A New North and a New Ireland - Matthew O'Toole MLA

Matthew O'Toole, leader of the Opposition in the Northern Ireland Assembly, will give a talk on "A New North and a New Ireland"

The seond in our occassional series of Irish politicians speaking in Liverpool, Matthew O'Toole will give a talk on "Why building a culture of accountability in Northern Ireland now matters to the Ireland we want to build".

The evening will conclude with a reception.

Matthew O'Toole has served as MLA for South Belfast from January 2020, having replaced Claire Hanna after her election to Westminster. He is the SDLP's Leader of the Opposition at Stormont. At the Assembly, Matthew is chair of the Finance Committee.

Matthew’s political priorities include the local economy, sustainability and defending people here from the impacts of Brexit.

Until 2017, he was a civil servant in London, at the UK Treasury and at Number 10 Downing Street, including during the 2016 Brexit referendum. After leaving the civil service he wrote widely about the damaging effects of Brexit on the island of Ireland, as well as broader political and constitutional issues on the island.

Matthew began his career as a journalist. His writing on politics and Brexit has appeared in the Guardian, Irish Times, Financial Times, New Statesman, Politico and elsewhere.

Born in Belfast, Matthew grew up in Downpatrick and attended university in Scotland. He now lives in South Belfast.

For more detailed directions to the Central Teaching Hub (CTH) and information on parking on the University of Liverpool campus, please see https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/about/visit-us/maps/. The CTH is building number 221 in square F7 on the downloadable campus map (https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/media/livacuk/maps/Campus-Map-December-2025.pdf).