Who is the Politician Al Carns? Former Marine and Government Minister with Sights on the Top Job
A former special forces colonel, minister of state Al Carns has recently been making strategic moves cautioning that the UK needs to be preparing for war with Russia.
“The shadow of war is at Europe’s door once more. That’s the reality. We’ve got to be prepared to deter it,” he stated, in remarks that go beyond previous warnings by his boss, the defence secretary.
“As a whole society – what is their role if we get caught in an existential crisis, and what do they need to be aware they need to do and what they can’t do, and how do we rally the nation to support a military endeavour?”
It was stark language from the 45-year-old Scottish-born MP, who has had an remarkably rapid rise to his role of minister for the military.
A Swift Political Ascent
Naturally for a politician with a background in the armed forces, there is speculation about whether he is a potential future leader – as with, at various points, previous colleagues from a service background before him.
This time, however, some ruling party MPs think there could be a genuine possibility of Carns being a contender if and when the opportunity arises.
One of the reasons for that is that Carns has been involved in politics for longer than it seems, as a former military adviser to three previous defence secretaries.
But there is also the risk of being over-promoted as a politician with a backstory colleagues think will resonate with the public – without enough consideration of whether they have the track record and shrewdness to make it to the top.
From the Battlefield to Westminster
Carns was born in Aberdeen, and educated in the state system, before enlisting in the Royal Marines in 1999 at the age of 19. He advanced his career and was awarded the Military Cross in 2011 “in recognition of gallant and distinguished services in Afghanistan”.
It came as a shock when he resigned from the armed forces after 24 years of service to run as an MP in Birmingham Selly Oak, shortly before he was due to be promoted to brigadier.
And in a sign he was immediately earmarked as a talent, the prime minister appointed him as a minister for veterans affairs straight after the 2024 election. He was promoted later that year to the more prominent position with a portfolio covering all the military.
Public Profile and Partisan Combat
With a commanding presence, Carns has been an periodic spokesperson for the government, and has been an sharp partisan operator when criticising rival parties over issues of national security.
He has also found time to break a world record this year along with former military colleagues by ascending the world's highest peak in under five days without acclimatising on the mountain, using xenon gas.
Ambitions and Party Skepticism
His name was floated as a possible future leader in earnest around the time of a leadership election last autumn, when his backers began canvassing colleagues about a run for the job. That failed to get off the ground, with the prime minister's office strongly supporting another candidate.
Since then, feature articles of Carns have begun to appear in the media, with one newspaper presenting him as the “Action Man” that some were trying to stop from challenging the prime minister.
While some MPs think he could be leadership material, others think he is making himself appear too ambitious when there is no vacancy at the top. There is also a wariness about the meteoric ascent of a high flyer from outside politics.
“It's not proven that being senior in the military translates to being any good at politics any more than being a top prosecutor,” says one MP. “He is an unknown quantity.”