Morethanajob podcast in association with ResearchEd have the pleasure to welcome former PPS for the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs and former special advisor to Prime Minister David Cameron on Central & Eastern Europe, Daniel Kawczynski MP for Shrewsbury.

You were born in Warsaw, Poland and moved to the UK aged 6, then attending a Roman Catholic School in Surrey. Can you tell us about life growing up for you and your own experience of education in your school years? How did this impact on your own emotional intelligence in politics?

"[At Boarding School] We were beaten and punished severely."

You were special advisor to Prime Minister David Cameron on Central & Eastern Europe, and of course born in Poland yourself. What are your thoughts on the current crisis between Russia and Ukraine? You were born at the height of the Cold War and your parents would have grown up during the most heightened of tensions.

"Everything changes when you have a border with Russia."

"Britain has played a disproportionate role in Europe and will continue to do so."

When you were younger you prayed to be heterosexual and tried to ‘train your brain’ so as not to feel an attraction towards other men. What are your thoughts on the debate about the place of LGBTQ+ being taught/having a place in schools? Notably some schools in Birmingham have come under real scrutiny for teaching of LGBTQ+. How did you feel once you had revealed your sexuality?

"Be proud of your sexuality."