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CF Armed Forces

CF Armed Forces

By CF Armed Forces

A podcast bringing together MPs, Ministers, interest groups, members, campaigners, veterans, friends and industry leaders to discuss Armed Forces Issues

For more information please see: www.cfarmedforces.org
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February 2022 Podcast: Rt Hon Mark Francois MP

CF Armed Forces Mar 02, 2022

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21:60
March 2023 Podcast: Richard Holroyd (UK Military Recruitment and Transition)

March 2023 Podcast: Richard Holroyd (UK Military Recruitment and Transition)

Our guest on this month's podcast is Richard Holroyd, the Managing Director for Capita’s Defence, Fire and Security sector where he leads a team of approximately 2500 people operating across Defence Fire and Rescue, Royal Navy training, Army recruitment and consulting.

Prior to this he worked in senior positions for Centrica, the MOD and BT following his 23 years of service as an officer in the British Army.  

As usual this podcast is hosted by CF Armed Forces Executive Director James Clark. For more information head to www.cfarmedforces.org 

We hope you enjoy this episode.

Mar 03, 202328:51
August 2022 Podcast: Leadership Special - Liz Truss MP and Rishi Sunak MP

August 2022 Podcast: Leadership Special - Liz Truss MP and Rishi Sunak MP

Our guests on this month's podcast are leadership candidates RT Hon Liz Truss MP and Rishi Sunk MP. 

Both candidates were asked the same questions over the weekend of 30th/31st July.

Our first guest is the Foreign Secretary, the Right Honourable Lizz Truss. She’s the MP for South West Norfolk and has been since 2010 and is the longest serving cabinet member in government. She has held portfolios in education, DEFRA, Justice and the Treasury. She is also the Minister for Women and Equalities.

Our second guest is the former chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak MP. He was elected to the seat of Richmond in 2015 and previously held positions in the Treasury and MHCLG.

A huge thank you to both of our guests for giving up their valuable time to speak to our members and friends on this month’s podcast. For more information on the leadership hustings and how to vote please go to www.conservatives.com. 

For more information on CF Armed Forces please go to www.cfarmedforces.org


Aug 01, 202226:14
April 2022 Podcast: Sir Mike Penning

April 2022 Podcast: Sir Mike Penning

Our guest on this month’s podcast is Sir Mike Penning MP. 

Sir Mike’s ministerial career has spanned multiple departments including Health, Transport, Northern Ireland, Justice, the Home Office and the MOD. He was most recently Minister for the Armed Forces from 2016-2017. He has also represented the constituency of Hemel Hempstead in Hertfordshire throughout his tenure in parliament. 

Prior to winning the seat, he was a Grenadier Guardsman, firefighter, political journalist and media adviser to CCHQ and various Party leaders. 

He is currently the Conservative Party Vice Chair for Candidates.

May 04, 202231:18
March 2022 Podcast: Armida van Rij and George Barnes

March 2022 Podcast: Armida van Rij and George Barnes

We have two guests on this month’s podcasts Armida van Rij, a research fellow with the International Security Programme at Chatham House and George Barnes, a member of CF Armed Forces with a military background.

Armida van Rij

Armida is a research fellow with the International Security Programme at Chatham House, working on issues relating to conflict, security policy and humanitarian policy.

Before joining Chatham House in 2021, she worked as a research associate with the Policy Institute at King’s College London, where she lead the Institute’s work on international security, and with the EU Delegation to Myanmar.

Armida is keen for any women involved in International Security who listen to the podcast to take a look at: https://www.wiisuk.org

George Barnes

George Barnes commissioned into the Grenadier Guards, completing operational tours to both Iraq and Afghanistan. He also spent several months in London on State Ceremonial duties, taking part in a wide variety of national events including Trooping the Colour, the Changing of the Guard, and the Chinese State Visit in 2015. Along with overseas training exercises to both Kenya and the Falklands, George has definitely come to experience the wide range of tasks undertaken by our Army today. He’s a CF Armed Forces Member and also a member of our Candidate Training Wing.

For more information please go to www.cfarmedforces.org

Mar 25, 202201:01:58
February 2022 Podcast: Rt Hon Mark Francois MP
Mar 02, 202221:60
January 2022 Podcast: Sarah Atherton MP
Mar 02, 202227:47
April 2021 Podcast: With our Policy Pamphlet Contributors
May 03, 202143:47
March 2021: Shane Mason and Secretary of State for Defence, Ben Wallace MP
Apr 01, 202101:08:01
February 2021: Sir Charles Walker MP, Leila Bousbaa and Tom Tugendhat MP

February 2021: Sir Charles Walker MP, Leila Bousbaa and Tom Tugendhat MP

On this Month’s podcast we are joined by Sir Charles Walker Member of parliament for Broxbourne, Leila Bousbaa from the Coalition for Global Prosperity and Tom Tugendhat Member of Parliament for Tonbridge and Malling.

Our first guest is Sir Charles Walker MP. Sir Charles was elected to the House of Commons in May 2005 and represent the interests of Broxbourne in Parliament. Since being elected, he has been involved in numerous local campaigns and in particular has championed the issue of mental health. He was appointed an OBE in the 2015 New Year Honours for political service, and was appointed a KBE in 2019, for “political and public service". His Parliamentary record demonstrates that he is not afraid to tackle difficult or controversial issues.

Our second guest is Leila Bousbaa. Leila is the Coalition for Global Prosperity's Senior Events Officer and has a background in international development and climate change campaigning. She previously worked at The Climate Coalition as a Campaign Executive, overseeing all member relationships and leading on aspects of big campaign moments. Prior to this, Leila worked at the Catholic Agency For Overseas Development as a Parliamentary Assistant, organising the annual parliamentary reception. Leila is extremely passionate about climate justice and global development. www.coalitionforglobalprosperity.com

Our final guest is Tom Tugendhat MP. Col Tom is the MP for Tonbridge and Malling having been elected in 2015. He served in Iraq and Afghanistan as a Reservist and also in a civilian capacity for the Foreign Office. He later served as a military assistant to the Chief of the Defence Staff. In parliament Tom is Chair of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee and is the head of the China Research Group.

Mar 01, 202149:33
January 2021: Steve Baker MP and Flick Drummond MP
Feb 04, 202146:10
December 2020: Richard Holden MP, Stuart Anderson MP and Will Hall
Nov 29, 202001:04:54
November 2020: Sarah Atherton MP, Mark Menzies MP and Party Chairman Amanda Milling MP

November 2020: Sarah Atherton MP, Mark Menzies MP and Party Chairman Amanda Milling MP

This month’s Conservative Friends of the Armed Forces podcast features three Parliamentarians each with their own insight and focus on the Armed Forces.

First we hear from Sarah Atherton MP, then Mark Menzies MP and finally the Party Chairman, Amanda Milling MP.

Sarah Atherton is the first Conservative MP Wrexham has had since the constituency’s creation in 1918. She is the first female to represent Wrexham and the first female Conservative MP elected to Westminster representing a Welsh constituency.

As an Army veteran and member of the Defence Select Committee, Sarah has frequently spoken up for the rights of military personnel and has called for the end of vexatious claims against veterans. In addition, Sarah has recently been appointed as Vice-Chair to the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Veterans. She has also been appointed as the Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Wales Office.

Mark Menzies was first elected in 2010 as the Conservative MP for Fylde, winning the seat for the fourth time in the General Election of 2019. His main political priorities are UK energy security, changing the planning system to empower local communities and limit inappropriate development and ensuring a vibrant future for the defence industry within the UK. He has undertaken the Armed Forces Parliamentary Scheme and is a vocal advocate for the defence sector within the Party and the wider political sphere. (Mark's interview was conducted in mid October).

The Party Chairman Amanda Milling has a background in market research for the financial services sector. She was elected to Parliament in 2015 and represents the constituency of Cannock Chase. She has served on numerous Committees and Sub-Committees, been PPS to the FCO and was Deputy Chief Whip. She became the Party Chairman in 2020. Amanda has taken part in the Armed Forces Parliamentary Scheme and sites the Armed Forces, along with Business and enterprise and education and young people as her main areas of interest.

November is the month of Remembrance and we would be grateful if you are able to contribute to the Royal British Legion fundraising efforts this year. Please go to https://www.britishlegion.org.uk/get-involved/poppy-appeal to find out more and donate. If you have enjoyed this podcast why not consider becoming a member. Visit www.cfarmedforces.org for more information.

Nov 07, 202001:07:58
October 2020: Hannah Jarvis, Jonny Ball and Daisy Peck

October 2020: Hannah Jarvis, Jonny Ball and Daisy Peck

This month’s Conservative Friends of the Armed Forces podcast features three individuals with strong campaigning backgrounds- all of whom have served in the Army Reserve.

Hannah Jarvis has previously deployed overseas on Operations with the British Army as a Reservist. She has worked in Insurance and the civil service. She now works as a parliamentary caseworker for David TC Davis, is a School Governor and proud mum and is on the campaign trail as the Police and Crime Commisioner for Gwent. Find out more at www.hannahjarvis.org.uk

Jonny Ball has run campaigns at every level of government, from local to National & European elections.  He led the MOD’s employer relationship management team and is a trusted networker within the veterans community, also consulting for large employers on their own veterans programs. His lengthy Army Reservist service includes operational tours of Northern Ireland and Afghanistan. He’s also the founder of Campaign Force.

Daisy Peck spent 6 years working in campaigns for the Conservative Party before joining Cicero as an account executive. She is also a Reservist in the Intelligence Corps and a keen supporter of Conservative Friends of the Armed Forces.

A huge thank you to each of them for joining us on this, our first episode. If you’d like to learn more or become a member please go to www.cfarmdeforces.org for more information

Oct 03, 202001:03:17
August 2020: Ben Everitt MP and the audio from our latest Webinar

August 2020: Ben Everitt MP and the audio from our latest Webinar

On this months episode we are joined by Ben Everitt MP, the MP for Milton Keynes North and we have the audio from this month’s panel discussion. 

Our first guest is Ben Everitt the Member of Parliament for Milton Keynes North. Ben was elected in 2019 to Mark Lancaster’s former seat. He previously served as a councillor on Aylesbury Vale District Council and was head of strategy at ICAEW. His previous roles include being a special adviser to the Deputy Prime Minister, working on various farms, grain trading and as a senior consultant for Deloitte.

Our Panel discussion was held in conjunction with the Conservative Policy Forum and Capita. Panelists James Sunderland MP, Cath Possamai and Ren Kapur MBE answered the question "Have we turned the corner in UK military recruitment and retention?" and answered and discussed questions from the panel. James Clark was the Chair. 

Aug 05, 202001:20:06
July 2020: Darren Henry MP and Ren Kapur MBE
Jun 30, 202048:58
June 2020: James Sunderland MP, Donna Gavin, Sean Howlett
Jun 01, 202050:03
May 2020: Alicia Kearns MP, Shaun Bailey AM, Ed McGuinness

May 2020: Alicia Kearns MP, Shaun Bailey AM, Ed McGuinness

This month’s Conservative Friends of the Armed Forces podcast features three individuals who give us their take on the relevance, values and standards and inspirational qualities of the UK Armed Forces. 

Alicia Kearns MP is the Member of Parliament for Rutland and Melton who prior to her career in politics worked across the Ministry of Defence and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Shaun Bailey AM, the current Conservative candidate of Mayor of London cites his early experience in the cadets as having a huge impact on the rest of his life.

Ed McGuinness is a member who served as an Officer in the Royal Artillery and stood as a candidate in Hornsey and Wood Green in GE2019.

A huge thank you to each of them for joining the host and President of the organisation, James Clark for this first episode. If you’d like to learn more or become a member please go to www.cfarmdeforces.org for more information.

May 04, 202050:53