Nick Timothy

Nicholas James TimothyCBE (born March 1980) is a British politician and former special adviser who has been serving as Shadow Secretary of State for Justice and Shadow Lord Chancellor since 2026. A member of the Conservative Party, he has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for West Suffolk since 2024, and was Downing Street Chief of Staff from 2016 to 2017 while Theresa May held a majority.

Born in Birmingham, Timothy attended King Edward VI Aston School in Aston. He studied politics at the University of Sheffield. In the early 2000s, Timothy worked at the Conservative Research Department (CRD) and for the Corporation of London. After working for Association of British Insurers and as a policy adviser for Theresa May, he returned to the CRD in 2007. From 2010 to 2015, Timothy then was a special adviser at the Home Office during May's tenure as Home Secretary, before leaving to become a director at New Schools Network (NSN).

Timothy left NSN to work on May's successful 2016 leadership campaign; he was subsequently appointed joint Downing Street Chief of Staff alongside Fiona Hill. Following the 2017 snap general election in which the Conservative party lost its majority, May faced calls from MPs to dismiss Timothy, and he subsequently resigned as Chief of Staff. After leaving Downing Street, Timothy worked as a columnist for The Daily Telegraph and The Critic. He published his book, Remaking One Nation, in 2020. He unsuccessfully attempted to be selected as the Conservative candidate for Meriden in the 2019 general election.

In July 2023, Timothy was selected as the Conservative prospective parliamentary candidate for West Suffolk. He was elected for the constituency at the 2024 general election with a majority of 7.1%, succeeding former Health Secretary Matt Hancock. In November of the same year, he joined the frontbench as an Opposition Whip under Kemi Badenoch, before being appointed a Shadow Energy Minister in October 2025. In January 2026, following the dismissal of Robert Jenrick, Timothy was promoted to Shadow Secretary of State for Justice and Shadow Lord Chancellor.