Defence

Sorcha Eastwood Excerpts

Wednesday 2nd July 2025 Commons Chamber

[Sorcha Eastwood (Lagan Valley) (Alliance)]

I want to contribute as the MP for Lagan Valley, which is the home of Army HQ in Northern Ireland. I, too, am proud of my family members who served in the Regular Army, the Ulster Defence Regiment and the Royal Ulster Constabulary. However, I will depart from the view of some Members; I would say that they were professional in everything that they did, and they would agree with me—as would many across the House and indeed in Northern Ireland—that they served not above the law but within the law, as any professional soldier will do.

I pay tribute to the Royal British Legion’s Lisburn and Dromore branches—and in particular to Brian Sloan from Lisburn Royal British Legion—which have been incredible in supporting veterans not just throughout Lagan Valley but across Northern Ireland, making sure that they are at the fore of both civic and remembrance events. I echo the remarks made by the right hon. Member for Rayleigh and Wickford (Mr Francois) on the Opposition Front Bench about the cadets, whom people often overlook. In Lagan Valley we are blessed to have sea, RAF and army cadets, and every time I look at those young people it makes my heart feel proud and a wee bit more confident for the future.

We are in a changed security situation, as I think everybody in the House knows, and one of the challenges that the Minister referred to in his opening remarks is that of recruitment and retention. We must change the dial whenever we discuss these things, because this should be an opportunity for our young people. I often hear young people maligned and marginalised, but sometimes those young people desperately want to find meaning in life, and want to find that through service. That is exactly what the cadets provide, and they will be our engineers and strategic ops planners of the future.

I put on record my thanks to those who are serving, to gallant Members throughout the House and to people who have served in Lagan Valley. I have their back in all of this completely and utterly. I am proud of them and of what they have done. Lastly, I have a word for their families too, because there is often a hidden shift that people do not see and a hidden threat that many will still be dealing with years from now. It is vital that we remember those people who have served.