Episodit
-
Support the Show.
✅Support The Show Help Us Grow! Help us reach more veterans by donating the cost of a cup of coffee today...💳A small donation helps us pay our publishing fees & expenses and enables us to reach even more people, by creating the content you love! Every supporter will get a shout out on our show too!
CLICK HERE 👉https://www.buzzsprout.com/1394725/support -
Jim was first elected to Ards Borough Council in 1985 and served as Mayor in 1991/92.
He was elected as a member of the Northern Ireland Forum for Political Dialogue in 1996 until it completed its work in 1998. He was then subsequently elected to the Northern Ireland Assembly representing Strangford.
Within the NI Assembly Jim served on both the Public Accounts Committee and Agriculture Committee. He was re-elected in both 2003 and 2007, stepping down from the NI Assembly in 2010.
Jim was elected to Parliament at the General Election of 2010 where he received nearly 15,000 votes, with the next closest unionist receiving just over 9,000. He was again re-elected in 2015, 2017 and 2019.
Jim is currently the DUP spokesperson on Health and Human Rights. He is also a member of the Ecclesiastical (Joint) Committee.
In this episode we talk about his faith, his principles, his love of Leicester City FC and his service in the Armed Forces.Support the Show.
✅Support The Show Help Us Grow! Help us reach more veterans by donating the cost of a cup of coffee today...💳A small donation helps us pay our publishing fees & expenses and enables us to reach even more people, by creating the content you love! Every supporter will get a shout out on our show too!
CLICK HERE 👉https://www.buzzsprout.com/1394725/support -
Puuttuva jakso?
-
This week we are back with our 'Behind the Politics' segment, speaking to those behind the scenes, turning our attention to the world of journalism. Our guest is from The University of Northampton, Kate Ironside.
Kate is a former political journalist, with 26 years experience in industry. She worked for the Reading Evening Post, Central Press, the Daily Express, Western Morning News and BBC Westminster. She spent two years reporting local government, 13 years at Westminster and 17 years writing an award-winning column on the European Union. Today she combines teaching, with regular contributions to the BBC, commentating on national politics. Kate sits on the executive board of the Broadcast Journalism Training Council, which accredits our journalism courses, and organised the nationwide reporting of the general election results by BJTC students across the UK in 2015, 2017 and 2019.
Kate teaches public affairs, law, media regulation and practical reporting. She has won awards for her university teaching. She is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.Kate’s research centres on public affairs and media regulation. She is the author of Reporting Power, the official textbook on public affairs of the Broadcast Journalism Training Council, now on its third edition.
We refer to the amazing work Kate does with students running election counts coverage. You can view the work here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzttiNQSq4s&feature=youtu.be
And to follow Kate on X, find her @IronsideKateSupport the Show.
✅Support The Show Help Us Grow! Help us reach more veterans by donating the cost of a cup of coffee today...💳A small donation helps us pay our publishing fees & expenses and enables us to reach even more people, by creating the content you love! Every supporter will get a shout out on our show too!
CLICK HERE 👉https://www.buzzsprout.com/1394725/support -
Tom Blenkinsop was born in Middlesbrough, brought-up in Marton and graduated from Teesside University with a BSc in Philosophy, Politics and Economics, and the University of Warwick with an MA in Continental philosophy.
Tom joined the Army Reserve in 2017 in the Royal Military Police in which he still serves today, and was an MP whilst training to be an RMP, something we explore in this episode.
Tom worked as a constituency researcher for Ashok Kumar, Labour MP for Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland, from 2002 to 2008. He became a campaign manager for the Community Trade Union in 2008 and continued in the role until his election to Parliament in 2010.
Tom was selected as the Labour candidate for Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland in April 2010, following Ashok Kumar's unexpected death the previous month. He was elected at the May 2010 general election. In his first Parliamentary term, he was a member of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee from 2010 to 2012, the Standards and Privileges Committee from 2010 to 2011 and the Treasury Select Committee in 2011. He joined the opposition front bench under the leadership of Ed Miliband, serving as a whip from 2011 to 2015.
He was re-elected at the 2015 general election. During his second Parliamentary term, he was a member of the Energy and Climate Change Committee from 2015 to 2016, the Privileges Committee from 2015 to 2017, the Standards Committee from 2015 to 2017, and the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee from 2016 to 2017.
After the calling of the 2017 general election, Blenkinsop announced that we would not seek re-election as an MP as he could not campaign for Labour whilst Corbyn served as party leader. Again, this is something we discuss at length in the podcast.
Blenkinsop returned to the Community union as a London-based project manager after leaving Parliament, and became a public affairs advisor for the Federation of Small Business in 2020.
We thank Tom for sharing his story with us!Support the Show.
✅Support The Show Help Us Grow! Help us reach more veterans by donating the cost of a cup of coffee today...💳A small donation helps us pay our publishing fees & expenses and enables us to reach even more people, by creating the content you love! Every supporter will get a shout out on our show too!
CLICK HERE 👉https://www.buzzsprout.com/1394725/support -
About this week's guest: Dr. Sebastian Gorka is a Talk Show Host on the Salem Radio Network Platform, and began his show AMERICA FIRST on New Years Day, 2019.
With parents who had lived as children under fascism and then escaped Communist Hungary, Sebastian was raised to love freedom. And his love of talk-radio developed early. As a child he would listen late into the night to the shows of the London Broadcasting Company with a small transistor radio under his pillow. It was with this special family background, and growing up under the influence of Margaret Thatcher, that Sebastian learned how to fight totalitarian ideologies, be they Fascism, Communism, or Global Jihadism.
He would end up serving in the British Army reserve in a Military Intelligence unit, then after the fall of the Berlin Wall, in the first freely-elected Conservative administration in Hungary. The after the 9/11 attacks he became a professor on a Pentagon-funded counter-terrorism program run out of Germany.
In 2008 he moved to America with his family where he continued to work for the Defense Department and become a proud American citizen in 2012. He obtained his doctorate in Political Science from Corvinus University in Budapest and was a fellow at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. In Washington, he served as Associate Dean for Congressional Affairs and Relations to the Special Operations Community at National Defense University and has also taught on the Masters program at Georgetown University.
In 2020, President Donald Trump named Gorka to the National Security Education Board. This board provides strategic consultation and was established by congressional act in 1991.
Dr. Gorka has briefed the CIA, the DIA, the US Navy Seals, the Commandant of the Marine Corps, served as an expert for the DoJ during the Boston Bombing trial, and testified before Congress on the threat of Global Jihadism. He remains a guest instructor at the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School, at Fort Bragg, the home of the Green Berets.
Gorka writes for The Hill and has written two books for Regnery Publishing. His first “Defeating Jihad,” was a national best-seller and his latest, released in October, is called “Why We Fight…Defeating America’s Enemies with No Apologies.” Before launching his SALEM show, “AMERICA FIRST with Sebastian Gorka,” he was an advisor to candidate Donald J. Trump and served on the staff of the White House in 2017 as Deputy Assistant to the President for Strategy.
Support the Show.
✅Support The Show Help Us Grow! Help us reach more veterans by donating the cost of a cup of coffee today...💳A small donation helps us pay our publishing fees & expenses and enables us to reach even more people, by creating the content you love! Every supporter will get a shout out on our show too!
CLICK HERE 👉https://www.buzzsprout.com/1394725/support -
The Rt Hon Dr Andrew Murrison MP is a Minister at the MOD and we were excited to record this episode in the heart of our nation's Defence HQ at MOD Main Building.
We talk about the Invictus Games, Ukraine, his service in the Royal Navy as a doctor, both regular and reserve, his family, Defence and the various ministerial roles he has served in.
We also share a special message this Christmas time to all those from the Armed Forces serving over the break.
Big thanks to the MOD for their help in delivery this episode.
About the Minister
Dr Andrew Murrison was appointed Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Ministry of Defence on 30 October 2022.He was previously Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Department for International Development from 9 May 2019 to 13 February 2020.
He was elected Conservative MP for South West Wiltshire in May 2010, and was first elected as the Conservative MP for Westbury in June 2001.
In November 2003 he was appointed to the Conservative front bench as a health spokesman, transferring in July 2007 to defence. In May 2010 Andrew became Parliamentary Private Secretary to Secretary of State for Health and was asked by the Prime Minister to review and make recommendations on health care for members of the services community. The principal recommendations in the subsequent reports, ‘Fighting Fit’ and ‘A Better Deal for Military Amputees’, are being rolled out by the government.In November 2011 Prime Minister David Cameron appointed him as his special representative for the centenary commemoration of the First World War, a post he was re-appointed to by Theresa May.
Andrew previously served as Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Ministry of Defence and Minister for International Security Strategy from September 2012 until July 2014. He then served as Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Northern Ireland Office from July 2014 to March 2015. He chaired the Northern Ireland Affairs Select Committee from July 2017 to May 2019.
Career outside politics
Andrew served for 18 years as a medical officer in the Royal Navy, leaving in October 2000 as a Surgeon Commander. In 2003 he was recalled to serve in Iraq.
In 2021 was mobilised to lead vaccination teams as part of Operation Rescript. He remains an active reservist.
Personal life
Andrew and his wife live near Warminster. They have 5 daughters, 2 of whom serve in the Armed Forces.
Useful links:OP Courage: Mental health support for veterans, service leavers and reservists - NHS (www.nhs.uk)
Combat Stress is the UK’s leading mental health charity for veterans Call them on 0800 138 1619, text them on 07537 404 719 or email [email protected].
Medical assistance for veterans in:
England: NHS 111 service or call 111 when you need medical help fast but it’s not a 999 emergency, or contact NHS
Scotland: Scotland’s Health on the Web or call 111
Wales: NHS Direct Wales or call 0845 46 47
Northern Ireland: nidirect government services - telephone contact details are available from the website
Samaritans Call 116 123 to speak to a Samaritan.Support the Show.
✅Support The Show Help Us Grow! Help us reach more veterans by donating the cost of a cup of coffee today...💳A small donation helps us pay our publishing fees & expenses and enables us to reach even more people, by creating the content you love! Every supporter will get a shout out on our show too!
CLICK HERE 👉https://www.buzzsprout.com/1394725/support -
This week we speak to veteran Channel 4 and BBC investigative journalist, Michael Crick as part of our 'Behind the Politics' feature where we interview experts in the field of politics, from campaign managers to pollsters to journalists like Michael... and maybe even the odd Special Advisor!
Michael is a TV legend, broadcaster, journalist and author. He was a founding member of the Channel 4 News team and remained there until joining the BBC in 1990. He started work on the BBC's Newsnight programme in 1992, serving as political editor from 2007 until his departure from the BBC in 2011. Crick then returned to Channel 4 News as political correspondent. In 2014 he was chosen as Specialist Journalist of the Year at the Royal Television Society television journalism awards. In that same year, he even doorstepped our podcast host Jonny Ball, when Jonny was working for Grant Shapps MP! Jonny and Michael talk about this rather amusing anecdote as well as Michael's current work unearthing the murky world of political selections via his Twitter/X feed @tomorrowsMPs which you must follow now!
Big thanks to Bare Arms Military Support to Film & TV for lending us their podcast studio. If you'd like to rent it, in the heart of Westminster, London, contacts Bags on:
[email protected]
Whatsapp 07410 603080
Web- https://barearms.co.uk/contact-bare-arms/
SHOW LINKS:
Join our Facebook Group community here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2314725475490967/
Engage with us on LinkedIn here:
https://www.linkedin.com/groups/13628154/
Insta/Twitter/Facebook: @CampaignForceUK
or email the host [email protected]
Stand Up and Serve Again!Support the Show.
✅Support The Show Help Us Grow! Help us reach more veterans by donating the cost of a cup of coffee today...💳A small donation helps us pay our publishing fees & expenses and enables us to reach even more people, by creating the content you love! Every supporter will get a shout out on our show too!
CLICK HERE 👉https://www.buzzsprout.com/1394725/support -
Veterans In Politics- Andrew Selous MP- Former Army Reservist on a day in the life of an MP
Our host first met Andrew Selous MP when he himself was brand new to politics. UIt was great to sit down in Parliament all these years later and chat through mucvh about the day in life of an MP. From PMQs to consituency life and casework, this episode is packed full on insight.
We also talk about his life in the army reserves, or the TA as it was known back then, through Andrew's service in the HAC and Royal Regiment of Fusiliers. Off the back of this, we chat about work-life-reservist balance and how much of this helped him campaign.
About AndrewAndrew was born in 1962 and married Harriet in 1993 and they have three girls. They live in the South West Bedfordshire constituency in Studham near to Whipsnade Zoo.
Andrew is Patron of Leighton-Linslade Homeless Service and Patron of Homestart Central Bedfordshire. He was a Territorial Army officer for twelve years and served in Germany, Cyprus, the Netherlands, Switzerland and the United States of America.
Andrew qualified as a chartered insurer and worked as a reinsurance underwriter before being elected to Parliament. His firm helped many of the world’s poorest communities recover from natural disasters.
Andrew supports local homeless charities by taking part in sponsored sleep-outs. Andrew is Patron of SIFT a development charity working with people in extreme poverty in Nicaragua. Andrew is also Patron of Reclaim Life in Leighton Buzzard.
LINKS:
Join our Facebook Group community here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2314725475490967/
Engage with us on LinkedIn here:
https://www.linkedin.com/groups/13628154/
Insta/Twitter/Facebook: @CampaignForceUK
or email the host [email protected]
Stand Up and Serve Again!Support the Show.
✅Support The Show Help Us Grow! Help us reach more veterans by donating the cost of a cup of coffee today...💳A small donation helps us pay our publishing fees & expenses and enables us to reach even more people, by creating the content you love! Every supporter will get a shout out on our show too!
CLICK HERE 👉https://www.buzzsprout.com/1394725/support -
James Paul Watson (known as Paul) joined the Irish Guards straight from school and completed 6 operational tours including Northern Ireland, Kosovo, Iraq, and Afghanistan. He sustained a spinal injury in Afghanistan, which ultimately led to his medical discharge from the British Army in 2015. He immediately enrolled at Salford University where he graduated in 2018 with a degree in Political Contemporary History before being elected as a local councillor. Whilst at university, Paul began to become disillusioned with society's relationship with the veteran community - specifically how our injured veterans are dependent on charities for support post-service.
Paul fundamentally believes that it is the responsibility of local and national government to provide for our veteran's aftercare, as it was the politicians and not the charitable sector that send us to war, hence, the accountability lies solely with them. Paul was diagnosed with complex PTSD in 2017 and uses his platform to promote positive mental health by being honest and open about his own battles with PTSD.
In 2021, Paul released his memoirs where he challenges the MoD's policy regarding the mental health of both serving personnel and veterans, and in 2022 founded the Ex-Forces Union to lobby on behalf of our veterans.
LINKS:
Join our Facebook Group community here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2314725475490967/
Engage with us on LinkedIn here:
https://www.linkedin.com/groups/13628154/
Insta/Twitter/Facebook: @CampaignForceUK
or email the host [email protected]
https://www.exforcesunion.org/
OP Courage: Mental health support for veterans, service leavers and reservists - NHS (www.nhs.uk)
Combat Stress is the UK’s leading mental health charity for veterans Call them on 0800 138 1619, text them on 07537 404 719 or email [email protected].Support the Show.
✅Support The Show Help Us Grow! Help us reach more veterans by donating the cost of a cup of coffee today...💳A small donation helps us pay our publishing fees & expenses and enables us to reach even more people, by creating the content you love! Every supporter will get a shout out on our show too!
CLICK HERE 👉https://www.buzzsprout.com/1394725/support -
Tobias Ellwood has always been in the headlines. This interview covers the reasons why, and comes with a trigger warning as we talk about tricky subjects, including grief and trauma. For details of supportive organisations, see the bottom of these notes.
About our guest:
Tobias was elected as Member of Parliament for Bournemouth East in May 2005, and subsequently re-elected in 2010, 2015, 2017 and most recently in December 2019.
He was Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office with special responsibility for the Middle East and Africa from July 2014, and was made Parliamentary under-Secretary of State in the Ministry of Defence in the June 2017 reshuffle.
Shortly after being first elected to Parliament in 2005, he was appointed Opposition Whip. In July 2007, he was promoted to the post of Shadow Minister for Culture Media and Sport where he was responsible for a portfolio including tourism, gambling and licensing. After the May 2010 General Election, Tobias was appointed Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Defence Secretary, the Rt. Hon Liam Fox MP. He was appointed to similar positions for the Minister for Europe, the Rt Hon David Lidington MP, in October 2011, and the Health Secretary, the Rt Hon Jeremy Hunt MP, in October 2013. He held this position until he was promoted to the Foreign Office in July 2014, with responsibility for the Middle East and Africa.
Tobias was elected Chair of the House of Commons Defence Select Committee in January 2020 and remained in that position until September 2023.
Tobias was born in New York, USA due to his parents' overseas posting at the time. He grew up in Bonn, Germany and Vienna, Austria, but returned to the UK to complete his first degree at Loughborough University. Whilst at Loughborough, Tobias was elected President of the Students' Union.
He spent six years in the Regular Army with The Royal Green Jackets, head quartered in Winchester, and served in Northern Ireland, Cyprus, Kuwait, Germany, Gibraltar and Bosnia. He now has the rank of Lieutenant Colonel as a reservist in the 77th Brigade.
Tobias is married to Hannah and they have two young sons, Alexander and Oscar. He is a patron of a number of local charities, including Caring Canines, Samaritans, and Boscombe’s Crumbs Café.
Outside of politics Tobias is a keen sportsman, an active Army Reservist and a private pilot. He is frequent visitor to the United States and the Middle East. He also enjoys the theatre, military history, and is an Eagle Scout.
OP Courage: Mental health support for veterans, service leavers and reservists - NHS (www.nhs.uk)
Combat Stress is the UK’s leading mental health charity for veterans Call them on 0800 138 1619, text them on 07537 404 719 or email [email protected].
Medical assistance for veterans in:
England: NHS 111 service or call 111 when you need medical help fast but it’s not a 999 emergency, or contact NHS
Scotland: Scotland’s Health on the Web or call 111
Wales: NHS Direct Wales or call 0845 46 47
Northern Ireland: nidirect government services - telephone contact details are available from the website
Samaritans Call 116 123 to speak to a Samaritan.Support the Show.
✅Support The Show Help Us Grow! Help us reach more veterans by donating the cost of a cup of coffee today...💳A small donation helps us pay our publishing fees & expenses and enables us to reach even more people, by creating the content you love! Every supporter will get a shout out on our show too!
CLICK HERE 👉https://www.buzzsprout.com/1394725/support -
Royston Smith GM MP is an RAF veteran, former council leader and George Medal recipient and our latest guest on Veterans In Politics Podcast.
He has been the Member of Parliament for Southampton Itchen since 2015 and is the former Leader of Southampton City Council, having served as the Councillor for Harefield Ward – where he was born – from 2000 until 2016.He has worked in both the private and public sectors, which offers useful experience to his approach to the key issues that face Southampton most effectively. His career spans four decades – starting by serving in the Royal Air Force as an aircraft engineer working with the Nimrod aircraft- and he later spent 16 years as a maintenance engineer at British Airways. He has also run local businesses in the city.
We talk about the circumstances behind the award of the George Medal for bravery, and in doing so, remember Lt Cdr Ian Molyneux GM.The medal citation reads: "Lt Cdr Molyneux, with complete disregard for his own safety, had deliberately made an effort to tackle the gunman, knowingly putting himself into extreme danger in order to try to safeguard others from personal injury.
"His actions were incalculably brave and were carried out in the highest possible service traditions of courage and selfless commitment, resulting ultimately in providing just enough disruption to the sentry's intent to enable him to be subsequently overwhelmed and disarmed."
We will remember him.
LINKS:
Spitfire Memorial Campaign-
https://www.roystonsmith.co.uk/2020/10/12/a-national-spitfire-memorial/
Join our Facebook Group community here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2314725475490967/
Engage with us on LinkedIn here:
https://www.linkedin.com/groups/13628154/
Insta/Twitter/Facebook: @CampaignForceUK
or email the host [email protected]
OP Courage: Mental health support for veterans, service leavers and reservists - NHS (www.nhs.uk)
Combat Stress is the UK’s leading mental health charity for veterans Call them on 0800 138 1619, text them on 07537 404 719 or email [email protected].
Stand Up and Serve Again!Support the Show.
✅Support The Show Help Us Grow! Help us reach more veterans by donating the cost of a cup of coffee today...💳A small donation helps us pay our publishing fees & expenses and enables us to reach even more people, by creating the content you love! Every supporter will get a shout out on our show too!
CLICK HERE 👉https://www.buzzsprout.com/1394725/support -
This week we sit down with HAC Veteran James Gray MP.
James was first elected as MP for North Wiltshire in May 1997. He was educated at Hillhead Primary School and Glasgow High School and later read History at Glasgow University and Christ Church, Oxford. More recently he was a visiting Parliamentary Fellow of St Antony’s College, Oxford and is a graduate of the Royal College of Defence Studies.Before entering Parliament, James’s career was in business. He worked for P&O, latterly as one of their shipbrokers on the Baltic Exchange, when he was also made a Freeman of the City of London. He helped devise the means for trading bulk shipping as a futures commodity, and wrote several books about it. After 15 years in the City, he became Special Adviser to the Secretary of State for the Environment, Michael Howard, and his successor John Gummer.
After his election to Parliament in 1997, James served on the Environment and Transport Select Committees until his shadow ministerial career began with his appointment as a Conservative Whip and then as a Shadow Minister for Defence. He served as Shadow Minister for the Countryside and after the 2005 General Election briefly as Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland. James now serves as a Member of Mr Speaker’s Panel of Chairmen.
James’s military interest includes seven years in the Honourable Artillery Company, the oldest regiment in the Army Reserve, on whose Court of Assistants he also served from 2002 to 2007, and of whose Saddle Club he is life Vice-President. He is a graduate of the Armed Forces Parliamentary Scheme and of the Royal College of Defence Studies. In 2010, James founded the All-Party Parliamentary Group for the Armed Forces, which he has chaired since. In 2013, James became founding Chairman of the Armed Forces Parliamentary Trust, which seconds up to 35 Parliamentarians a year to the three services.
James has a particular interest in the Polar Regions, having travelled in both. He is Chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Group for the Poles, and serves on the No 10 Advisory Committee on the environment.
James is a member of NATO Parliamentary Assembly, Patron of Operation Christmas Box, and a Younger Brother of Trinity House. He sat on the Defence Committee and the Committee on Arms Export Controls, and chaired the Defence Sub-Committee on the Arctic from 2016 to 2017. Following the 2017 election, he was appointed by the Prime Minister to the Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy.
He and his wife Philippa live on a farm in North Wiltshire.
LINKS:
Operation Christmas Box: https://operationchristmasbox.org/
Join our Facebook Group community here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2314725475490967/
Engage with us on LinkedIn here:
https://www.linkedin.com/groups/13628154/
Insta/Twitter/Facebook: @CampaignForceUK
or email the host [email protected]
Stand Up and Serve Again!Support the Show.
✅Support The Show Help Us Grow! Help us reach more veterans by donating the cost of a cup of coffee today...💳A small donation helps us pay our publishing fees & expenses and enables us to reach even more people, by creating the content you love! Every supporter will get a shout out on our show too!
CLICK HERE 👉https://www.buzzsprout.com/1394725/support -
Veterans In Politics Podcast this week meets Richard Drax MP, a former Guards Officer who served in Northern Ireland and is on the Defence Select Committee
Richard was delighted to re-elected the MP for South Dorset in December 2019.He served across the world, including Germany, Cyprus, Kenya, Brunei, Hong Kong, the United States, London and three operational tours in Northern Ireland.
Richard enjoyed a variety of activities, ranging from ceremonial duties, such as Trooping the Colour to mark the Queen's birthday, to parachuting with the Guards' freefall team.
On leaving the army, he studied land management for three years at the Royal Agricultural College, near Cirencester, before embarking on a career in journalism, which spanned 17 years.
His early years were spent with the Yorkshire Evening Press, a daily broadsheet in York, where Richard qualified as a professional journalist.
While attempting to break into broadcasting, Richard did stints at Tyne Tees TV, the Daily Express and the Daily Telegraph.
Finally, he joined BBC Radio Solent and BBC South Today, where he spent nine years.
He became one of the station's senior reporters, working across the south of England and occasionally abroad.
Those trips took him to Haiti, Florida and South America.
In 2006 he was selected as the Conservative parliamentary candidate for South Dorset.
At the same time, he took over the family business and retired from the BBC.
Richard, who has four children, is married to Elsebet, who is from Norway.
LINKS:
Join our Facebook Group community here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2314725475490967/
Engage with us on LinkedIn here:
https://www.linkedin.com/groups/13628154/
Insta/Twitter/Facebook: @CampaignForceUK
or email the host [email protected]
Stand Up and Serve Again!Support the Show.
✅Support The Show Help Us Grow! Help us reach more veterans by donating the cost of a cup of coffee today...💳A small donation helps us pay our publishing fees & expenses and enables us to reach even more people, by creating the content you love! Every supporter will get a shout out on our show too!
CLICK HERE 👉https://www.buzzsprout.com/1394725/support -
Veterans In Politics this week is with Rt Hon Mark Francois MP, the former TA Officer and past Defence Minister who worked hard to bring the Armed Forces Covenant into being with the then Prime Minister David Cameron.
We talk about his beginnings in the Royal Anglian TA, getting into local government and eventually becoming a Member of Parliament. On the way, he even went up in a selection and beat a certain Boris Johnson!
About MarkMark’s political career began in local government, when he was elected to Basildon District Council in 1991 for the Langdon Hills Ward. When the Conservatives took control of the council in 1992.
Mark fought his first parliamentary election in 1997, when he stood as the Conservative candidate in Brent East against Ken Livingstone (prior to Ken becoming the Mayor of London). He was subsequently first elected to Parliament as the MP for Rayleigh in June 2001.
In May 2007 Mark was appointed as the Shadow Minister for Europe, where he worked directly for the Shadow Foreign Secretary the Rt Hon William Hague MP. Mark’s job involved working as the Opposition spokesman on Britain’s relations with Europe, including the European Union, Russia, the Balkans, NATO, and the OSCE. In January 2009 Mark was made a Member of the Shadow Cabinet by David Cameron.
Following the 2010 General Election, Mark was appointed by Prime Minister David Cameron as a senior whip in the Government Whips Office. Mark's title was 'Vice Chamberlain of Her Majesty’s Household'. In the same year Mark was also appointed to the Privy Council.
In September 2012, Mark was promoted to become Minister of State for Defence Personnel, Welfare and Veterans (Min DPWV) in the Ministry of Defence. In this role Mark liaised with service charities and was also instrumental in the provision of the latest generation of prosthetics (what The Sun newspaper christened 'Bionic Legs') for service personnel injured in Iraq and Afghanistan.
In October 2013, a year after joining the Ministry of Defence, Mark was again promoted to the role of Minister of State for the Armed Forces (Min AF) with responsibility for operations, operational policy, operational legal matters, training and force generation.
Mark was appointed Minister of State for Communities and Resilience and Minister for Portsmouth in May 2015, a role which he held until July 2016, when he returned to the backbenches.
Following the appointment of the Rt Hon Theresa May MP as Prime Minister, Mark was tasked by the Prime Minister to carry out a study regarding the future recruitment of regulars and reserves into the Armed Forces. The study, entitled "Filling the Ranks" was completed and submitted to the Rt Hon Theresa May MP in June 2017 before being published on Mark's website in September 2017.
LINKS:
Mark's book Spartan Victory: https://amzn.eu/d/7mayoaM
Join our Facebook Group community here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2314725475490967/
Engage with us on LinkedIn here:
https://www.linkedin.com/groups/13628154/
Insta/Twitter/Facebook: @CampaignForceUK
or email the host [email protected]
Stand Up and Serve Again!Support the Show.
✅Support The Show Help Us Grow! Help us reach more veterans by donating the cost of a cup of coffee today...💳A small donation helps us pay our publishing fees & expenses and enables us to reach even more people, by creating the content you love! Every supporter will get a shout out on our show too!
CLICK HERE 👉https://www.buzzsprout.com/1394725/support -
Jonny and Lydia wrap up their look at Party Conference season with analysis of the Labour Party Conference.
We take a look at the man who wants to be Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer's speech, which began with protester throwing glitter over him! But he handled it well and it actually played into his delivery.
'Behind the Politics' is a new addition to the show where we interview experts in the field of politics, from campaign managers to pollsters to journalists.. and maybe even the odd Special Advisor!
Next week we are back with another interview with an MP.
LINKS:
Join our Facebook Group community here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2314725475490967/
Engage with us on LinkedIn here:
https://www.linkedin.com/groups/13628154/
Insta/Twitter/Facebook: @CampaignForceUK
or email the host [email protected]
Stand Up and Serve Again!Support the Show.
✅Support The Show Help Us Grow! Help us reach more veterans by donating the cost of a cup of coffee today...💳A small donation helps us pay our publishing fees & expenses and enables us to reach even more people, by creating the content you love! Every supporter will get a shout out on our show too!
CLICK HERE 👉https://www.buzzsprout.com/1394725/support -
Jonny and Lydia are back to take a look at Conservative Party Conference with more insights 'behind the politics' off of the back of the news Hs2 has been shelved for the North.
We unpick Conservative Party Conference including the Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's speech which was packed full of stuff! A key moment for the Conservatives and the PM as they look to 'change' in the run up to a General Election!
'Behind the Politics' is a new addition to the show where we interview experts in the field of politics, from campaign managers to pollsters to journalists.. and maybe even the odd Special Advisor!
LINKS:
Join our Facebook Group community here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2314725475490967/
Engage with us on LinkedIn here:
https://www.linkedin.com/groups/13628154/
Insta/Twitter/Facebook: @CampaignForceUK
or email the host [email protected]
Stand Up and Serve Again!Support the Show.
✅Support The Show Help Us Grow! Help us reach more veterans by donating the cost of a cup of coffee today...💳A small donation helps us pay our publishing fees & expenses and enables us to reach even more people, by creating the content you love! Every supporter will get a shout out on our show too!
CLICK HERE 👉https://www.buzzsprout.com/1394725/support -
Jonny and Lydia are back with more insights 'behind the politics' as they review the Liberal Democrat Party Confidence and a particular focus on Ed Davey's speech.
What was said? What wasn't said? What does this all mean? We unpick this and provide some analysis to better help you understand what's going on during Conference season and UK politics at the moment in the run up to a General Election.
'Behind the Politics' is a new addition to the show where we interview experts in the field of politics, from campaign managers to pollsters to journalists.. and maybe even the odd Special Advisor!
LINKS:
Join our Facebook Group community here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2314725475490967/
Engage with us on LinkedIn here:
https://www.linkedin.com/groups/13628154/
Insta/Twitter/Facebook: @CampaignForceUK
or email the host [email protected]
Stand Up and Serve Again!Support the Show.
✅Support The Show Help Us Grow! Help us reach more veterans by donating the cost of a cup of coffee today...💳A small donation helps us pay our publishing fees & expenses and enables us to reach even more people, by creating the content you love! Every supporter will get a shout out on our show too!
CLICK HERE 👉https://www.buzzsprout.com/1394725/support -
We return this week with Flick Drummond MP a veteran of the Int Corps' TA and talk to her on political resilience amongst many things.
Flick has a background in education and does some extraordinary policy development work in this are cross-party. She also has been through the mill with her political career having experienced failure at the highest level, only to bounce back and get re-elected. It certainly hasnt been all plain sailing for Flick and you'll find this an inspirational episode that we recorded over Summer Recess.
LINKS:
Join our Facebook Group community here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2314725475490967/
Engage with us on LinkedIn here:
https://www.linkedin.com/groups/13628154/
Insta/Twitter/Facebook: @CampaignForceUK
or email the host [email protected]
Stand Up and Serve Again!Support the Show.
✅Support The Show Help Us Grow! Help us reach more veterans by donating the cost of a cup of coffee today...💳A small donation helps us pay our publishing fees & expenses and enables us to reach even more people, by creating the content you love! Every supporter will get a shout out on our show too!
CLICK HERE 👉https://www.buzzsprout.com/1394725/support -
In this episode we meet Jason McCartney MP- a former RAF Officer, journalist and now MP
We talk about his RAF family links, his career that took him to Iraq as well as his journey into journalism and latterly politics. Jason knows what it is like to win and lose, and we discuss the disaster of the 2017 General Election and how the Prime Minister of the day called him to apologise due to his electoral defeat. But Jason didnt give up, and came back fighting two years later for a comprehensive re-election victory.
Jason is a super positive guy and we really enjoyed this chat with him on location in Parliament.
About Jason
Jason is a proud Yorkshireman who lives in Honley. His parents live down the valley in Holmbridge.Jason began his working life as an Officer in the RAF serving in Las Vegas, Turkey, Gibraltar, Germany, Cyprus and Iraq. He is the Honorary President of the Royal Air Force Association in Huddersfield and a member of the Royal British Legion.
After leaving the RAF Jason completed Broadcast Journalism at Post Grad and freelanced with BBC Radio in Leeds and Middlesbrough. He then got his dream job with ITV Yorkshire in Leeds where he became the weekend presenter for Calendar News & Sport. Jason first got into broadcasting by hosting the very early morning radio show on Huddersfield FM, which became Pennine FM, back in 1995. On leaving ITV Jason lectured in Broadcast Journalism at Leeds Trinity and Leeds Beckett Universities.
Jason was first elected as the MP for Colne Valley in 2010 and then re-elected in 2015. On losing his seat in 2017 he spent 2 years as the Head of Public Affairs at the University of Huddersfield. He was also a Director of the Mid Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce, a Director of Huddersfield Live and a Director of fairandfunky.
Jason is a Huddersfield Town season ticket holder having cheered on Town at Wembley in 1994, 1995, 2012 & 2017. One of his proudest moments was reporting pitch side for Calendar at Cardiff on the 2004 playoff final win over Mansfield. Jason is also a fan of the Huddersfield Giants RL club. He regularly volunteers in our community and can be seen litter picking in Honley on the first Sunday of every month.
LINKS:
https://www.jasonmccartney.com/about-jason
Join our Facebook Group community here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2314725475490967/
Engage with us on LinkedIn here:
https://www.linkedin.com/groups/13628154/
Insta/Twitter/Facebook: @CampaignForceUK
or email the host [email protected]
Stand Up and Serve Again!Support the Show.
✅Support The Show Help Us Grow! Help us reach more veterans by donating the cost of a cup of coffee today...💳A small donation helps us pay our publishing fees & expenses and enables us to reach even more people, by creating the content you love! Every supporter will get a shout out on our show too!
CLICK HERE 👉https://www.buzzsprout.com/1394725/support -
Veterans In Politics- Sir Mike Penning MP- from Guardsman to Minister to Knight of the Realm
It was a huge pleasure recording this episode with Sir Mike Penning in his office in the heart of The House of Commons, in Parliament, Westminster. Our host Jonny first met Mike at the MOD, where Mike was serving as Minister for the Armed Forces, essentially Deputy Secretary of State for Defence.
Mike talks about his humble background, joining the army as a teenager, serving in Northern Ireland on operations, becoming a firefighter, a journalist and a politician! Mike has packed a lot into his life.
We get insight into what it is like to resign as a Minister, telling the Prime Minister that you're quitting as an MP, and when he met the Queen.
This is a story of aspiration, and how a soldier became a Knight of The Realm.
LINKS:
Join our Facebook Group community here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2314725475490967/
Engage with us on LinkedIn here:
https://www.linkedin.com/groups/13628154/
Insta/Twitter/Facebook: @CampaignForceUK
or email the host [email protected]
Stand Up and Serve Again!Support the Show.
✅Support The Show Help Us Grow! Help us reach more veterans by donating the cost of a cup of coffee today...💳A small donation helps us pay our publishing fees & expenses and enables us to reach even more people, by creating the content you love! Every supporter will get a shout out on our show too!
CLICK HERE 👉https://www.buzzsprout.com/1394725/support - Näytä enemmän
