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Defence, Veterans & Service Personnel

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With Defence Sec visiting Chinook

As MP for a constituency with a deep-rooted military history, Caroline is committed to protecting the area's defence industry, personnel and veterans. She has frequently raised questions about local military issues in Parliament and has welcomed a number of Defence Ministers to visit important local military sites and businesses.

Caroline led a successful campaign for the restoration of the entitlement to Home to Duty Travel Allowance for service personnel travelling to work on the Gosport Ferry, promoting a more sustainable journey to work, and reducing congestion on key roads on and off the peninsula.

Following an increase of Service Family Accommodation complaints in 2016, Caroline raised her concerns with the then-Minister, Mark Lancaster, and was successful in getting an MP's hotline set up so that constituents' issues could be resolved efficiently.

After many years of threats to the future of HMS Sultan, Caroline’s interventions helped secure the future of the site. In 2022 the MOD announced it had abandon the planned disposal of HMS Sultan altogether.

As a member of the Armed Forces Parliamentary Scheme, Caroline witnessed first-hand the day-to-day work and challenges faced by our service personnel. Her visits to the Falklands and Afghanistan, along with UK military sites, have helped her to stand up for the Forces in Parliament– over the Armed Forces Covenant, war widows' pensions, R&R time and a host of other welfare issues.

Caroline spent 4 years as Vice-Chairman (Navy) of the APPG for the Armed Forces, where she took steps to highlight the particular challenges faced by the Naval Service.

For almost a decade, Caroline campaigned to secure a medal for the veterans of the Arctic Convoys. While these heroic men endured dangerous and freezing conditions in WWII to keep the supply lines with Russia open, for over 70 years it remained the only major sea campaign of the war to not have received a dedicated medal. Caroline's campaign saw her lobby the Prime Minister and Defence Secretary, while also leading a debate on this issue in Parliament and contributing to Sir John Holmes' Military Medals Review. In 2012 the Government announced the creation of the Arctic Convoy Star medal - surviving veterans received their medals at the beginning of 2013 and widows and family members have since received medals on a rolling basis.

In 2022 Defence Secretary Ben Wallace accompanied Caroline to StandardAero, at Fleetlands, whose work on rotary wing aircraft is integral to our defence infrastructure. Caroline has since reminded Defence Procurement Minister James Cartlidge about the wealth of aviation engineering skills and experience in the Gosport area, as the Government considers bids to replace the UK’s mixed medium helicopter fleet.

Caroline has lobbied continually for improvements to the quality of on-site accommodation for sailors at both HMS Sultan and HMS Collingwood. 

The 2021 Census revealed that 12.5% of the Gosport population have served in the Armed Forces at some stage of their life. This is the highest proportion of anywhere in England and Wales. Caroline has worked with a number of veterans charities across her constituency and campaigned for the Veterans Agency to open a dedicated MP helpline to better assist her in supporting her constituents.

She is looking forward to the 80th Anniversary of the D-Day landings, which is taking place in Portsmouth.

 

News

Caroline Questions Future of Gosport Training Bases

Monday, 2 June, 2025
Dame Caroline Dinenage, Member of Parliament for Gosport, has asked for reassurance about the future security of key local defence training estate in the Gosport Constituency.The Government’s Strategic Defence and Security Review, published today, suggested that Royal Navy training estate needs were
Dame Caroline Dinenage and Cllr Lesley Meenaghan at the Boathouse Cafe with guests

Gosport Community Comes Together for Veterans Christmas Lunch

Sunday, 22 December, 2024
Dame Caroline Dinenage, Member of Parliament for Gosport, welcomed local veterans for a complementary Christmas lunch, courtesy of the Boathouse Café in Gosport Marina, following the closure of FirstLight Trust.Boathouse Café owners, Monique and Alex, were so saddened to hear of the sudden closure o

Caroline Marks Ukraine War Anniversary

Saturday, 24 February, 2024
Dame Caroline Dinenage, Member of Parliament for Gosport, has reaffirmed her commitment to supporting Ukraine on the two-year anniversary of the Russian invasion. Since the illegal invasion on 24 February 2022, the UK Government has provided over £7 billion of military, economic, and humanitarian a

Caroline Backs Gosport for Defence Industry Investment

Monday, 19 February, 2024
Dame Caroline Dinenage, Member of Parliament for Gosport, today highlighted the suitability of Standard Aero Fleetlands for rotary wing programmes Speaking at Defence Oral Questions in the Chamber of the House of Commons, Caroline highlighted the 65-year history of military helicopter maintenance a

Defence Minister Visits Sultan & Collingwood Accommodation

Tuesday, 12 December, 2023
Dame Caroline Dinenage, Member of Parliament for Gosport, has welcomed the Minister for Defence Procurement, James Cartlidge MP, to her constituency to visit the accommodation blocks at HMS Sultan and HMS Collingwood. Caroline first raised the issue of sub-standard accommodation at HMS Collingwood
Caroline and Johnny with Riah and Dorinda

Minister Meets with Veterans in Gosport

Thursday, 23 November, 2023
Dame Caroline Dinenage, Member of Parliament for Gosport, has hosted the Minister of State for Veterans Affairs, the Rt. Hon.

Veterans Minister to Visit Gosport

Wednesday, 22 November, 2023
Dame Caroline Dinenage, MP for Gosport, is set to welcome Veterans’ Affairs Minister, the Rt. Hon.
Tobias Ellwood at Sultan

HMS Sultan saved!

Wednesday, 14 December, 2022
Local MP, Caroline Dinenage, has welcomed the news that HMS Sultan‘s future in the Gosport peninsula is secure. The 2016 MoD "A Better Defence Estate" set out plans to dispose of 91 military sites across the UK which would have seen HMS Sultan close.
Caroline, Ben and WW2 veteran Geoff

Defence Secretary visits Gosport

Friday, 18 November, 2022
Gosport MP, Dame Caroline Dinenage, today welcomed the Secretary of State for Defence, The Rt Hon Ben Wallace MP, to her constituency.

MP welcomes local veterans’ survey

Friday, 11 November, 2022
Gosport MP, Dame Caroline Dinenage, has urged veterans in our community to take part in a newly launched survey, by the Office of Veteran Affairs and the Office for National Statistics. The survey, announced November 10th, aims to provide evidence and gather more information about the lives of peop
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Caroline Dinenage MP Gosport

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ConservativesPromoted by Glenn Duggan on behalf of Caroline Dinenage, both at 167 Stoke Road, Gosport, PO12 1SE
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