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Hello and welcome to Women of Balls, where I, Katie Balls, speak to today's trailblazers.

My guest today is one of the most recognisable women in British politics.

First promoted under David Cameron in 2014, she held a number of junior

ministerial positions before joining Theresa May's cabinet as International Development Secretary.

Two years later, she became the UK's first female defence secretary. After two tilts at

the Conservative leadership last year, she now attends Cabinet as leader of the House of Commons,

working with

parliamentary business managers to schedule and announce the government's legislative timetable.

There was also a pastoral element to this role, which means she has seen in some quarters

as a sort of union rep for backbench MPs. My guest's background is in the armed forces,

which have toughened her up, a welcome attribute in what has been a tumultuous few

years in british politics my guest today is penny mordant so penny thank you so much for coming on the

podcast today we've been trying to get to come on this podcast for years so it's a true truly

pleasant to see you across the room to me. Perseverance, there we go.

Now, we always begin by asking our guests the same question, which is, did you have a happy childhood?

Yes, I did. I was blessed with wonderful parents who loved us and did the best for us.

So, yeah, I had a very happy childhood.

I'm a right to say that your mother did pass away and at that point you became a carer for your brother. So I was a carer aged 13. That's when my

mum became ill and very sadly she passed away and I was 15. She was just 46. I have a twin brother

and a younger brother and it was pretty, it was just 46. I have a twin brother and a younger brother. And it was pretty,

it was pretty tough, but, and I tend not to talk about it too much because it does sound

...