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Chris Philp

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The Right Honourable
Chris Philp
MP
Official portrait, 2024
Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
Incumbent
Assumed office
8 July 2024
LeaderRishi Sunak
Preceded byLucy Powell
Minister of State for Crime, Policing and Fire
In office
26 October 2022 – 5 July 2024
Prime MinisterRishi Sunak
Preceded byJeremy Quin
Succeeded byDiana Johnson
Minister for the Cabinet Office
Paymaster General
In office
14 October 2022 – 25 October 2022
Prime MinisterLiz Truss
Preceded byEdward Argar
Succeeded byJeremy Quin
Chief Secretary to the Treasury
In office
6 September 2022 – 14 October 2022
Prime MinisterLiz Truss
Preceded bySimon Clarke
Succeeded byEdward Argar
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Tech and the Digital Economy
In office
16 September 2021 – 7 July 2022
Prime MinisterBoris Johnson
Preceded byMatt Warman
Succeeded byDamian Collins
Minister for London
In office
18 December 2019 – 13 February 2020
Prime MinisterBoris Johnson
Preceded byNick Hurd
Succeeded byPaul Scully
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Immigration Compliance and Courts[a]
In office
10 September 2019 – 16 September 2021
Preceded byEdward Argar
Succeeded byTom Pursglove
Member of Parliament
for Croydon South
Incumbent
Assumed office
7 May 2015
Preceded byRichard Ottaway
Majority2,313 (4.7%)
Camden Borough Councillor
for Gospel Oak
In office
4 May 2006 – 6 May 2010
Preceded byRaj Chada
Succeeded byTheo Blackwell
Personal details
Born (1976-07-06) 6 July 1976 (age 48)
West Wickham, London, England
Political partyConservative
Spouse
Elizabeth Philp
​
(m. 2009)​
Children2
Alma materUniversity College, Oxford
Websitewww.chrisphilp.com

Christopher Ian Brian Mynott Philp[1] (born 6 July 1976) is a British politician who is the current Shadow Leader of the House of Commons since July 2024. He held the post of Minister of State for Crime, Policing and Fire from October 2022 to July 2024.[2] He was previously appointed to Liz Truss's cabinet from September to October 2022 as Chief Secretary to the Treasury and then as Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General. A member of the Conservative Party, he is the Member of Parliament (MP) for Croydon South following his election in 2015.

In August 2019, he was appointed Parliamentary Private Secretary to Chancellor of the Exchequer Sajid Javid. In September 2019, he was appointed by Prime Minister Boris Johnson as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Ministry of Justice and in February 2020 at the Home Office. He was also briefly the Minister for London from December 2019 to February 2020. He was moved to the position of Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Tech and the Digital Economy by Johnson in the September 2021 reshuffle. He resigned from this post during the July 2022 government crisis.

After Johnson resigned in July 2022, Philp supported Liz Truss’s bid to become Conservative leader. Following Truss's appointment as Prime Minister, she promoted Philp to the cabinet as Chief Secretary to the Treasury in September 2022. In October 2022, when Kwasi Kwarteng was dismissed as Chancellor as a result of his "mini-budget", Philp was moved to Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General.[3] After Rishi Sunak succeeded Truss as Prime Minister, Philp was moved to Minister of State in the Home Office until the end of the Conservative government in July 2024.[4]

Early life and education

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Christopher Philp was born in West Wickham, London, and attended St Olave's Grammar School in Orpington, Bromley,[5] before studying physics at University College, Oxford, graduating in 1997.[6] In 1996 he was editor of the Oxford University student newspaper, Cherwell.[7] In 1996, while a second-year student at Oxford, Philp was fined and suspended by the Oxford Union for recording a controversial speech by OJ Simpson and selling copies to newspapers.[8]

Early career

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Philp worked for McKinsey & Company before co-founding distribution business Blueheath Holdings, in 2000. It was floated on the AIM before merging with Booker Cash & Carry as part of the Booker Group in a £375 million deal.[9][10][11]

In the 2000s, Philp received several awards relating to business in his early career, being voted London's Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year by Ernst & Young and The Times in 2003.[12]

With fellow future Conservative Party MP Sam Gyimah, he founded Clearstone Training and Recruitment Limited, an HGV training provider.[13] Philp also founded property development lender Pluto Finance and Moreof Silverstone.[14] He founded the charity The Next Big Thing, which was solvently wound up in 2017.[15]

Philp was Chairman of the Bow Group, a Conservative Party think tank, from 2004 to 2005.[16] He defeated the Labour Leader of Camden Council to become a councillor in the Gospel Oak ward of Camden in May 2006 with a swing of over 10%, the first Conservative to win the ward in over 20 years. He did not stand at the 2010 local elections.[17]

Philp's book, Conservative Revival: Blueprint for a Better Britain, was published in conjunction with the Bow Group and was co-authored by 10 Conservative MPs, or recent candidates in their 30s, and had a foreword written by David Cameron, the then Leader of the Opposition. Philp was also the author of Work for the Dole: A proposal to fix welfare dependency, published by The Taxpayers' Alliance in September 2013. His report called for mandatory participation in community work and training in return for the continued payment of benefits payments.[18]

Parliamentary career

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Parliamentary candidate

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At the 2010 general election, Philp stood in Hampstead and Kilburn, coming second with 32.7% of the vote behind the incumbent Labour MP Glenda Jackson.[19][20]

Cameron government

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In November 2013, Philp was selected to be the Conservative parliamentary candidate for Croydon South. At the 2015 general election, Philp was elected as MP for Croydon South with 54.5% of the vote and a majority of 17,140.[21]

Shortly after being elected to Parliament, Philp became the first of the 2015 Conservative intake to be elected by other MPs to the influential Treasury Select Committee.[22]

Philp supports selective grammar schools. In October 2015, he argued for one to open a satellite in his constituency to circumvent a ban in England on new selective schools and the borough council's own non-selective policy.[23]

In May 2016, when debating the Government's Starter Homes Initiative, Philp was accused by housing charities of failing to understand how a couple buying a house for the first time cannot afford a £10,000 deposit. Responding to criticism, he stated "No one says it is easy, the average age of a first time buyer these days is about 30 so people have 10 years to save £5,000."[24]

Philp was opposed to Brexit before the 2016 European membership referendum.[25]

Philp has been an outspoken critic of Govia Thameslink Railway's ownership of Southern Rail; in 2017, Philp called for the government to take control of the Southern Rail franchise and for cross-party support in ending disputes between Southern Rail and the RMT Union.[26] He also proposed a Private Member's Bill to ban "unreasonable" and "damaging" strikes on essential services, including trains.[27]

May government

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At the snap 2017 general election, Philp was re-elected as MP for Croydon South with a decreased vote share of 54.4% and a decreased majority of 11,406.[28][29][30] Following the general election, Philp was appointed Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) to HM Treasury Ministers.[31]

Philp was made PPS to Sajid Javid then Secretary of State for the Ministry Housing, Communities and Local Government on 22 January 2018.[32] Between December 2018 to May 2019 he was the Conservative Party Vice Chairman for Policy.[33]

In August 2019, he was appointed as PPS to Sajid Javid, Chancellor of the Exchequer. Philp had backed Javid in the 2019 Conservative Party leadership election.[34][35]

Johnson government

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In September 2019, Philp was appointed Parliamentary Under Secretary for the Ministry of Justice.[36]

Philp was again re-elected at the 2019 general election, with a decreased vote share of 52.2% and an increased majority of 12,339.[37][38]

After the election, Philp was appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Immigration Compliance and Courts. He replaced Matt Warman as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Digital in September 2021.

On 7 July 2022, Philp resigned from government in protest at Boris Johnson's leadership following a large number of other ministerial resignations during the July 2022 United Kingdom government crisis.[39]

Truss government

[edit]

Philp was appointed by Liz Truss as Chief Secretary to the Treasury and made a member of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom.[40]

Shortly after Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng announced the government's 'mini-budget' on 23 September, Chris Philp as his Treasury deputy, posted a tweet that prematurely celebrated the rise in the pound against the dollar, which read: "Great to see sterling strengthening on the back of the new UK Growth Plan." However, the pound's strength was short-lived, and it subsequently fell to a 37-year low against the dollar. This led to widespread ridicule of Philp's tweet, with many people accusing him of being incompetent or deliberately misleading. In the face of the criticism, Philp deleted the tweet and later made a statement saying "It was an interesting move which I responded to".[41][42][43][44]

On 14 October, Truss dismissed Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng and Philp from the Treasury after only 38 days in their positions.[45] Philp was demoted to Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General, the two positions that his successor Edward Argar had previously held.[46]

Sunak government

[edit]

Upon the appointment of Rishi Sunak as Prime Minister on 25 October 2022, Philp left the Cabinet and became Minister of State for Crime, Policing and Fire in the Home Office, in a straight job swap with Jeremy Quin. He held this post until the defeat of the Conservative party in the 2024 general election.

In September 2023, it was revealed that Philp is a member of a social media group in which criminal acts, damage and vandalism to public property are celebrated on a near-daily basis, especially vandalism of ULEZ cameras.[47] [better source needed]

In 2024, Philp opposed the construction of a large block of flats on the plot of one family home in Purley, siding with a local residents association.[48][49] The proposed building was in a residential area dominated by large single-family housing. Philp argued, "New homes are needed but the right place for new flats is Croydon town centre, central London and brownfield sites." However, commentators noted that the lot in question was a brownfield site.[50]

On an episode of Question Time, broadcast on 25 April 2024, Philp discussed the government's new policy on sending migrants to Rwanda. When questioned by an audience member, Philp appeared to confuse Rwanda with the Democratic Republic of the Congo and seemed unsure as to whether they were separate countries.[51] Philp later claimed that the question was rhetorical as he had had difficulty hearing the original question. [52]

In May 2024 GB News published an article [1] that shared how Philp had responded to a request made by Sam Smith (Founder of Green Ribbon Policing) asking for legislation to be made to create a better standard of mental health support for serving police officers. Philp responded by saying he was powerless to do so. This led to criticism of Philp as is made it seem like he was unaware of the powers the government hold.

In opposition

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Following the Conservative Party's defeat in the 2024 United Kingdom general election and the subsequent formation of the Starmer ministry, Philp was appointed Shadow Leader of the House of Commons in Rishi Sunak's caretaker Shadow Cabinet.[53]

Personal life

[edit]

Philp married his wife Elizabeth in 2009.[54] Their twin son and daughter were born prematurely in April 2013, and spent an extended period in intensive care.[55] Philp's father Brian stood as a UKIP candidate for Orpington in the 2017 general election.[56]

In June 2024, it was announced that Philp's wife, Elizabeth, is being sued over allegations of corporate espionage. She was accused of illegally using confidential information from her former employer to set up a rival business.[57] This case raised questions about the tax status of Chris Philp's investment into this company.[58] When questioned about the case in a local hustings, Philp acknowledged the ongoing case, but refused to confirm or deny whether he was a stakeholder in the business.[59]

Notes

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  1. ^ Jointly with the Home Office from February 2020.

References

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  1. ^ "Election of a Member of Parliament for Croydon South" (PDF). Croydon.gov.uk. 7 May 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 26 April 2017.
  2. ^ "Ministerial Appointments commencing: 25 October 2022". GOV.UK. Retrieved 26 October 2022.
  3. ^ "Treasury chief secretary Chris Philp moved aside and replaced by Edward Argar amid economic chaos". Sky News. 14 October 2022. Retrieved 14 October 2022.
  4. ^ "The Rt Hon Chris Philp MP". GOV.UK. Retrieved 26 October 2024.
  5. ^ "The anatomy of a London candidate: who are these people who want to be your next MP?". Evening Standard. 21 April 2015. Archived from the original on 15 April 2019. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  6. ^ "Announcements" (PDF). The Martlet. University College, Oxford. Spring 2020. p. 46. Archived (PDF) from the original on 13 April 2021. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  7. ^ "Cherwell – independent since 1920 | Cherwell". 18 April 2011. Archived from the original on 18 June 2019. Retrieved 28 June 2019.
  8. ^ Wynne-Jones, Ros (29 May 1996). "Student fined for OJ tape sale". The Independent. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  9. ^ Bowker, John (9 May 2007). "Booker strikes deal to return to stock market". Reuters. Archived from the original on 29 July 2016. Retrieved 6 April 2017.
  10. ^ Guy Montague-Jones, Guy (15 May 2015). "Pluto Finance founder is elected new Tory MP for Croydon South". Property Week. Archived from the original on 15 November 2016. Retrieved 6 April 2017.
  11. ^ Walsh, Fiona; Finch, Julia (9 May 2007). "Booker taken over by minnow". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 1 July 2019. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
  12. ^ "'Thatcherite and patriot' becomes next Croydon South Tory candidate for MP". Your Local Guardian. 13 November 2013. Retrieved 23 October 2024.
  13. ^ Clegg, Alicia (13 December 2005). "Tricks of the truck-driving trade". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 4 April 2017. Retrieved 3 April 2017.
  14. ^ "Pluto Finance founder is elected new Tory MP for Croydon South". Property Week. 15 May 2015. Archived from the original on 12 November 2020. Retrieved 27 January 2021.
  15. ^ "NEXT BIG THING PROGRAMMES C.I.C. overview - Find and update company information - GOV.UK". find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk. Retrieved 26 October 2024.
  16. ^ "Bow Group Alumni | The Bow Group". www.bowgroup.org. Archived from the original on 9 July 2019. Retrieved 9 July 2019.
  17. ^ Teale, Andrew. "Gospel Oak Ward". Local Elections Archive Project. Retrieved 28 July 2022.
  18. ^ "The New Boys and Girls - No. 15 Chris Philp". Private Eye. No. 1420. Pressdram Ltd. 10 June 2016. p. 13.
  19. ^ "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  20. ^ "BBC News – Election 2010 – Constituency – Hampstead & Kilburn". bbc.co.uk.
  21. ^ "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  22. ^ "Chris Philp MP - UK Parliament". Parliament.uk. 20 July 2015. Archived from the original on 19 May 2017. Retrieved 26 April 2017.
  23. ^ "London MP backs grammar annexe in non-selective borough". BBC News. 23 October 2015. Archived from the original on 1 February 2021. Retrieved 27 January 2021.
  24. ^ Andrea Downey (4 May 2016). "MP Chris Philp 'fails to understand' how first-time buyers cannot afford a £10,000 deposit (From Croydon Guardian)". Croydonguardian.co.uk. Archived from the original on 15 May 2017. Retrieved 26 April 2017.
  25. ^ 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.
  26. ^ "Will the government take over Southern trains?". BBC News. 27 January 2017. Archived from the original on 4 February 2021. Retrieved 27 January 2021.
  27. ^ Swinford, Steven (24 January 2017). "More than 120 Tory MPs back calls for tougher anti-strike laws to end rail misery for commuters". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 7 April 2017. Retrieved 6 April 2017.
  28. ^ "STATEMENT OF PERSONS NOMINATED AND NOTICE OF POLL" (PDF). Croydon London Borough Council. 11 May 2017. Archived (PDF) from the original on 25 February 2018. Retrieved 15 May 2017.
  29. ^ "Croydon South parliamentary constituency". BBC News. Archived from the original on 12 June 2017. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
  30. ^ "Commons Briefing Paper 7979. General Election 2017: results and analysis" (PDF) (Second ed.). House of Commons Library. 29 January 2019 [7 April 2018]. Archived (PDF) from the original on 12 November 2019.
  31. ^ "Parliamentary Private Secretaries: full list". Conservative Home. 28 June 2017. Archived from the original on 9 October 2017. Retrieved 13 July 2019.
  32. ^ "List of Parliamentary Private Secretaries (PPS): January 2018". GOV.UK. Archived from the original on 30 January 2018. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  33. ^ "Chris Philp MP, Croydon South". TheyWorkForYou. Archived from the original on 28 April 2019. Retrieved 28 June 2019.
  34. ^ Dickson, Annabelle (26 July 2019). "Politico London Playbook: Boris on tour — Negotiations, what negotiations? — A week in the life of a SpAd". Politico. Archived from the original on 6 August 2019. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
  35. ^ "Chris Philp MP: The country is crying out for change - Sajid Javid can deliver that". Politics Home. 12 June 2019. Archived from the original on 10 December 2019. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
  36. ^ "Chris Philp". UK Parliament. Archived from the original on 15 August 2019. Retrieved 7 November 2019.
  37. ^ https://www.croydon.gov.uk/sites/default/files/Statement%20of%20Persons%20Nominated%20and%20Notice%20of%20Poll%20Croydon%20South.pdf [dead link]
  38. ^ "Commons Briefing Paper 8749. General Election 2019: results and analysis" (PDF). London: House of Commons Library. 28 January 2020. Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 November 2021. Retrieved 19 January 2022.
  39. ^ Dugan, Emily (7 July 2022). "Government crisis: more ministers resign from cabinet". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 July 2022.
  40. ^ "Orders for 13 September 2022" (PDF). Privy Council Office. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 September 2022. Retrieved 14 September 2022.
  41. ^ "London MP Chris Philp struggles to defend government 'mini budget' in radio appearances". 29 September 2022.
  42. ^ "Uber for Philp! Croydon MP blamed for disastrous Tory tax cut". 3 October 2022.
  43. ^ @BBCNewsnight (26 September 2022). ""It was an interesting move which I respond to"" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  44. ^ "Treasury Minister Dunked on for Premature Celebration of Rising Pound". 23 September 2022.
  45. ^ "UK treasury minister Philp to be replaced by Edward Argar". Reuters. 14 October 2022. Retrieved 14 October 2022.
  46. ^ "Chris Philp: Liz Truss demotes Kwasi Kwarteng's deputy in Treasury clear-out". The Independent. 14 October 2022. Retrieved 14 October 2022.
  47. ^ "Tory minister is member of online group that salutes vandals". InsideCroydon. 19 September 2023. Retrieved 19 September 2023.
  48. ^ "'Out-of-character' apartment complex plan for Croydon 'suburb' is rejected". South London News. 4 April 2024.
  49. ^ Galliven, Harrison (4 April 2024). "Plans for 6 flats rejected as 'NIMBYs' claim it would be too 'overbearing'". My London.
  50. ^ Silvester, Andy (3 April 2024). "In a grown-up country, the need for a 'Bakerloop' would be rightly ridiculed". CityAM.
  51. ^ "UK minister appears to mix up Rwanda and Congo on Question Time". The Guardian. 26 April 2024. Retrieved 26 April 2024.
  52. ^ "Chris Philp says Rwanda-Congo question was 'rhetorical'". BBC News. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
  53. ^ "Sunak names new top team as Lord Cameron resigns". BBC News. Retrieved 23 July 2024.
  54. ^ "Philp, Chris, (born 6 July 1976), MP (C) Croydon South, since 2015". Who's Who. 2015. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.u283931.
  55. ^ Keeley, Amie (2 August 2013). "Former Hampstead and Kilburn parliamentary candidate's delight as premature twins arrive home". Hamhigh.co.uk. Archived from the original on 23 July 2015. Retrieved 22 July 2015.
  56. ^ "Father of Tory MP Chris Philp stands in general election ... for Ukip". Total Politics. 19 May 2017. Archived from the original on 30 June 2017. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  57. ^ Boffey, Daniel; reporter, Daniel Boffey Chief (19 June 2024). "Policing minister's wife in legal row over corporate espionage claims". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 24 June 2024.
  58. ^ Digest, International Policy (3 September 2024). "Elite Behavior and Governance Failures Continue to Haunt Britain". International Policy Digest. Retrieved 6 September 2024. {{cite web}}: |first= has generic name (help)
  59. ^ "Chris Philp questioned over wife's alleged corporate espionage in fiery South Croydon election hustings - MyLondon". www.mylondon.news. 21 June 2024. Retrieved 28 June 2024.
[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Chris Philp.
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament
for Croydon South
2015–present 		Incumbent
Political offices
Preceded by Chief Secretary to the Treasury
2022 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Minister for the Cabinet Office
2022 		Succeeded by
Paymaster General
2022
Preceded by Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
2024–present 		Incumbent
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