Chris Skidmore
Minister of State for Universities, Science, Research and Innovation | |
---|---|
In office 10 September 2019 – 13 February 2020 | |
Prime Minister | Boris Johnson |
Preceded by | Jo Johnson |
Succeeded by | |
In office 5 December 2018 – 24 July 2019 | |
Prime Minister | Parliamentary Secretary for the Constitution |
In office 17 July 2016 – 8 January 2018 | |
Prime Minister | Theresa May |
Preceded by | John Penrose |
Succeeded by | Chloe Smith |
Member of Parliament for Kingswood | |
In office 6 May 2010 – 8 January 2024 | |
Preceded by | Roger Berry |
Succeeded by | Damien Egan |
Personal details | |
Born | Longwell Green, Avon, England | 17 May 1981
Other political affiliations | Conservative (1996–2024)[3] |
Education | Bristol Grammar School |
Alma mater | Christ Church, Oxford (BA) |
Website | Official website |
Christopher James Skidmore
Skidmore was first elected at the
Skidmore became
Early life and education
Skidmore was born on 17 May 1981[9] in Longwell Green, Avon. In 1996, as a teenager, he became a member of the Conservative Party.[10] Skidmore was educated at Bristol Grammar School, an independent day school, before attending Christ Church, Oxford, graduating in 2002 with a first-class degree in Modern History (BA).[citation needed] In 2001, he served as President of the Oxford Reform Club, whose ex-members include Liz Truss and Olly Robbins.[11]
Skidmore worked for David Willetts and Michael Gove as an advisor, and served as chairman of the Bow Group for 2007–08,[12] before being appointed by another right-leaning think tank, Policy Exchange, as a research fellow.[13] He is the author of four books on medieval and Tudor history.[14]
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 of the Labour Party.[15]
Skidmore served as a member of the
He was re-elected with an increased majority at the general election in 2015 and became Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Chancellor of the Exchequer.[19]
From 2016 to 2018, Skidmore was
Skidmore was named by the ConservativeHome website in 2012 as one of a minority of loyal Conservative backbench MPs not to have voted against the government in any significant rebellions.[22]
Skidmore was opposed to Brexit prior to the 2016 EU membership referendum.[23] 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".[24]
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 policy.[25]
On 27 June 2019, as Interim Minister for Energy and Clean Growth, Skidmore signed the UK's
Following the appointment of
Skidmore submitted a letter of no confidence in Boris Johnson on 6 July 2022 during mass resignations of government ministers.[27] He initially supported Rishi Sunak in the July–September 2022 Conservative Party leadership election, but changed his support to Liz Truss.[28]
Net zero
On 26 September 2022 Skidmore launched the Net Zero Review, pledging to use the review to focus on the UK's fight against climate change while maximising economic growth to ensure energy security and affordability for consumers and businesses.[29]
On 19 October 2022, Skidmore put out a statement on Twitter, in advance of a debate on fracking, saying that "[a]s the former Energy Minister who signed Net Zero into law", he could not vote "to support fracking and undermine the pledges I made at the 2019 General Election". The government was reportedly treating this vote as a confidence vote, putting Skidmore at risk of losing the Conservative Party whip.[30][31]
On 16 January 2023, Skidmore published "Mission Zero", the final report of the Net Zero Review.[32] The 340 page report contained 129 recommendations on how to deliver the UK's net zero commitments. The report was published just weeks after Chris Skidmore declared he had taken up a paid role (£80,000 per annum) as adviser to the "Emissions Capture Company", for providing 160-192 hours per annum advice on the global energy transition and decarbonisation.[33]
In June 2023, it was announced that Skidmore had been appointed to a professorship at the University of Bath to undertake research on sustainability and climate change.[34][35]
Resignation
On 26 November 2022, Skidmore announced that he would not seek re-election as an MP at the
In the event, Skidmore announced on 5 January 2024 that he would resign his parliamentary seat in protest at the introduction of the Offshore Petroleum Licensing Bill, describing the relaxation of net zero targets as "the greatest mistake of [Rishi Sunak's] premiership".
Honours
- Fellowship of the Royal Society of Arts (FRSA) (2008)
- Fellowship of the Royal Historical Society (FRHistS) (2010)[43]
- Fellowship of the Society of Antiquaries of London (FSA) (10 October 2014)[44]
- Sworn in as a member of Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council on 6 November 2019 at Buckingham Palace. This gave him the honorific title "The Right Honourable" for life.[45][46][47]
- Appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2022 Birthday Honours for parliamentary and public service.[48]
Bibliography
- Edward VI: The Lost King of England (2007) ISBN 9780312351427
- Death and The Virgin: Elizabeth, Dudley and the Mysterious Fate of Amy Robsart (2010) ISBN 9780297846505
- Bosworth: The Birth of the Tudors (2013) ISBN 9780753828946(published in the United States as The Rise of the Tudors: The Family That Changed English History, 2014)
- Richard III: Brother, Protector, King (2017) ISBN 9780297870784
Notes
- Minister of State for Universities
- Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Science, Research and Innovation
- Claire Perry went on leave of absence from 20 May 2019 with Skidmore taking over in the interim until he was replaced by Kwasi Kwarteng when Boris Johnson became Prime Minister.[1][2]
References
- ^ "Energy Minister Claire Perry takes leave of absence". Energy Live News. 21 May 2019. Retrieved 5 January 2024.
- ^ "The Rt Hon Chris Skidmore MP".
- better source needed]
- ^ a b "By-election triggered by Chris Skidmore as Tory climate rebel quits parliament". The Independent. 8 January 2024. Retrieved 8 January 2024.
- ^ "Paul Waugh".
- ^ "UK becomes first major economy to pass net zero emissions law".
- ^ "Offshore Petroleum Licensing Bill". Parliamentary Bills.
- ^ "Chris Skidmore: Tory MP quits over oil and gas licences". BBC News. 5 January 2024. Retrieved 5 January 2024.
- ^ "Chris Skidmore MP". Democracy Live. BBC. Archived from the original on 24 February 2016. Retrieved 25 July 2010.
- ^ "Chris Skidmore". Conservative Party. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
- ^ "Kwarteng IEA fringe event hints at how deeply thinktank is embedded in No 10 | Conservative conference 2022 | The Guardian". amp.theguardian.com. Retrieved 5 January 2024.
- ^ Bow Group
- ^ "Chris Skidmore MP". Policy Exchange. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016.
- ^ "Chris Skidmore Books". www.hachette.com.au. Retrieved 5 January 2024.
- ^ "Kingswood". BBC News. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
- ^ "Health Committee – membership". UK Parliament. Archived from the original on 3 July 2013.
- ^ "Membership - Education Committee". UK Parliament. Archived from the original on 2 July 2013.
- ISBN 978-1-137-03223-2. Archivedfrom the original on 7 August 2022. Retrieved 6 August 2022.
- ^ "David Cameron gives Bristol and South Gloucestershire MPs junior government roles". Bristol Post. 2 June 2015. Archived from the original on 23 July 2015. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
- ^ "Parliamentary Secretary (Minister for the Constitution)". GOV.UK. Archived from the original on 22 January 2017.
- ^ Wheeler, Brian (10 January 2018). "May buying MPS' support, claims Labour MP". BBC News.
- ^ Barrett, Matthew (14 September 2012). "The 24 Conservative MPs who are still on the backbenches and have never rebelled". ConservativeHome. Retrieved 19 March 2015.
- ^ Goodenough, Tom (16 February 2016). "Which Tory MPs back Brexit, who doesn't and who is still on the fence?". The Spectator. Archived from the original on 3 February 2017. Retrieved 11 October 2016.
- ^ Daly, Patrick (5 March 2018). "What the Tories have to do to defeat 'ruthless' Jeremy Corbyn at the next election". Bristol Post. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
- S2CID 158206538. Retrieved 6 December 2018.
- ^ Net Zero by 2050 pledge
- ^ Burford, Nicholas Cecil, David Bond, Rachael (6 July 2022). "Boris Johnson rules out snap election but fights on amid further resignations". Evening Standard. Retrieved 12 August 2022.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "Tory Leadership: 10 more MPs announce support for Liz Truss". BBC News. 10 August 2022. Retrieved 12 August 2022.
- ^ Net Zero Review
- ^ Skidmore, Chris (19 October 2022). "As the former Energy Minister who signed Net Zero..." Twitter. Retrieved 19 October 2022.
- ^ "Government makes fracking ban vote test of Tory loyalty". BBC News. 19 October 2022. Retrieved 19 October 2022.
- ^ Mission Zero - Independent Review of Net Zero
- ^ "The Register of Members' Financial Interests as at 11 December 2023". UK Parliament.
- ^ "Chris Skidmore joins University as Professor of Practice to boost sustainability & climate research". www.bath.ac.uk. Retrieved 5 January 2024.
- ^ Parr, Chris (13 June 2023). "Chris Skidmore to join University of Bath". Research Professional News. Retrieved 5 January 2024.
- ^ "Tory MP Chris Skidmore to step down at next general election". Sky News. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
- ^ PA (26 November 2022). "Chris Skidmore ninth Tory MP to set exit plan as party hit with dire opinion polls". the Guardian. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
- ^ Hansard - 09/11/2023 13:00
- ^ Seddon, Paul (5 January 2024). "Chris Skidmore: Tory MP to quit over new oil and gas licences". BBC News. Retrieved 5 January 2024.
- ^ Hymas, Charles (5 January 2024). "Chris Skidmore quits as Rishi Sunak faces another". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 5 January 2024.
- ^ "No. 64287". The London Gazette. 12 January 2024. p. 558.
- ^ "Reform UK boycott by-election over 'grotesque abuse' of public funds". The Daily Telegraph. 6 January 2024.
- ^ "List of Current Fellows September 2022" (PDF). The Royal Historical Society. September 2022. Retrieved 28 November 2022.
- ^ "Mr Christopher Skidmore". Society of Antiquaries of London. 10 October 2014. Retrieved 8 October 2022.
- ^ "Privy Council appointment: 13 September 2019". Government of the United Kingdom. 13 September 2019. Retrieved 6 October 2022.
- ^ King, Ceri (8 October 2019). "Orders approved and business transacted at the Privy Council held by the Queen at Buckingham Palace on 8th October 2019" (PDF). The Privy Council Office. Retrieved 6 October 2022.
- ^ Tilbrook, Richard (6 November 2019). "Orders approved and business transacted at the Privy Council held by the Queen at Buckingham Palace on 6th November 2019" (PDF). The Privy Council Office. Retrieved 6 October 2022.
- ^ "No. 63714". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 June 2022. p. B15.
External links
- Official website
- Profile on the Conservative Party website