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Who is Alistair Carns? The ex-marine turned MP tipped to be Labour leader contender
Decorated former marine Alistair Carns has emerged as a wildcard contender to succeed Sir Keir Starmer as Labour leader.
The Armed Forces minister is increasingly being discussed by backbenchers as a potential successor despite only becoming an MP less than two years ago.
Here’s what we know about Labour’s “Action Man”:
Alistair Carns
House of Commons/Laurie Noble/PA
Carns, 45, is one of five siblings and was raised by a single mother in Aberdeen, Scotland, growing up in what he has described as a “tough, working-class area”.
Money was tight, and he shared a bedroom with his two brothers in the family’s three-bedroom home next to a council estate.
He attended state school and joined the military aged 19. That career spanned 24 years, during which he rose from the most junior ranks to become a Colonel.
He undertook four tours of duty in Afghanistan, where his leadership earned him multiple honours.
In 2011, Carns was awarded the Military Cross for gallantry. He was also appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2022 Queen’s Birthday Honours and received the Distinguished Service Order in 2024.
Describing his time in the forces he has said he was “shot at point blank range more times than I can remember”.
Mission Everest team: Garth Miller, Anthony Stazicker, Al Carns, Kevin Godlington
PR handout
Carns resigned his military commission in May 2024 to stand as a Labour MP at the general election, winning the Birmingham Selly Oak seat with a majority of over 11,500 votes.
Shortly after becoming an MP under the new Labour government, he was appointed Minister for Veterans and People – a role focused on the welfare of former service personnel – and was promoted to Armed Forces Minister earlier this year.
In May, he was among four British former special forces soldiers who set a record by climbing Mount Everest in under five days without acclimatising on the mountain.
Climbers usually spend between six to eight weeks on Everest before summiting. But the group were controversially aided by xenon gas, which help them pre-acclimatise to low oxygen at high altitudes.
They also slept in special tents for six weeks before travelling to Nepal to help them get used to the decreased oxygen levels.
As an MP he splits his time between London and his constituency home in Birmingham that he shares with his wife, daughter, two sons and “legendary” pet Labrador Maverick.
Carns is highly respected among his fellow Labour MPs and even political rivals. Former Tory Minister Rory Stewart described him as one of “the great fighting soldiers of our generation” and said, “even soldiers are a bit scared of how brave he is”.
But there are questions about his politics with acknowledgment that many do not know what he believes in beyond defence policy and military spending.
Under party rules, Carns would need the formal backing of at least 20 per cent, or around 80, Labour MPs to reach a leadership ballot.
There are also queries about his lack of political experience, having only become an MP in May 2024.
But a Labour MP told Politics Home: “I would support Al Carns. I like people to have made a life outside Parliament — a bit more real.”
When asked how it felt to be touted as a possible future Labour leader, Carns told the Telegraph: “You’ve got to follow before you can lead… I’ve been in politics for a year and a half, my job is to focus on my portfolio, which is operations and policy during this very fragile geostrategic moment in time, and support the Prime Minister’s delivery of his aims.”
