent. Equally, it is not relevant that soldier F was acquitted under a Labour Government, because that decision too is independent. Since 2012 there have been 25 prosecutions relating to the troubles. Of those, the majority were for republican terrorists. There are nine live prosecutions relating to the troubles, and one ongoing prosecution relates to the conduct of the British Army. Again, the decision to prosecute was taken under the Conservative Government —under, not by, because they are rightly independent decisions. I urge the House to reject the reasoned amendment. Among other things, the amendment suggests that removing conditional immunity will lead to veterans being dragged before the courts. That is not true. The Conservatives’ failed immunity scheme, which would also have applied to IRA terrorists, was never commenced. All it did was offer a false promise that could never be delivered. Because this amendment is based on such a fundamental misunderstanding about the Bill and the way in which our prosecution system works, I urge the House to reject it. Veterans were raised by a number of hon. Members. The Government’s commitment to honour Operation Banner veterans is unshakeable. We must not forget that over 1,000 armed forces families lost loved ones during the troubles, and that over 200 investigations into the deaths of armed forces personnel and veterans were shut down by the last Government’s failed legacy Act. In search for answers, those families, as much as any families, deserve a fair, proportionate and transparent system. They would not want for the terrorists who took the lives of brave soldiers to have any form of immunity. Members talked about our protections. I reiterate that our Bill puts in place strong and important protections that were not included in the failed Tory legacy Act. I thank the Minister for the Armed Forces, my hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham Selly Oak (Al Carns), who is himself a veteran of Northern Ireland, for his close work and attention to put in place these important protections. We have published our fact sheet that details where the protections sit throughout the Bill, so I will not rehearse them all now, given the time I have available. The hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Alex Burghart) asked how we can continue with the remedial order. The Government abandoned their appeal and therefore have the ability to continue with the order. For those, including the right hon. Member for Tonbridge, who talked about morale, I am proud of the protections in the Bill. I am also proud more broadly that this Government have given an important pay rise to our armed forces, and I believe that morale was harmed by the actions of the last Government.

• 18 Nov 2025 · Northern Ireland Troubles Bill · Hansard source

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  I do not have time. I now turn to the issue of inquests, which has been raised by hon. Members. As the Government have long committed to, clause 84 makes it clear that a small number of inquests that have been halted by the legacy Act will be able to proceed. Inquests that had not commenced hearings before the legacy Act will be subject to an assessment by the Solicitor General, based on statutory criteria, to determine whether they will be most effectively progressed in the Legacy Commission or in the coronial system. This position reflects the significant role that a reformed Legacy Commission can play in achieving outcomes for families, particularly given its far greater capacity to handle sensitive information when compared with an inquest.

• 18 Nov 2025 · Northern Ireland Troubles Bill · Hansard source

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  As I have stated, I have a very short amount of time, and I want to address as many of the points that have been made as I am able. A number of Members, including the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar and the right hon. Member for Belfast East, raised the commitments made by the Irish Government and the role that they will play. The clear commitment of the Irish Government to provide the fullest possible co-operation with the Legacy Commission will help provide many more families with an opportunity to obtain information they have long sought. This partnership represents two Governments coming together, each making sovereign commitments and promising to carry them out in their own jurisdictions. I believe that the Irish Government will honour the promises they have made—the agreement has been signed in good faith, and we are each committed to do what we promised to do independently in our Parliaments. In the interests of time, I will conclude my remarks. I am grateful to all right hon. and hon. Members who have contributed to this debate—a debate that I know we will continue as the Bill progresses. As we do, I know that we will hold at the forefront of our minds who this is all for: for victims and their families right across the United Kingdom; for all those who bravely served us in intolerable conditions; and for Northern Ireland and its future. I commend the Bill to the House. Question put, That the amendment be made.

• 15 Oct 2025 · Defence Industrial Strategy · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Gentleman for his warm words. He is right that we need to work across Northern Ireland to ensure that the life-changing investment he mentions is felt throughout, and I will make sure that happens.

• 15 Oct 2025 · Defence Industrial Strategy · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend is right to highlight the rich expertise in Northern Ireland’s defence sector, which brings benefits right across the UK, including to Stevenage. I assure him that the Secretary of State and I will work across Government and with the Executive to ensure a joined-up approach that benefits Northern Ireland.

• 15 Oct 2025 · Defence Industrial Strategy · Hansard source

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  In this role, I am committed to supporting all people across Northern Ireland. From its businesses to its community groups, there is much to champion. I will do all that I can to build on the excellent work of my predecessor, my hon. Friend the Member for Putney (Fleur Anderson). The defence industrial strategy is great news for Northern Ireland. We are committed to economic growth that people can feel in their pocket, and the £250 million allocated to five defence growth deals, including one in Northern Ireland, will see its booming defence sector thrive.

• 15 Oct 2025 · Defence Industrial Strategy · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend is right. I warmly welcome this investment and I know he is rightly proud of the defence expertise in his constituency. Backed by this Labour Government increasing defence spending to 2.5%, Harland & Wolff is building the next generation of support ships for our Royal Navy. We are safeguarding jobs, skills and our future security.

• 15 Oct 2025 · Defence Industrial Strategy · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Gentleman for his warm words. I will meet Executive Ministers in Northern Ireland next week to discuss this and other matters. I will ensure that we remove any blockages that we can, and that we do so by working together.

• 21 Jul 2025 · Middle East · Hansard source

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  Last week I heard from Keith and Aviva Siegel, who had been held hostage by Hamas. It was a powerful reminder that until all hostages are released, no hostage is released. That is true for Avinatan Or and his family and Gali and Ziv Berman and their family—in fact, it is the families of hostages who are some of the loudest voices calling for an end to this war. Will the Secretary of State outline what steps he is taking to ensure that the next ceasefire is permanent and will see hostages get out of Gaza and aid get in?

• 3 Jul 2025 · NHS 10-Year Plan · Hansard source

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  I thank the Secretary of State, because with this NHS plan, ambition is back. That ambition matters to my constituents, who for too many years have seen a health service in decline. I brought many of those constituents to a community meeting so that their experience and expertise could be shared and fed straight into this plan. Could the Secretary of State set out how this plan gives power to patients and puts them back in the driving seat?

• 1 Jul 2025 · Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill · Hansard source

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  At the heart of any progressive society is a simple test: how do we support people when they are most in need? The test is simple, but the answer is anything but, because need is not uniform. The duty of the Government is to create a safety net—one that is wide enough to break people’s fall, but not so wide that they can never escape it. We have a consensus in this House that the system is failing, and people are right to ask how we can fix it, but before we answer that, it is important to know where we are now and how we got here. Where are we now? We should look at the situation when Labour came into power less than a year ago: NHS waiting lists were at record highs; 3 million people were shut out of work through ill health; universal credit allowance was at a 40-year low; young people were written off, with one in eight not in work, education or training; and we had a mental health crisis, with over 1 million people in desperate need of support. The Conservative party is responsible for that situation, and we are responsible for fixing it. The Conservatives failed with their welfare reforms. For those who are disabled and want to work, the status quo puts up too many barriers. A disability employment gap of 28% is far too high, and behind that statistic are individuals who are being failed by the system—people who, with some adjustments, could get all the benefits that good work brings, but who are denied that opportunity. It is a dead-end system that counts people out more than it helps them up. As more people come into the system, they are locked into the same damaging status quo. Every day, we see 1,000 new people claiming PIP. As a constituent in Wirral West said to me last week, many on PIP are in work. She is right, and it is important to point that out, but it is also the case that over 80% of people on PIP are not in work. Some of those people will never be able to work—they have an irreversible health condition that would not allow it—and they have been reassessed endlessly, which is unnecessary and cruel. But others are telling this Government that they want to work, and we have a duty to give them equal choices and equal chances, which they have been denied for far too long. Doing nothing is not an option. We have been doing that since 2019 and, at the current rate, the number of PIP claimants will more than double by the end of the decade, from 2 million to more than 4 million. How did we get here? The statistics I have mentioned are not just data points; they tell a wider story about the path of decline that the Tories took our country down. It is a story familiar to many of us: local councils were cut to the bone, austerity left public services failing people across the board, health and social care services were stripped out, and we had a cost of living crisis that pushed families to breaking point. That is just the backdrop. The Conservatives presided over multiple failed welfare changes and scrapped the Work and Health programme, which helped unlock support to get people into work. They shut down Work Choice, thereby closing avenues to help disabled people to get on at work, and they left Access to Work in backlog chaos, meaning that many people have missed out on vital funds. The safety net was torn to shreds by neglect, and the system was stacked against those it should empower. Given that legacy, is it any wonder that people worry when they hear about reforms? I do not blame them, but we need to fix the situation. We need deep and lasting change for our country, with direct support alongside wider reforms, and that is the journey we started when people voted us into government last year. We are delivering an extra £29 billion each year for our NHS to bring down waiting times, with a 10-year plan on the way. We will provide mental health services in every school, breakfast clubs and free school lunches so that we can help future generations. Employers are part of the solution too, and our Employment Rights Bill will give people confidence that they will be supported into good work. We will build more and better-quality homes, and nearly 3 million more households will qualify for the warm home discount next year. However, those steps alone will not secure our safety net. We cannot allow misinformation to enter this debate. That would serve only to scare those who are most in need, so let us be clear: these reforms have never been about taking support away from those who are most in need. In fact, those people will never again suffer the indignity and anxiety of needless reassessments. The Government are taking action to support disabled people with targeted help, including by increasing the disabled facilities grant by £172 million.

• 1 Jul 2025 · Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend is totally right, and the SNP record is worse. One in eight young people are not in employment, education or training here, but in Scotland the figure is one in six, and the SNP should be ashamed of its record for the Scottish people. The Bill will introduce a right to try, so that people who receive support but have a job offer know they can take that opportunity with both hands and with no fear, because if for whatever reason it does not work out, the same support will be there for them. This removes an important barrier for many. We are also increasing the standard rate of universal credit and committing £1 billion in pathways to work funding. We aim to restore dignity to a system that has become a burden to those it should serve. This is a moment to rebuild trust in the safety net, to protect those who cannot work and empower those who can, and to restore dignity to everyone.

• 30 Jun 2025 · Welfare Reform · Hansard source

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  The Conservative party presided over multiple reforms of welfare, and the results were a disaster. Perhaps cruellest of all was the fact that adults who had an irreversible health condition, and who could never work, were forced to go through reassessment after reassessment, and to jump through hoops. Can my right hon. Friend please confirm that, with these Labour reforms, that cruel legacy will be ended once and for all?

• 20 Jun 2025 · Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill · Hansard source

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  I will not take interventions. The hon. Member for Twickenham (Munira Wilson) tabled an important amendment about palliative care that has opened a door to an important conversation, and I thank her for that. If our NHS is not able to deliver the highest quality of care at the end of a person’s life now, would assisted dying improve that, or could it end up creating a one-sided choice? I know that hon. Members will be concerned that there will never be a good time for the NHS to introduce this—that it will never quite be ready for assisted dying. I hear that, but I sincerely do not believe that it is ready to bear the weight of the system we are voting on today. I am not settled on the issue of coercion either. We have heard from experts across the House; my hon. Friend the Member for Bexleyheath and Crayford (Daniel Francis) and the hon. Member for Richmond Park (Sarah Olney) have spoken about mental health issues and learning disabilities, and my hon. Friend the Member for Lowestoft (Jess Asato) talked about issues of domestic abuse and how they could intersect with this. My hon. Friend the Member for Vauxhall and Camberwell Green (Florence Eshalomi), my right hon. Friend the Member for Hackney North and Stoke Newington (Ms Abbott) and the right hon. Member for Braintree (Sir James Cleverly) spoke about how ethnic minority communities could be impacted by the Bill, and about the trust in the health system and the dynamics that could lead to someone taking their life. I worry about the quiet, imperceptible and unspoken coercion that could emerge if we go ahead with this system. I worry about vulnerable people who would feel a duty to die, and I am not satisfied that the Bill has enough safeguards against that. For that reason, I am voting against the Bill, and I call on others to do the same. I say to those watching at home that I hope they share my confidence that whichever Lobby colleagues walk through today, they have reached their decision with great care and consideration. To weigh up the consequences—good and bad—of this vote is the burden of duty that such a Bill brings. I share that burden with others today.