Jay will draw from his cultural and historical research insights to outline how Britain is now more at ease with its diverse make-up and better able to put into strategic practice its key assets to begin to emerge into a post-Brexit world where partnerships with Commonwealth countries will be crucial for prosperity and peace at home. Only by doing so will Britain be able to work to secure peace and harmony abroad at a time of global power shift towards new players including India and China, as well as old rivals in Russia.
Jay Singh-Sohal is a strategic communication and engagement expert, who now works as a consultant at M&C Saatchi World Services. He is also the West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner candidate for the Conservative party.
Jay has a unique background both in commercial broadcast and military information activities, holding the rank of Captain in the British Army Reserve. Jay originally joined the Intelligence Corps before Commissioning and has served in uniform for 10 years including on operations and overseas duty in places as diverse as Estonia and South Korea.
He is an award-winning writer and filmmaker behind projects such as "Turbanology" and "Sikhs At War" which bring the story of British Sikhs to mainstream audiences, as well as the Chairman of the UK’s first monument to Sikh service – the WW1 Sikh Memorial at the National Memorial Arboretum. For this work he received the prestigious 'Jewel Award' from the Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon MP in March 2017 and a “Points of Light” award from the Prime Minister Boris Johnson in November 2019.
A television journalist by trade, Jay began his career as a trainee reporter at ITV Regional News in 2006. He subsequently worked as an independent filmmaker before joining Sky News, outputting live breaking international news.
He has also written four books including “Saragarhi: The Forgotten Battle” which was released at Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, and founded the annual UK commemoration of “Saragarhi Day” which the British Army host annually as a community engagement event. In 2017, he briefed HRH The Prince of Wales about Saragarhi and how it can inspire young people to undertake public service.
Jay serves as a Trustee of the Commonwealth War Graves Foundation and is a Fellowship Councillor with the Royal Society of Arts.
