Matthew Patrick is the Labour MP for Wirral West, having first been elected to parliament at the 2024 general election.

In the 2024 general election, Patrick won 23,156 votes, representing 46.4% of the vote. The Conservative candidate, Jenny Johnson, received 13,158 votes (26.3%), while the Reform UK candidate, Ken Ferguson, secured 6,422 votes (12.9%). Patrick was duly elected with a majority of 9,998.

The Wirral West constituency is located in Merseyside in the North West of England. Historically a marginal constituency, it has changed hands between the Labour and Conservative parties several times since the seat’s creation in 1983.

Political Career

Patrick currently serves as a parliamentary private secretary (PPS) in the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. A PPS acts as an unpaid parliamentary assistant, providing a link between the senior frontbencher and backbench MPs. The role is widely regarded as the first step on the ministerial ladder. Although they cannot speak for the government in debates, a PPS is bound by collective responsibility and becomes part of the so-called “payroll vote”, expected to support the official line in all divisions. Patrick was appointed to this role in July 2026, following the Labour leadership contest and Andy Burnham’s elevation as prime minister.

Patrick served as parliamentary under-secretary of state in the Northern Ireland Office from September 2025 to July 2026.

Patrick previously served PPS jointly in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) (2024-2025).

Patrick has sat as a member of the House of Commons foreign affairs committee (2024)

Patrick delivered his maiden speech on 30 July 2024 during a debate on the Budget Responsibility Bill.

In it, he said: “I am conscious, standing here, of the responsibility placed on me to represent the interests and people of Wirral West, and I will do that fiercely. I am deeply aware that representation is as much about listening as it is about speaking…

“My commitment is to listen in good faith to arguments made in good faith. My commitment is to change my mind when it is right to do so. And my commitment is to stand up for the things that I believe in, so that others might do the same.”

Before entering parliament, Patrick served as a Labour councillor on Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council (2013-2018).

Political Views

Leadership elections

Labour deputy leadership 2025: Patrick was one of 175 Labour MPs who nominated Bridget Phillipson for the party’s deputy leadership in September 2025. The election followed the resignation of Angela Rayner, who stepped down as deputy prime minister and deputy party leader after an investigation into her tax affairs. It marked the first time since 2007 that Labour had held a deputy leadership contest while in government.

Phillipson, the serving education secretary, was widely viewed as the candidate favoured by Downing Street and the party leadership. She secured 175 nominations from the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP), comfortably exceeding the 80 required to reach the final ballot. She was ultimately defeated by Lucy Powell.

Factional identity and party tradition

Labour Movement for Europe: Patrick was endorsed by the Labour Movement for Europe (LME) in the 2024 general election. Founded in 1981, LME is a pro-European socialist society affiliated with the Labour Party. It campaigns for a close relationship between the United Kingdom and the European Union. The organisation refers to itself as the “home of the pro-Europeans in the Labour and trade union movement”.

Welfare

Welfare vote (July 2025): Patrick voted in favour of the government’s flagship welfare bill at second reading. The vote came after ministers agreed to significant concessions to avoid defeat via a mass rebellion of Labour MPs on 1 July 2025.

Assisted dying

Patrick voted against the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, better known as the assisted dying bill, at both second reading (November 2024) and third reading (June 2025).

In a statement issued after the bill’s second reading, Patrick said: “In principle, I support assisted dying. I want people to have dignity at the end of their lives and, with strong safeguards, a say in how they die. But yesterday, I found myself unable to vote for this bill.

“I believe that getting this wrong would have incredibly serious consequences, and the risk of getting it wrong with a broken NHS is too high. These are not conditions anyone would wish for our NHS – nor are they conditions I believe anyone would choose to be the landing strip for assisted dying.”

Social values and conscience issues

Abortion decriminalisation (2025): Patrick voted in favour of a backbench amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill that sought to decriminalise abortion in England and Wales in June 2025. The amendment, which was passed by a majority of 242 votes, removed women from the threat of prosecution for ending a pregnancy at any stage. As an issue of conscience, MPs were allowed to vote according to their personal beliefs.

Before Politics

Matthew John Patrick was born in Birkenhead and grew up in the 1990s.

Patrick went to school locally. His mother worked as a librarian at a local primary school and his father worked as a teaching assistant.

Patrick attended Liverpool John Moores University. He was the first in his family to attend university, studying at Liverpool John Moores University.

Patrick worked full time at a mortgage brokerage to fund himself through university.

Patrick’s career centred on financial services and energy regulation. He worked as a senior communications manager for Pay.UK.

Personal Life

Patrick lives in his Wirral West constituency.

Patrick identifies as Jewish. Upon entering parliament, he swore the oath of allegiance on the Torah.

Trivia

Patrick joined the Labour Party in 2010.

He supports West Bromwich Albion FC.