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Matthew John O'Toole MLA (born 18 May 1983) is an Irish Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) politician, former civil servant, and journalist who has served as a
Member of the Legislative Assembly A member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) is a representative elected by the voters of a constituency to a legislative assembly. Most often, the term refers to a subnational assembly such as that of a state, province, or territory of a country. S ...
(MLA) for the Belfast South constituency in the
Northern Ireland Assembly sco-ulster, Norlin Airlan Assemblie , legislature = Seventh Assembly , coa_pic = File:NI_Assembly.svg , coa_res = 250px , house_type = Unicameral , house1 = , leader1_type = S ...
since January 2020. He is the current Leader of the Opposition in the Northern Ireland Assembly. Born in Belfast, O'Toole grew up in Downpatrick and read for an MA in International Relations and English at the
University of St Andrews (Aien aristeuein) , motto_lang = grc , mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best , established = , type = Public research university Ancient university , endowment ...
. Prior to serving as an MLA, O'Toole worked as a journalist, and as a civil servant at
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and in
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. At Downing Street, O'Toole worked on the 2016 EU referendum and its aftermath. On leaving the civil service, O'Toole wrote widely on Brexit, its impact on Northern Ireland, and British-Irish relations. His writing has appeared in the ''
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'', ''Guardian'', ''
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'', ''
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'', ''
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'' and elsewhere.


Political career

O’Toole was co-opted into the Northern Ireland Assembly on 11 January 2020, replacing Claire Hanna who had been elected as MP for the constituency in the previous general election. Upon the restoration of devolution, O’Toole was appointed the SDLP's spokesperson for Brexit and Public Finance, sitting on the Finance and Public Accounts Committees. In June 2020, O'Toole proposed a successful motion in the NI Assembly calling on the
British Government ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd , image = HM Government logo.svg , image_size = 220px , image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg , image_size2 = 180px , caption = Royal Arms , date_est ...
to extend the Brexit transition period beyond 1 January 2021, describing any decision to not do so as "mad and dangerous" given the economic conditions caused by the
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. During his time in the Assembly O’Toole has advocated for the rights of journalists in Northern Ireland. In December 2020, he founded and became chair of the All Party Group on Press Freedom and Media Sustainability. The SDLP launched the “Expert Reference” panel of its New Ireland Commission in May 2021, which was convened by O’Toole. It included a broad range of panellists from across Northern Ireland to examine the potential shape of public and health services, the economy, and education in a united Ireland. O’Toole has also been vocal of the negative impact of the “brain drain” to Northern Ireland. In July 2021 he proposed the “Make Change Programme”, an initiative to encourage young people to take jobs in the civil service, either through apprenticeships or through graduate programmes. It also intends to address what he sees as a looming workforce crisis in the civil service, with 1% of staff being under 25 and 80% of senior staff being over 50. During a reshuffle in October 2021, O’Toole gained the responsibility of Economy Spokesperson and was appointed vice-chair of the Economy Committee. O'Toole was selected as one of two SDLP candidates to contest the
2022 Northern Ireland Assembly election The 2022 Northern Ireland Assembly election was held on 5 May 2022. It elected 90 members to the Northern Ireland Assembly. It was the seventh assembly election since the establishment of the assembly in 1998. The election was held three month ...
in Belfast South, alongside running mate Elsie Trainor. He was successfully re-elected with 5,394 first preference votes. The SDLP returned with 8 seats and did not to nominate a replacement for Nichola Mallon as interim Minister for Infrastructure, instead choosing to form a "constructive opposition". On 25 July SDLP Leader Colum Eastwood announced that the party will be formally taking up the role of Official Opposition in the Northern Ireland Assembly, with O'Toole serving as its first Leader of the Opposition.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:OToole, Matthew 1983 births Living people Social Democratic and Labour Party MLAs Northern Ireland MLAs 2017–2022 Northern Ireland MLAs 2022–2027 People from Downpatrick