Committees

Nominations open for Defence Committee Chair

4 September 2024

MPs have begun the process of electing a Chair of the Defence Committee in the new Parliament.

The Speaker announced the timetable for the elections on July 30. The period of nominations will run until 4pm on Monday 9 September, with the ballot scheduled for Wednesday 11 September.

The new Chair will be elected from the Labour party under the allocation of committee chairs to political parties which was agreed by the House on 30 July 2024.  

Since 2010, most committee chairs have been elected by the whole House, by a system of alternative vote and by secret ballot. To be valid, nominations must contain a signed statement made by the candidate declaring their willingness to stand.

It must be accompanied by the signatures of 15 MPs elected to the Commons as members of the same political party as the candidate (or 10 per cent of the MPs elected to the House as members of that party, whichever is the lower). More than 15 signatures can be collected but only the first 15 valid signatures are printed. Members may only nominate one candidate per select committee.

Nominations may be accompanied by the signatures of up to five MPs elected to the House as members of any party other than to which the chair is allocated or of no party. Similarly, only five such signatures are printed.

Candidates must declare any relevant interests with their nomination. Valid nominations received each day are published with the next day's Order Paper and will be listed below.

Nominations

Candidate: Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi

Supporters (own party): James Asser, Ruth Jones, Mr Bayo Alaba, Afzal Khan, Satvir Kaur, Mark Ferguson, Emma Foody, Chris Curtis, Lucy Rigby, Elaine Stewart, Karl Turner, Matt Rodda, Jessica Toale, Navendu Mishra, Jo Platt

Supporters (other parties or no party): Jim Shannon, Sir Edward Leigh, Christine Jardine, Alicia Kearns, Bob Blackman

Relevant interests declared: None

Supporting statement:

Coming from a family with a strong military tradition, I have regularly championed the heroism of our brave Armed Forces. This includes my great grandfather who lost his leg fighting in the First World War and many of my family members who served in uniform during the Second World War. This deep sense of duty and pride in my family’s service, and the sacrifices of Sikh soldiers in defence of our nation, drove me to lead a cross-party campaign to establish a National Sikh War Memorial.

My admiration of our Armed Forces has led me to advocate on key defence matters throughout my time in Parliament and is why I am now standing to be the Chair of the Defence Select Committee.

I would be grateful for your backing to ensure that the House has a strong, united voice in an increasingly volatile and uncertain world, so that we can robustly hold the Government to account, as they undertake their primary duty of keeping our country safe.

With threats to our interests at home and abroad growing in both scale and complexity, it is more important than ever that we have a focused Defence Select Committee to ensure our nation can meet the future challenges it will face.

I hope to bring to the Committee my years of insight and extensive experience interacting with our courageous service personnel through the Armed Forces Parliamentary Scheme for over three years, and as a Royal College of Defence Studies graduate in International Security and Strategic Leadership Studies. I have been privileged previously to serve on the Defence Select Committee, in addition to being elected as a UK delegate to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly.

Should Members put their confidence in me, I want to work cross-party and with the whole Committee, to set the strongest possible agenda for this Parliament. My view is that the Committee’s work should cover the following areas:

Current and emerging defence challenges, such as:  

  • adequacy of military support for Ukraine, 
  • looking at how we address threats to global stability. 

  Operational standing of our Armed Forces, including:  

  • scrutiny of the Strategic Defence Review and the Government’s plans to meet the 2.5% GDP spending commitment,  
  • improving recruitment and retention of valued personnel,  
  • understanding and improving the day-to-day conditions faced by our Armed Forces community,  
  • how we can best support our veterans, especially on mental health challenges and post-service careers, 
  • reviewing procurement challenges and the delivery of major defence projects. 

  Preparing for the challenges of the future, for example:  

  • UK’s contribution to NATO, which is a cornerstone of our defence policy, 
  • implications for UK national security from international security arrangements such as AUKUS and the proposed European security pact, 
  • continuing the previous Committee’s work on AI capacity and expertise in UK defence, and war in the grey zone, 
  • emerging military tactics and technology.

Thank you and I hope I can count on your support. 

Candidate: Derek Twigg

Supporters (own party): Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck, Peter Dowd, Sir Mark Hendrick, Carolyn Harris, Matt Bishop, Mr Calvin Bailey, Tonia Antoniazzi, Blair McDougall, Luke Akehurst, Jo White, David Taylor, Mike Amesbury, Graeme Downie, Fred Thomas, Paulette Hamilton

Supporters (other parties or no party): Sir Gavin Williamson, Jesse Norman, Mr Mark Francois, Sir Bernard Jenkin, Tim Farron

Relevant interests declared: None

Supporting statement:

In a world which is increasingly unstable, where we face greater threats than at any time since the Cold War, the need for modern, agile, and properly funded Armed Forces grows more important by the day. We need to understand the lessons from the changing nature of warfare and the fast-growing use of AI in Defence.

As a former Defence and Veterans’ Minister in the last Labour government I know how the MOD works. Along with six years’ service on the Defence Select Committee, I have broad experience and have developed a deep knowledge of Defence issues. I have a reputation for being fearless in holding the MOD to account.

There are important critical issues that the new Defence Committee could focus its work on during this Parliament, with the Strategic Defence Review and future funding a given. Likewise, increasing support for Ukraine and monitoring what progress is being achieved by the MOD on replenishing munitions stockpiles. The recruitment and retention crisis facing the Armed Forces need urgently addressing.

The Select Committee will want to continue to examine defence procurement, future platforms, service accommodation and support for veterans. The Committee needs to see through the inquiry started by the previous committee on AI capacity and expertise in UK Defence.

It will be important that the Committee continues monitoring what progress is being made on the recommendations of the Atherton Report “Women in the Armed Forces” which found the MOD and the Services were failing to protect female personnel and help service women achieve their full potential.

Crucially, the role of the proposed new Independent Armed Forces Commissioner - who is to be an independent champion for the service personnel and their families, is going to be important for the work of the Committee going forward.

Defence is not just about the MOD. We must also focus on how cross government working can be improved to ensure we provide the best Defence and security for our country and support for our Armed Forces. This something the new committee may want to explore.

In my six years as a member of the Defence Select Committee, I have demonstrated that I am a team player, who is very comfortable working on a cross party basis. I have, over a long period, demonstrated that I have a deep understanding of the Defence and security issues facing our country. I am also forensic in the questioning of witnesses.

The Security of the UK is the first priority of Government. I am immensely proud of our Armed Forces who do an outstanding job in difficult circumstances. We need an effective, knowledgeable, and hardworking Defence Select Committee that can work in a constructive way but does not hold back in holding the MOD to account.

I believe I am the best person to lead the Committee, importantly so do colleagues I worked with on the Defence Select Committee in the last Parliament.  

Further information  

Image credit: House of Commons