Christopher James Skidmore, (born 17 May 1981) is a British politician, and author of popular history. He served as
Minister of State for Universities, Science, Research and Innovation from December 2018 to July 2019, and from September 2019 to February 2020, during which h
signed UK's Net Zero pledge into law He also served a
Interim Minister for Energy and Clean Growth Currently, he serves as th
Chair of the Net Zero review since September 2022
Skidmore was first elected in 2010 as the
Conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...
member of Parliament (MP) for
Kingswood, South Gloucestershire, and became vice-chairman of the Conservative Party for Policy in 2018. On 26 November 2022, he announced that he would be standing down at the
next general election.
Early life and education
Skidmore was born on 17 May 1981 in
Longwell Green,
Avon. As a teenager, he became a member of the Conservative Party in 1996. Skidmore was educated at
Bristol Grammar School, an independent day school, before attending
Christ Church, Oxford
Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniq ...
, graduating in 2002 with a
first-class degree
The British undergraduate degree classification system is a grading structure for undergraduate degrees or bachelor's degrees and integrated master's degrees in the United Kingdom. The system has been applied (sometimes with significant variat ...
in Modern History (
BA).
Skidmore worked for
David Willetts and
Michael Gove
Michael Andrew Gove (; born Graeme Andrew Logan, 26 August 1967) is a British politician serving as Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and Minister for Intergovernmental Relations since 2021. He has been Member of Par ...
as an advisor, and served as chairman of the
Bow Group for 2007–08, before being appointed by another right-leaning
think tank
A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-govern ...
,
Policy Exchange, as a
research fellow.
Parliamentary career
After being selected to contest the
marginal seat of
Kingswood for the Conservatives in 2009, he was elected as its Member of Parliament at the
2010 general election, defeating incumbent
Roger Berry
Roger Leslie Berry (born 4 July 1948) is a British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Kingswood from the 1992 general election ending at the 2010 general election.
Early life
Roger Berry was born in 1948 in ...
of the
Labour Party.
Skidmore served as a member of the
Health Select Committee, leaving that committee on 17 June 2013 (being replaced by
Charlotte Leslie), to sit on the
Education Select Committee. He is also a member of the Free Enterprise Group of MPs, and along with colleagues co-authored ''After the Coalition'' (2011) and ''
Britannia Unchained'' (2012). The authors of ''Britannia Unchained'' claimed that "Once they enter the workplace, the British are among the worst idlers in the world".
He was re-elected with an increased majority at the
general election in 2015 and became
Parliamentary Private Secretary
A Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) is a Member of Parliament (MP) in the United Kingdom who acts as an unpaid assistant to a minister or shadow minister. They are selected from backbench MPs as the 'eyes and ears' of the minister in the ...
to the
chancellor of the exchequer
The chancellor of the Exchequer, often abbreviated to chancellor, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom, and head of HM Treasury, His Majesty's Treasury. As one of the four Great Offices of State, the Ch ...
.
From 2016 to 2018, Skidmore was
Parliamentary Secretary for the Constitution. Following the
2018 cabinet reshuffle, he was sacked from this role but given the role of vice-chairman of the Conservative Party for policy.
Skidmore was named by the
ConservativeHome
ConservativeHome is a British right-wing blog which supports, but is independent of, the Conservative Party. It was first established by Tim Montgomerie in 2005 with the aim of arguing for a broad conservative spectrum, which is serious about bo ...
website in 2012 as one of a minority of loyal Conservative backbench MPs not to have voted against the government in any significant rebellions. He was a regular guest on
BBC political programmes, such as ''
Daily Politics''.
Skidmore was opposed to
Brexit
Brexit (; a portmanteau of "British exit") was the Withdrawal from the European Union, withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU) at 23:00 Greenwich Mean Time, GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February 2020 Central Eur ...
prior to the
2016 EU membership referendum.
In February 2018, he argued in a speech to the Centre for Policy Studies that his party needed a broad and positive policy programme to gain wider support, further stating: "If we are just going to talk about Brexit then the Conservative Party will rapidly decline".
Skidmore was appointed Minister of State for Universities, Science, Research and Innovation on 5 December 2018, following
Sam Gyimah's resignation over the government's
Brexit
Brexit (; a portmanteau of "British exit") was the Withdrawal from the European Union, withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU) at 23:00 Greenwich Mean Time, GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February 2020 Central Eur ...
policy.
On 27 June 2022, as Minister for Energy and Clean Growth, Skidmore signed the UK'
Net Zero by 2050 pledgeinto law, becoming the first major economy to do so.
Following the appointment of
Boris Johnson
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (; born 19 June 1964) is a British politician, writer and journalist who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He previously served as ...
as
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...
in July 2019, Skidmore was moved to the
Department for Health and Social Care
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for government policy on health and adult social care matters in England, along with a few elements of the same matters which are not otherwis ...
, serving as the
minister of state for health.
Following the resignation of
Jo Johnson
Joseph Edmund Johnson, Baron Johnson of Marylebone, (born 23 December 1971) is a British politician who was Minister of State for Universities, Science, Research and Innovation from July to September 2019, as well as previously from 2015 to 2 ...
from cabinet, Skidmore re-assumed his position of minister of state for universities, science, research and innovation in September 2019. However, he was dismissed from government and replaced by
Michelle Donelan
Michelle Emma May Elizabeth Donelan (born 8 April 1984) is a British politician who has served as Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport since September 2022. She previously served as Minister of State for Higher and Further E ...
as
Minister of State for Universities and
Amanda Solloway as
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Science, Research and Innovation in the
cabinet reshuffle of February 2020.
Skidmore submitted a letter of no confidence in Boris Johnson on 6 July 2022 during mass resignations of government ministers.
He initially supported
Rishi Sunak
Rishi Sunak (; born 12 May 1980) is a British politician who has served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party since October 2022. He previously held two cabinet positions under Boris Johnson, lastly as ...
in the
July–September 2022 Conservative Party leadership election, but later changed his support to
Liz Truss
Mary Elizabeth Truss (born 26 July 1975) is a British politician who briefly served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from September to October 2022. On her fiftieth day in office, she stepped dow ...
.
On 26 September 2022, Skidmore launched th
Net Zero Review
On 19 October 2022, Skidmore put out a statement on
Twitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
, saying he could not 'support fracking' in a vote, citing his unwillingness to 'undermine the pledges
emade at the 2019 General Election'. The government was reportedly treating this vote in favour of fracking as a confidence vote, so he could risk losing the Conservative Party whip.
Honours
*
Fellow
A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context.
In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements.
Within the context of higher education ...
ship of the
Royal Society of Arts
The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA), also known as the Royal Society of Arts, is a London-based organisation committed to finding practical solutions to social challenges. The RSA acronym is used m ...
(FRSA) (2008)
*
Fellow
A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context.
In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements.
Within the context of higher education ...
ship of the
Royal Historical Society
The Royal Historical Society, founded in 1868, is a learned society of the United Kingdom which advances scholarly studies of history.
Origins
The society was founded and received its royal charter in 1868. Until 1872 it was known as the Histori ...
(FRHistS) (2010)
*
Fellow
A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context.
In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements.
Within the context of higher education ...
ship of the
Society of Antiquaries of London
A society is a group of individuals involved in persistent social interaction, or a large social group sharing the same spatial or social territory, typically subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations. Soci ...
(FSA) (10 October 2014)
* He was sworn in as a member of
Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council
The Privy Council (PC), officially His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the sovereign of the United Kingdom. Its membership mainly comprises senior politicians who are current or former members of e ...
on 6 November 2019 at
Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace () is a London royal residence and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and royal hospitality. It ...
. This gave him the
honorific title "
The Right Honourable
''The Right Honourable'' ( abbreviation: ''Rt Hon.'' or variations) is an honorific style traditionally applied to certain persons and collective bodies in the United Kingdom, the former British Empire and the Commonwealth of Nations. The ter ...
" for life.
Skidmore was appointed
Officer of the Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...
(OBE) in the
2022 Birthday Honours
The 2022 Queen's Birthday Honours are appointments by some of the 15 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded as pa ...
for parliamentary and public service.
Bibliography
*''Edward VI: The Lost King of England'' (2007)
*''Death and The Virgin: Elizabeth, Dudley and the Mysterious Fate of Amy Robsart'' (2010)
*''Bosworth: The Birth of the Tudors'' (2013) (published in the United States as ''The Rise of the Tudors: The Family That Changed English History'', 2014)
*''Richard III: Brother, Protector, King'' (2017)
Notes
References
External links
Official websiteProfileon the Conservative Party website
''Debrett's People of Today''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Skidmore, Chris
1981 births
Living people
People educated at Bristol Grammar School
Politicians from Bristol
Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford
English non-fiction writers
English male non-fiction writers
Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies
Politics of South Gloucestershire District
Fellows of the Royal Historical Society
Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London
UK MPs 2010–2015
UK MPs 2015–2017
UK MPs 2017–2019
UK MPs 2019–present
Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom
Ministers for Universities (United Kingdom)
Officers of the Order of the British Empire
Free Enterprise Group