Lord Walney sits as a crossbench peer in the House of Lords and is vice chair of the AUKUS all-party parliamentary group in the UK. After starting his professional life as a journalist, John became a political communications and public policy adviser to the last Labour government. He served in the Department for Business leading on defence exports for the Secretary of State and as political spokesman for Gordon Brown in 10 Downing Street as the then Prime Minister led the international response to the global recession. In 2010 he was elected as the Labour-Cooperative MP for Barrow and Furness. He served on the House of Commons Defence Committee and as chair of the Parliamentary Labour Party’s foreign affairs and defence committees. John is a graduate of the Royal College of Defence Studies and obtained a Masters in International Security and Strategy from King’s College London during his final term as an MP. He played a key role in maintaining support for the UK’s independent nuclear deterrent, culminating in an overwhelming majority in the key vote in the House of Commons in 2016. Between 2020 and 2025, John served UK governments of different colours as Independent Adviser on Political Violence and Disruption. Last year, the UK government published the Walney Review into political violence and disruption. He is married with three children and is determined to spend more time playing lawn bowls, flat green or crown green.