Johnny was born into a Strict Baptist family, an experience he has likened to growing up in a cult. The traumas he experienced as a child has led to a lifelong battle with OCD. He won a scholarship to Eastbourne College as a chorister, later reaching the national finals
Starting off his professional life, Johnny served 13 years in the UK Commandos, serving from the tactical to the strategic level throughout a career across the globe, including multiple combat operations at the height of the Afghanistan conflict.
In 2017, Johnny’s memoirs from his military career, We Were Warriors, went straight into the Sunday Times Bestseller list. “One of the best accounts of Afghanistan’s latest war. It is one of the great British accounts of close combat, matching Orwell in Catalonia and McDonald Fraser in Burma.”
Unwilling to accept the UK’s treatment of his generation of Military Veterans, Johnny stood as a Member of Parliament for Plymouth in 2015, a seat hitherto considered unwinnable for the Conservatives and despite having never voted before. Working on building-sites he self-funded a campaign that saw him win his seat having been given a less than 1% chance by the bookies.
His maiden speech to the House of Commons was acclaimed around the world and marked the start of his Parliamentary career. He served on both the Defence and Health Select Committees, chairing inquiries into historical prosecutions of Servicemen and Women and the misuse of prescription drugs, before campaigning for and subsequently creating the UK’s first Office for Veterans Affairs under Prime Minister Boris Johnson in 2019.
Johnny was sacked from Government in April 2021 after refusing to pass legislation that did not protect Northern Ireland veterans from repeated and vexatious prosecutions from the Troubles. He has since campaigned for these Veterans both in London and Belfast.
He returned to the role later that year, only for the department to be closed down when Liz Truss became Prime Minister. Johnny then attained the rare feat of holding the same ministerial post on three separate occasions when he was returned by Rishi Sunak. He remained Minister for Veterans Affairs until losing his seat in the Labour landslide victory of 2024.
Johnny has made several notable television appearances (ironically for someone who grew up in a family that banned watching television). These include Celebrity Hunted (which he won), Make Me Prime Minister and the BAFTA-nominated Banged Up. Ukraine: On the Front Line with Johnny Mercer was the first full-length British documentary made in Ukraine following the outbreak of war in 2022.
Johnny is a popular speaker, drawing on his years of leadership expertise in stressful combat situations and in government. He is also a staunch advocate for greater awareness of mental health in men.
For further information about Johnny Mercer please contact his agent andrew@cloud9management.co.uk
