Alex Ballinger

Ballinger studied Aerospace Engineering at the University of Manchester before joining the Royal Marines in 2005, later reaching the rank of Captain.^[2][3] He served on operations in Afghanistan, including deployments in 2006 and 2009, and has referred to a family tradition of military service and his deployment alongside his brother.^[4]

After leaving the armed forces, Ballinger joined the Department for International Development (DFID) and led humanitarian and refugee operations during the Syrian civil war,^[5][6][7] before moving to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), working on Pakistan’s Federally Administered Tribal Areas and later heading the UK’s mission in Lahore.^[8][9][10] During the 2021 Afghanistan evacuation, he led a team assisting evacuations across the border into Pakistan.^[11]

From 2023 to 2024, Ballinger ran a small mental health charity based in Birmingham and the Black Country.^[6]

Ballinger was elected on 4 July 2024 with 38.9% of the vote.^[12]

He was subsequently appointed a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee^[13]  and has used both committee and chamber proceedings to press ministers on Gaza and humanitarian access to it.^[14][15] In September 2025, it was reported that Ballinger told a Labour conference fringe meeting he believed Israel’s actions in Gaza “meet the conditions” for genocide.^[16]

Ballinger has been active on defence and service life issues.^[17]  He serves as Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group for the Armed Forces  and was appointed to the Select Committee on the Armed Forces Bill.^[18]

Ballinger is Co-Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Gambling Reform,^[19] and was a leading voice calling for increasing taxation on online gambling companies, in order to fund the lifting of the two child benefit cap.^[20]