Rhianna Rockwell

## Rhianna Rockwell DSO

### Education

St-Georges School (Secondary)Sandhurst Royal Military Academy (Officer Training)

## Political Service Details

### Previous Position(s)

Speaker of the House of Commons (3rd March-14th April 2021)Member of Parliament for Workington (18th January 2021-14th April 2021)

## Military Service Details

### Rank

Officer Cadet (2014-16)2nd Lieutenant (2016-2017)Lieutenant (2017-2019)Captain (2020, 14th April-June 2021)

### Codenames

"Alpha" (Military Callsign)

Rhianna Anastasia Rockwell DSO (Born 14th August 1998) is a British SNP politician and part-time regular military officer as well as a former Speaker of the House of Commons and MP for Workington. She, as a person, is quite unknown within the political system and is relatively new to the political world, but as an experienced military officer she has experience in dealing with the political landscape. Her election as Speaker in January 2014 was an immense success and she was highly praised for her capability in the role before a relationship with the SNP Parliamentary Leader Lauren Mayberry caused her to be voted out of office and replaced by her deputy, Ted Hastings, on April 14th 2021.

She is currently returning to political life after returning as a Captain for the 1st Infantry Battalion of the Duke of Lancaster's Regiment.

## Early Life

### Childhood

Rhianna was born to Lewis and Maria Rockwell on 14th August 1998 in Carlisle General Hospital. She was the youngest child of the family with her older brother, Andrew, being 7 years older and her older sister Artemis 12 years older. As a young girl she grew up in the immensely impoverished town of Maryport where violence was rife and crime was rampant with little or no effort by the police to stop it, causing Rhianna to look to the army as a symbolism of the order and stability the nation needed. Her family was amongst a long line of servicemen and women and thus she believed it to be, 'in her blood', to serve Queen and Country.

As a young child, she became fascinated with how her nation worked. How it was run, by whom and why. She was observed to be always watching the TV at the political debates, curious as to how these suited men and women ran the country. From a young age she was interested in politics, and even outright stated she wanted to be Prime Minister someday to which some laughed at. She now strives to show the world that she is strong and able to rule.

Aged 14 , her older brother Andrew Rockwell enlisted to the Royal Marines and was accepted, going on his first deployment to Afghanistan in 2012 where he was stationed as a 2nd Lieutenant, and he was awarded a Victoria Cross (VC) for his services in Afghanistan. He was awarded it for saving 12 civilian from a building under heavy fire from a Taliban unit whilst holding it practically alone, allowing for a relief force to arrive and force them back. But he was injured and forced to take temporary retirement from service duties. Rhianna always saw Andrew as her inspiration and role model and this drove her to enlist for service aged 16 at her local recruitment office in Carlisle after passing her GCSEs with flying colours. Aged 16 and 1/2, she was sent down to Sandhurst Military Academy to begin her Phase 1 Training. She passed her Phase 1 Training aged 18, and was the recipient of the Swords of Honour and the Queen's Medal as a Officer Cadet.

### Early Army Career

Aged 18, she was transferred to Dale Barracks under a commission as a 2nd Lieutenant to the 1st Infantry Battalion to begin her Phase 2 training as a markswoman. As a 2nd Lieutenant she was highly respected as a leader and was known to treat her subordinates with kindness and showed proficiency and dedication as a officer. On July 12th 2017 she was brought before Lt. Col. Andrea Andersen and was promoted to Lieutenant.

From August 14th 2017, aged 19, she was deployed to Afghanistan where she served under Major. Richard Atkinson in Kandahar Province in a British military base. Here she assisted the regiment in training the forces of the Afghan Army in marksmanship, drill and section battle drills.

However, on December 11th 2018, she was informed that her older brother, Andrew Rockwell, had been fatally stabbed and had died in hospital after a mugging of his girlfriend went horribly wrong. After psychiatric assessment it was deemed she was still fit for service, however it was noted she became more solemn when discussing death and became more obsessed with the safety of her men and comrades taking every precautionary measure. Her own men nicknamed her "Safety" after her frequent conversations with her subordinates about safety protocols.

Her deployment in Afghanistan fell apart in January 2019, when her convoy was caught up, after returning from a training exercise with the Afghan Army, in a suicide bombing attack by the Taliban. 3 of her men were killed and it was widely reported that she, in a broken state and angry, started firing into the crowds to kill the remaining bombers, unintentionally killing 12 civilians in the process. After further psychiatric evaluation it was determined that her service in Afghanistan should end out of fear for her mental health, and she returned to Dale Barracks in February 2019, but was awarded the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) for her services in Afghanistan, especially one incident where she saved a family from a Taliban assault team singlehandedly. After 2 months away from service, she returned in April 2019 and resumed it; she was widely praised for her efficient and effective training of new recruits and was by the far the most dedicated officer the Battalion had seen in a long time. In February 2020 she was promoted to Captain due to her outstanding service, and from there until July 2020 she helped during the pandemic; assisting families, transporting supplies and generally assisting in the campaign to beat the virus. However, on August 27th 2020 she left Army service as Artemis, her older sister, aged 34, was brutally assaulted by her boyfriend and was hospitalized and in a coma. It was only in November 2020 that Artemis recovered, but with brain damage. It was at this point Rhianna left the armed forces in December 2020 and began her life on the political stage.

## Political Career

### Labour MP

On the 18th January 2021, Rhianna was elected to become MP for Workington for the Labour Party in a spectacular landslide against her opponents Mark Jenkinson (Conservative), Lewis Blacklock (Lib Dems) and James Turner (UKIP), with 72% of the vote to herself and the remaining 28% to her opponents. As a Labour MP she ran from her office in Workington and was noted as being "a great member of the community and a source of Cumbrian pride". She was well known and highly respected amongst her constituents. On Feburary 2nd, it was reported that her father and mother had both died in a fatal car crash outside Carlisle on the A596 after a motorist, not respecting the law and was drink-driving, subsequently crashed headfirst into the vehicle and killed them and her new baby sister, Ellie. Rhianna was heartbroken and devastated, who couldn't help hurting herself over it. It was only by the support of Artemis and her remaining friends and family that Rhianna recovered enough to enter the House on the day of the Speaker elections

### Tenure as Speaker

Rhianna was elected to the role of Speaker on the 3rd of March 2021. She was competing against her friend Ted Hastings, Labour MP for St. Helens, and won by a large majority. It was reported she was in disbelief and was shocked at her election. However, as Speaker she was noted to be highly competent and good at the role, but due to her romantic relationship with the SNP Parliamentary Leader Lauren Mayberry she was voted out on a vote of no-confidence, in which she was replaced by Ted Hastings

### Stephen Gethins and Lauren Mayberry

Rhianna Rockwell has been closely associated with these two since the start of her tenure as a MP and has seen them as good friends, allies and trustworthy.

Stephen Gethins is a friend of Rhianna's and has supported her immensely both in her time in and outside of office. He was a huge advocate for her promotion to Speaker during the election and he has since been a close and loyal friend, especially after she saved his life during his attempted suicide off London Bridge. Rhianna, who fearlessly dived in and rescued him and preformed CPR on his body, saved his life and was highly praised by her friends and colleagues in the Commons.

Lauren Mayberry, on the other hand, was a source of controversy. She fell in love with Rhianna after she saved Stephen's life and she fell in love back. Their relationship was made open via the Manchester Evening News and all MPs across the spectrum were shocked and called for a vote of non-confidence and Rhianna was forced out of office, in tears and disgraced, on April 14th.

### Legacy

Rhianna, while a minor figure in the political stage, has had some huge impacts. Firstly, her controversial tenure as Speaker was one of which inspired her older sister, Artemis, to participate in the House of Commons as an MP for Congleton, and eventually became the Conservative Deputy Leader. However, the failure of the Conservative Party and an attempted coup d'etat of Henry Heners has left the Party weak and destroyed, and being 35 Artemis has retired fully from the political life.

## The Future?

### Back to the Army

Rhianna retired from political life from April 14th until June 17th 2021 and returned as a trainer for the 1st Battalion. During her time away she was training more men and women as soldiers for the marksmen teams and was actively encouraging, especially LGBT men and women, to participate more fully in Army life and "seize it by the balls", and through her debacle as Speaker she became more of an icon for the movement within the Battalion than any other. She has recently been offered a promotion to Major, which she has turned down for now, and is now working on a part-time basis within the Army and training the Royal Regiment of Scotland's 6th Battalion in Glasgow and currently resides in Bearsden.

### Return to Politics

After her sister's failure to restore the Conservative Party, Rhianna has returned wanting to make a difference. She joined the SNP on May 4th 2021 and has registered to become a MP for East Dunbartonshire, and now she is working on electoral materials for her campaign.