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Note- this was recorded prior to Danny's resignation.

Danny Kinahan, is the first Veterans Commissioner for Northern Ireland and was appointed to this role by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland in September 2020, as a result of the New Decade New Approach political agreement.

He's a former Army officer, MLA and Member of Parliament.

In this episode, our host Jonny Ball quizzes him about his military, civilian and political career as well as the role of Veterans' Commissioner.

Danny's Key priorities:

• Ensuring the interests of veterans and their families are championed at all levels.
• Remembering, celebrating and promoting the contribution veterans have and continue to make to society.
• Ensuring that every veteran and their family living in Northern Ireland know where to turn, to access support, assistance or advice if they need it.
• Developing policy and improved services, in collaboration with government (both locally and across the UK) and other relevant organisations, to enhance veterans’ daily experiences.

For more information, check out his website here: https://www.nivco.co.uk/about-the-ni-veterans-commissioner/

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Colonel (Retd) James Phillips is the first veterans commissioner for Wales.

James, who lives in Pembrokeshire, left the Army after serving 33 years, including in Iraq, Afghanistan, Northern Ireland and the Balkans.

He believes Wales has a "long tradition of service and sacrifice".

His appointment means Wales joins Northern Ireland and Scotland in having a dedicated commissioner, though at the time of the recording, England is yet to appoint.

This was recorded before the General Election and we thank James for his patience.  We had to delay due to the restrictions placed on appointed persons like James, but as you will hear, it was an amazing chat.

We cover his lengthy military career as well as what a commissioner's role is.  Don't forget to listen to our host Jonny's 3 key takeaways at the end!

Huge thanks to Bags at Bare Arms Support to Film & TV for the lend of the studio.  For more on their work, see here: Bare Arms – Military Advisers to the Theatrical Industries – Film, TV, Theatre, Games

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Daniel McBirnie is a Saffron Walden councillor and resident.  He has fought developers and won concessions for local people and is a former Army Lieutenant Colonel who’s provided MoD briefings to the government on Covid and Mental Health.

Daniel began his military career at the Army's 6th Form College, Welbeck, which is sadly no longer open.  He went on to a full career in the Royal Logistics Corps' serving as an Ammunition Technical Officer (ATO) which is more colloquially known as 'Bomb Disposal.'

We talk Afghanistan, his journey into a demanding and highly pressurised role, as well as his transition into business and local politics.

During the episode we touch on the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme and Armed Forces Covenant which he advocates.  This is administered by MOD's Defence Relationship Management, and you can find out more about them here: Defence Relationship Management - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

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Hailing from the West of Ireland, Rich’s vibrant childhood was filled with sports and weekend fun with his grandparents. After an ankle injury and subsequent loss of his left leg due to sepsis, Rich found a new path in athletics and indoor rowing. His resilience shone at the 2023 Invictus Games, where he claimed gold in the 100m, silver in table tennis, and bronze in the relay. And this is where our host Jonny Ball met him, on the same team for the UK.

In their side bar conversations over Invictus, they soon learnt that they had politics in common too, so it's a delight to be able to share this side of his story.  Moreover, it's a chance to talk about Rich's next challenge: The Limbitless Expedition: Conquering the Full Snowman Trek!  He is doing this alongside another one of our team mates, Rich 'Dickie' Davies.  

To support their exped in support of amazing military charities go to their page here: https://www.justgiving.com/page/rich-potter-1707920143406

And please share with a friend!  Good luck boys!

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We return this week during Season 10 of the podcast to the Conservative Leadership race with former Secretary of State, Rt Hon James Cleverly MP.  

Our host Jonny Ball first met James back in the Noughties when they were both active in London Party Politics.  Since then, James has gone on to great things, but in this episode, Jonny recalls an early moment from a Party Conference in 2008, to demonstrate perhaps that James hasn't really changed that much!

Alongside a busy political career, James has also served as an Army Reservist in the Royal Artillery.

James Cleverly was Secretary of State for the Home Department between 13 November 2023 and 5 July 2024.

He was previously Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs between 6 September 2022 and 13 November 2023.

He was Secretary of State for Education from July 2022 to September 2022.

Before that, James was Minister of State for Europe and North America in the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) from February to July 2022. He was also Minister for Middle East, North Africa and North America from September 2020 to February 2022. James was first appointed as a joint Minister of State for Middle East and North Africa in the Foreign & Commonwealth Office and the Department for International Development on 13 February 2020.

James was Minister without Portfolio from July 2019 to February 2020, and Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Exiting the European Union from April 2019 to July 2019. He was first elected as the Conservative MP for Braintree in May 2015.

To follow James's journey, see here: Homepage | Rt Hon James Cleverly (cleverly4braintree.com)

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We kick off season 10 of the Veterans In Politics Podcast with Conservative Leadership hopeful, Tom Tugendhat!  This is a fantastic start to the season, and you wont be surprised to learn that our host Jonny and Tom (whom share the same cap badge from their time in the army) talk about leadership... a lot!

Tom was Minister of State (Minister for Security) between 6 September 2022 and 5 July 2024 and attended cabinet. He previously served as the Chair of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee from 2017 to 2022 and was first elected the MP for Tonbridge and Malling in 2015.

Before being elected as an MP, Tom served on operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. He also worked for the Foreign Office, helping to set up the National Security Council of Afghanistan and the government in Helmand Province. On returning to the UK, Tom served as the military assistant and principal adviser to the Chief of the Defence Staff to the British Army, Lord Richards, and we talk about how he has inspired his leadership style in politics.

Tom studied Theology at the University of Bristol, followed by a Master’s degree in Islamic studies at Cambridge University, which included learning Arabic in Yemen.

After graduating, Tom worked in Beirut as a journalist, and soon after established one of Lebanon’s first public relations companies. On his return to the UK, Tom joined the Territorial Army. When the Iraq War broke out in 2003, he was mobilised as an Arabic-speaking intelligence officer to serve with the Royal Marines.

In 2005, Tom was asked by the Foreign Office to travel to Afghanistan to establish the National Security Council. After two years in Afghanistan and a brief return to the UK, Tom was mobilised and served operationally for a further two years with the Royal Marines, for which he received an MBE, coming off his last patrol in July 2009.

Tom went on to work on the Army Strategy Team helping to prepare for the Strategic Defence and Security Review. He later served as the Chief of the Defence Staff’s military assistant and principal adviser. He remains an Army Reserve officer.

For more on Tom, see here: https://www.tomtugendhat.org/aboutom

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Support the show

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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.

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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 @IronsideKate

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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!

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