Liam Walpole is joined by three guests to discuss defence and foreign policy from the perspective of those who work as researchers for MPs in the House of Commons. The topics covered include where each of the main UK party leaders stand on defence and security, the conflicts between global vs. ethical foreign policy, budgeting for UK foreign policy and whether there is enough accountability in defence policy.

Image credit: Wikimedia Commons.

Music credit: Bensound.

About the discussants

Liam Walpole is a Senior Policy Officer at the Remote Warfare Programme.

Roddy McGlynn is Researcher for SNP Foreign Affairs team Before joining the SNP Westminster Group, Roddy studied International Relations at the University of St Andrews, during which time he spent a summer interning at the UN in Bonn, working on climate security and climate-driven migration. He has also worked with civil society and refugee groups in Berlin and Mexico City. In Westminster, he works on foreign affairs for SNP central research, covering the Foreign Office, the Department for International Trade, the Department for International Development and the Ministry of Defence.

However, he is not be speaking on behalf of the party or the Westminster Group but as someone working in Parliament with an interest in foreign affairs.

Edward Tebbutt is a Parliamentary Researcher for Crispin Blunt MP. He has a BA in Arabic and Middle East Studies from the University of Exeter and an MSc in Security Studies from University College London. He has worked in parliament for two years dealing with policy issues and a particular focus on defence and foreign affairs.

He will not be speaking on behalf of the Conservative Party or as a representative of Crispin Blunt MP but as someone with an interest in defence and foreign affairs and a background working in Parliament. He is not a member of any political party.

Sam Goodman is a trustee of the British Foreign Policy Group and the author of the Imperial Premiership: The Role of the Modern Prime Minister in Foreign Policy Making, 1964-2015 (Manchester University Press: 2015). He recently published a report titled ‘Running Out of Credit? The Decline of the Foreign Office and the Case for Sustained Funding’ which highlighted the Foreign Office’s historic underfunding and cuts to the UK’s diplomatic network. He is currently working as a political adviser to Peter Dowd MP the current Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury and has previously worked for a variety of Labour Members of Parliament including: Julie Cooper MP, Sir Mark Hendrick MP, Michael Dugher MP, and Rt. Hon Jack Straw MP. Sam has also spent time working in the US House of Representatives for Congressman Bobby L Rush (D-IL) from Illinois’s 1st Congressional District.

Sam will be speaking in today’s podcast in an independent capacity, utilising academic expertise and his parliamentary experience of foreign policy.

Saferworld’s Warpod episode 13: The rise of private military and security companies

WarpodBy SaferworldJun 01, 2022