Matthew has ‘graduated’ from his participation in the Armed Forces Parliamentary Scheme (AFPS). This is a privately-run programme to give Members of Parliament first-hand experience of the armed forces and the opportunity to speak directly to ALL ranks in informal conditions. Its aim is to improve the understanding of military matters amongst MPs and thereby the quality of debate on military issues.

With his interest in maritime issues, Matthew was assigned to the Royal Marines and experienced training at the Royal Marine’s base at Lympstone in Devon, the Defence Academy at Shrivenham and the Royal Navy base at Portsmouth. He also visited serving troops in Afghanistan and the Falklands -  where he met a constituent - and took part in a Royal Fleet Auxilliary operation in South America.

 
John Reid, the former Labour MP who served as Secretary of State for Defence, gave credit to the Armed Forces Scheme for his Ministerial appointment. Other participants include Jim Murphy (the Labour Party’s current Shadow Minister for Defence) Bob Ainsworth (former Minister of State for the Armed Forces), Desmond Swayne (PPS to the Prime Minister), Peter Luff (currently Minister for Defence, Equipment, Support and Technology) as well as a number of other Backbench MPs.

Matthew said: “The AFPS has allowed me to experience the issues faced by our armed forces. In recent years the country has asked more and more from our soldiers, sailors and airmen and my participation has shown me the effect this has on individual and family life, the public concern about the availability of equipment and the effect of the Strategic Defence and Security Review upon morale. The scheme has allowed me to contribute to defence policy and debate from a perspective of first-hand experience which is unfortunately lacking in today's House of Commons.”