Matthew Patrick MP: speeches

Speeches

• 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.

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

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  Today we are faced with a defining choice. We have debated assisted dying for months, and in some ways we could never have enough time for this. I wish there had been more opportunity to debate the amendments, but I can also say, based on my time in these debates, that hon. Members have approached these issues with great dignity and care. My hon. Friend the Member for Spen Valley (Kim Leadbeater), who is a friend of mine and who I am very proud of, has led this debate with characteristic humanity, decency and honour. I am sure all of us have found that whenever we have approached her with our concerns or those of others, she has had a willing ear and an open heart. I pay tribute to her. Opponents of the Bill have also worked tirelessly to understand and voice people’s concerns, and like my hon. Friend the Member for Spen Valley, they brought that expertise so that all voices could be heard today. My office has been approached more than 1,000 times by people in Wirral West regarding this issue, and that has shown that people are guided by all faiths and none. As others have said, that deserves great respect. I think back to a meeting I held to discuss this matter in Melrose Hall in Hoylake with more than 50 constituents. With candour and respect, people shared their personal stories. They disagreed wholeheartedly, but they did so with compassion and dignity. They are the best of us. Standing here, I recognise that however today ends up, we will let people down—whether the Bill passes and people who would otherwise not choose to have an assisted death go through with one, or whether the Bill falls and people who I believe should have the choice to end their illness on their own terms are denied that opportunity. I am conscious of that, yet the vote before us is not on the harrowing stories we have heard but on a system, and it is that system that I worry about, as it would have implications that go beyond individual cases. The consequences of getting this wrong are severe, and the risks of getting it wrong with an NHS still in recovery are too high.

• 19 Jun 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  For many people in Wirral West, their church is a hub where they can practise their faith and put their values into action. That was evident to me at a recent meeting with representatives of St Luke’s church in Hoylake, West Kirby Methodist church, Wirral’s Methodist churches, West Kirby United Reformed church and Saints Catherine and Martina Roman Catholic church. Can the Leader of the House set out when we might have a debate to celebrate the work of churches across our communities?

• 16 Jun 2025 · Iran-Israel Conflict · Hansard source

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  When the UN’s nuclear watchdog says that Iran is closing in on the ability to develop up to nine nuclear weapons, I worry. Does the Foreign Secretary agree that it is in our national interests that Iran never acquires those nuclear weapons?

• 11 Jun 2025 · Spending Review 2025 · Hansard source

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  I wonder whether the Chancellor can help me. I want to write a letter to my constituents, and I do not know which story I should lead with—whether it is the rapid investment in our NHS to get more doctors’ appointments, the money for our police to get more police on the streets, the transport investment to build new train stations, or the money to give hungry children in my constituency free school meals. Could she help me out? I only have one page. What should I start with?

• 9 Jun 2025 · Support for High Streets · Hansard source

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  Heswall in my Wirral West constituency is a brilliant place to live and deserves a thriving high street, but unfortunately for too many years now beloved shops have closed and decline has felt inevitable. The people of Heswall deserve better. I appreciate the Minister’s answer, but will he go further in explaining exactly how my constituents can take back control of their high street, so that it can thrive once again and deliver growth and opportunities for them?

• 9 Jun 2025 · Support for High Streets · Hansard source

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  4. What steps she is taking to support high streets.

• 5 Jun 2025 · Infected Blood Compensation Scheme · Hansard source

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  14. What recent progress he has made on establishing an infected blood compensation scheme.

• 5 Jun 2025 · Infected Blood Compensation Scheme · Hansard source

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  In Wirral West, my constituent became a victim of this scandal over 50 years ago when she was a child, and it has affected her life ever since. In her own words, victims have gone through horrible levels of distress, and now they wait for compensation. That wait is not just for financial security; it is for closure. Could the Minister please give me and my constituent assurances that the speed at which the payments will be made will be ramped up?

• 3 Jun 2025 · Football Governance Bill [ Lords ] (First sitting) · Hansard source

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  I refer the Committee to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests.

• 20 May 2025 · UK-EU Summit · Hansard source

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  The energy industry is central to our mission for growth, but it is also important to our tackling of the generational challenge that is climate change. This is a sentiment felt in my constituency, which is proud to be a regional hub of carbon capture and hydrogen storage. Will the Prime Minister explain how the deal supports the energy industry so that we can pursue the growth, bring down energy bills and tackle climate change?

• 13 May 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  On Sunday, I had the honour of meeting Emily Damari. She told me about her good friends, Ziv and Gali Berman, who remain in captivity. It is so clear to me that no hostage will be free until all hostages are free. Hamas footage at the weekend serves only to deliver more torment to the families. Will the Minister set out, before the 600 day-anniversary later this month of the 7 October attacks, the steps he will be taking to ensure humanitarian access for those hostages?

• 6 May 2025 · Middle East Update · Hansard source

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  Not a week goes by without more worrying news coming out of the middle east, and my thoughts are with the innocent people in Gaza who are worried about a new offensive, with the hostage families who are worried about their loved ones, and with Israel following the Houthi attack. Will the Minister join me in condemning the Houthi attack, and in calling for negotiations to continue that will see aid get into Gaza and hostages returned home?

• 29 Apr 2025 · Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Visit · Hansard source

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  I welcome the Government’s commitment to securing a peaceful future for the region, but that future feels far away for the families of the hostages still held by Hamas. As the Minister mentioned, yesterday he and I heard from Eli Sharabi, who talked about the horrors of his experience and how he lost absolutely everything. He is working tirelessly to secure the release of all hostages, including Avinatan Or, who has British links. Does the Minister agree that the first step in securing the peaceful future we all want to see is the immediate release of all the hostages?

• 24 Apr 2025 · Public Service Reform · Hansard source

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  20. What steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to reform public services.

• 24 Apr 2025 · Public Service Reform · Hansard source

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  It is clear to me that under the last Government, our state failed the public. We had an agenda that was not rooted in the lives of everyday people, meaning that despite the number of civil servants being the highest in a generation, outcomes for my constituents in Wirral West and people across the country were worse. Will the Minister please set out how a smaller, more modern and more focused state can once again deliver world-class public services?

• 26 Mar 2025 · Spring Statement · Hansard source

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  I welcome the Chancellor’s £3 billion investment into a transformation fund to sort out how government is run. Does the Chancellor agree that the Tories ducked that reform—they should have done it but did not—and their failure to address it put pressure on frontline services and stretched the public finances?

• 20 Mar 2025 · Violence against Women and Girls: Prosecution Rates · Hansard source

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  I thank the Solicitor General for her answer. Yesterday, I spoke to one of my constituents. When she was 14, she was raped by an adult whom she should have been able to trust. She woke up to him raping her. She has been carrying that with her for decades. Two years ago, she reported what happened to her and she has been fighting for her day in court all of that time. Can the Solicitor General please set out what the Government are doing to fix the broken system that is failing to deliver justice, and will she meet me to discuss how we can better support victim survivors such as my constituent?

• 20 Mar 2025 · Violence against Women and Girls: Prosecution Rates · Hansard source

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  1. What steps she is taking to help increase prosecution rates in cases of violence against women and girls.

• 20 Mar 2025 · Conflict in Gaza · Hansard source

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  This ceasefire must be desperately salvaged for the 59 hostages—they and their families have lived through hell for 530 days now—and for the innocent people of Gaza, who need aid, safety and security and have themselves lived through hell in that time. I worry that Hamas state that they want to repeat the actions of 7 October. They are committed only to endless war. What can this Government do to ensure that they have no role in the future of Gaza?

• 19 Mar 2025 · Winter Fuel Payment · Hansard source

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  The hon. Lady will know that, when it comes to the NHS, the longest waiting times were impacted by the pandemic, but the longest waiting times on record prior to the pandemic were seen the day before it, because of Conservative mismanagement. The Conservatives do not have a record that they should feel proud of on that matter, or on the economy.