The Alicia Kearns Edition
b'
Alicia Kearns is the Conservative MP for Rutland and Melton, and the first female chair of the foreign affairs select committee. Alicia built a reputation as a foreign policy powerhouse working in communications and counter-terrorism for the civil service. After leaving, some time was spent in the private sector before Alicia decided to become an MP. In 2019 she was elected in the Conservative safe seat, Rutland and Melton where she now lives with her family.\\xa0
\\n\\n
On the podcast, Alicia talks about why she left the civil service and the time she \\u2018came out\\u2019 as a Conservative. She also shares her love for her Rutland and Melton, describing her constituents as \\u2018her people\\u2019. But makes no bones about how hard she finds the job: \\u2018I love being able to campaign and change policy. But I can\\u2019t say I enjoy the job\\u2019. Now, as the chair of the foreign affairs select committee in Parliament, Alicia wants to improve the UK\\u2019s resilience in diplomacy and ensure Rishi Sunak won\\u2019t back away from Britain\\u2019s international responsibilities.\\xa0
\\n\\n
Produced by Natasha Feroze\\xa0
'