Chris Philp

Last updated

Elizabeth Philp
​
(m. 2009)​
The Right Honourable
Chris Philp
MP
Official portrait of Chris Philp MP crop 2, 2024.jpg
Official portrait, 2024
Shadow Home Secretary
Incumbent
Assumed office
5 November 2024
Children2
Alma mater University College, Oxford
Website www.chrisphilp.com

Christopher Ian Brian Mynott Philp (born 6 July 1976) [1] is a British politician who serves as Shadow Home Secretary since November 2024. A member of the Conservative Party, he sits as Member of Parliament (MP) for Croydon South since being elected in 2015.

Contents

Minister of State for Crime, Policing and Fire from October 2022 to July 2024, [2] Philp previously served in 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.

In August 2019, Philp 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 at the Ministry of Justice and in February 2020 at the Home Office. He also served briefly as Minister for London from December 2019 to February 2020, before being 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 ministerial office 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 demoted to Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster-General. [3] [4] [5] After Rishi Sunak succeeded Truss as Prime Minister, Philp became Minister of State at the Home Office until the end of the Conservative Government in July 2024. [6]

In Opposition, Philp served as Shadow Leader of the House of Commons under Sunak's caretaker Shadow Cabinet before becoming Shadow Home Secretary in November 2024 following Kemi Badenoch's election to lead the Conservative Party and as Leader of HM Opposition. [7] [8]

Early life and education

Christopher Philp was born at West Wickham, Kent, and attended St Olave's Grammar School in Orpington, Bromley, [9] before going up to read Physics at University College, Oxford, graduating MPhys in 1997. [10]

In 1996 he was editor of the Oxford student newspaper, Cherwell . [11] In 1996, while a second-year undergraduate at Oxford, Philp was fined and suspended by the Oxford Union for recording a controversial speech by OJ Simpson and selling copies to newspapers. [12]

Early career

Philp worked for McKinsey & Company before co-founding distribution business Blueheath Holdings, in 2000. It was floated on the AIM before being absorbed in a reverse takeover by the Booker Group in 2007, a deal that valued Booker at £375m. [13] [14] [15]

In 2003 Philp received London's Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year Award from Ernst & Young and The Times . [16]

With fellow future Conservative Party MP Sam Gyimah, he founded Clearstone Training & Recruitment Limited, an HGV training provider. [17] Philp also founded property development lender Pluto Finance and Moreof Silverstone. [18] He founded a charity The Next Big Thing, which wound up solvently in 2017. [19]

Philp was elected Chairman of the Bow Group, a Conservative think tank, for 2004/05. [20] Defeating the Labour Leader of Camden Council he was elected Councillor for the Gospel Oak Ward, Camden in May 2006 with a swing of over 10%, the first Conservative to represent the ward in over 20 years. He then stood down at the 2010 local elections. [21]

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, then Leader of HM Opposition. Philp is 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. [22]

Parliamentary career

Parliamentary candidate

At the 2010 general election, Philp stood for Hampstead and Kilburn, coming second with 32.7% of the vote behind the incumbent Labour MP Glenda Jackson by 42 votes, the narrowest majority in the resulting House of Commons. [23] [24]

Cameron government

Philp in 2014 Chris Philp.png
Philp in 2014

In November 2013, Philp was selected as 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. [25]

Shortly after entering the House of Commons, Philp became the first of the 2015 Conservative intake to be elected by fellow MPs to the influential Treasury Select Committee. [26]

Philp supports selective grammar schools. In October 2015, he argued for one to open a satellite in Croydon to circumvent a ban in England on new selective schools and Croydon Council's own non-selective policy. [27]

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." [28]

Philp opposed Brexit before the 2016 European membership referendum. [29]

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. [30] He also proposed a Private Member's Bill to ban "unreasonable" and "damaging" strikes on essential services, including trains. [31]

May government

At the snap 2017 general election, Philp was returned as MP for Croydon South with a decreased vote share of 54.4% and a decreased majority of 11,406. [32] [33] [34] After the general election, Philp was appointed a Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) at HM Treasury. [35]

Philp was made PPS to Sajid Javid then Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government on 22 January 2018. [36] Between December 2018 to May 2019 he served as the Conservative Party Vice-Chairman for Policy. [37]

In August 2019, he was appointed PPS to Sajid Javid, Chancellor of the Exchequer. Philp had backed Javid in the 2019 Conservative Party leadership election. [38] [39]

Johnson government

In September 2019, Philp was appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice. [40]

Philp was again returned at the 2019 general election, with a decreased vote share of 52.2% but an increased majority of 12,339. [41] After the general election, Philp was appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Immigration Compliance and Courts. He replaced Matt Warman as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the DCMS 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. [42]

Truss government

Philp was appointed by Liz Truss as Chief Secretary to the Treasury and sworn of the Privy Council on 13 September 2022. [43]

Shortly after Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng announced the Government's 'mini-budget' on 23 September, Chris Philp as his deputy at HM Treasury, 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 ridicule of Philp's tweet and he later deleted it stating: "It was an interesting move which I responded to". [44] [45] [46] [47] Speaking at the Conservative Party conference in early October, Philp defended the mini-budget giving it "9.5 out of 10" and rejected analyses which showed it disproportionally benefited high earners, despite him acknowledging that it did to the media only days before. [48]

On 14 October, Truss dismissed Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng and Philp from the Treasury after 38 days in office. [49] Philp was demoted to Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General, positions that his successor Edward Argar previously held. [50]

Sunak government

Upon the appointment of Rishi Sunak as Prime Minister on 25 October 2022, Philp left the Cabinet to become Minister of State for Crime, Policing and Fire at the Home Office, in a straight job swap with Jeremy Quin. He held this post until the defeat of the Conservative Party at 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. [51] [52]

In 2024, Philp opposed the construction of a small block of flats on the plot of one family home in Purley, siding with a local residents' association. [53] [54] 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. [55]

On an episode of Question Time , broadcast by the BBC 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 their sovereign status. [56] Philp later said that the question was rhetorical given his difficulty hearing the original question. [57]

In Opposition

Philp during Prime Minister's Questions in July 2025 Chris Philp PMQs.png
Philp during Prime Minister's Questions in July 2025

Philp retained his seat in the 2024 United Kingdom general election, but with a reduced majority of 2,313 compared to 12,339 at the previous general election. [58] Following the Conservative Party's defeat at the 2024 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. [8]

On 5 November, newly-elected Leader of HM Opposition, Kemi Badenoch, appointed Philp as Shadow Home Secretary. [7]

Reform UK

After Rupert Lowe MP was suspended from the Reform UK whip, Philp defended him, saying: “Rupert Lowe has been treated appallingly by Reform and by Nigel Farage in particular [and that he has been] subject to all kinds of vicious and vitriolic attacks", and invited Lowe to defect to the Conservatives. [59] [60]

In August 2025, in relation to the acquittal of Labour Councillor Ricky Jones on a charge of inciting violent disorder, Philp said: "It is astonishing that this Labour councillor, who was caught on video calling for throats to be slit, is let off scot-free, whereas Lucy Connolly got 31 months prison for posting something no worse."

Lucy Connolly, wife of a Conservative West Northamptonshire Councillor, pleaded guilty at Northampton Crown Court in September 2024 to the charge she faced thereby admitting she had intended to stir up racial hatred. Councillor Jones denied the offence he faced and was found not guilty by jury at Snaresbrook Crown Court. [61]

Personal life

Philp married his wife Elizabeth in 2009. [62] Their twins, a son and a daughter, were born prematurely in April 2013, and spent an extended period in intensive care. [63] His father Brian Philp stood as the UKIP prospective parliamentary candidate for Orpington at the 2017 general election. [64]

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. [65] When questioned about the case at a local hustings, Philp acknowledged the ongoing case, but refused to confirm or deny whether he was a stakeholder in the business. [66]

Notes

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

References

  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. ↑ "Rishi Sunak demotes Truss allies as reshuffle continues". BBC News. 26 October 2022. Retrieved 5 November 2024.
  5. ↑ Grylls, George (26 October 2022). "Demotions for Truss supporters Anne-Marie Trevelyan and Chris Philp". The Times . Retrieved 5 November 2024.
  6. ↑ "The Rt Hon. Chris Philp MP". GOV.UK. Retrieved 5 November 2024.
  7. 1 2 Elgot, Jessica (5 November 2024). "Kemi Badenoch appoints Chris Philp as shadow home secretary". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 November 2024.
  8. 1 2 "Sunak names new top team as Lord Cameron resigns". BBC News. 8 July 2024. Retrieved 23 July 2024.
  9. ↑ "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.
  10. ↑ "Announcements" (PDF). The Martlet. University College, Oxford. Spring 2020. p. 46. Archived (PDF) from the original on 13 April 2021. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  11. ↑ "Cherwell – independent since 1920 | Cherwell". 18 April 2011. Archived from the original on 18 June 2019. Retrieved 28 June 2019.
  12. ↑ Wynne-Jones, Ros (29 May 1996). "Student fined for OJ tape sale". The Independent. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  13. ↑ 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.
  14. ↑ 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.
  15. ↑ 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.
  16. ↑ "'Thatcherite and patriot' becomes next Croydon South Tory candidate for MP". Your Local Guardian. 13 November 2013. Retrieved 23 October 2024.
  17. ↑ 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.
  18. ↑ "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.
  19. ↑ "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.
  20. ↑ "Bow Group Alumni | The Bow Group". www.bowgroup.org. Archived from the original on 9 July 2019. Retrieved 9 July 2019.
  21. ↑ Teale, Andrew. "Gospel Oak Ward". Local Elections Archive Project. Retrieved 28 July 2022.
  22. ↑ "The New Boys and Girls - No. 15 Chris Philp". Private Eye. No. 1420. Pressdram Ltd. 10 June 2016. p. 13.
  23. ↑ "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  24. ↑ "BBC News – Election 2010 – Constituency – Hampstead & Kilburn". bbc.co.uk.
  25. ↑ "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  26. ↑ "Chris Philp MP - UK Parliament". Parliament.uk. 20 July 2015. Archived from the original on 19 May 2017. Retrieved 26 April 2017.
  27. ↑ "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.
  28. ↑ 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.
  29. ↑ 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.
  30. ↑ "Will the Government take over Southern trains?". BBC News. 27 January 2017. Archived from the original on 4 February 2021. Retrieved 27 January 2021.
  31. ↑ 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.
  32. ↑ "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.
  33. ↑ "Croydon South parliamentary constituency". BBC News . Archived from the original on 12 June 2017. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
  34. ↑ "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.
  35. ↑ "Parliamentary Private Secretaries: full list". Conservative Home. 28 June 2017. Archived from the original on 9 October 2017. Retrieved 13 July 2019.
  36. ↑ "List of Parliamentary Private Secretaries (PPS): January 2018". GOV.UK. Archived from the original on 30 January 2018. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  37. ↑ "Chris Philp MP, Croydon South". TheyWorkForYou. Archived from the original on 28 April 2019. Retrieved 28 June 2019.
  38. ↑ 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.
  39. ↑ "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.
  40. ↑ "Chris Philp". UK Parliament. Archived from the original on 15 August 2019. Retrieved 7 November 2019.
  41. ↑ "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.
  42. ↑ Dugan, Emily (7 July 2022). "Government crisis: more ministers resign from Cabinet". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 July 2022.
  43. ↑ "Orders for 13 September 2022" (PDF). Privy Council Office. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 September 2022. Retrieved 14 September 2022.
  44. ↑ @BBCNewsnight (26 September 2022). ""It was an interesting move which I respond to"" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  45. ↑ "Treasury Minister Dunked on for Premature Celebration of Rising Pound". 23 September 2022.
  46. ↑ Diver, Tony (23 September 2022). "'Economic illiteracy': Senior Treasury Minister mocked for failing to understand impact of mini-Budget". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 23 September 2022. Retrieved 6 January 2025.
  47. ↑ Shipman, Tim (31 December 2022). "Hasta la vista, 2022: the best and worst of a wild year in Westminster". The Times. Archived from the original on 6 January 2025. Retrieved 6 January 2025.
  48. ↑ Batchelor-Hunt, Nadine (2 October 2022). "Mini-budget that gives millionaires a £55k tax cut 'doesn't disproportionately benefit high earners'". Yahoo News. Retrieved 6 January 2025.
  49. ↑ "UK Treasury Minister Philp to be replaced by Edward Argar". Reuters. 14 October 2022. Retrieved 14 October 2022.
  50. ↑ "Chris Philp: Liz Truss demotes Kwasi Kwarteng's deputy in Treasury clear-out". The Independent . 14 October 2022. Retrieved 14 October 2022.
  51. ↑ "ULEZ: Policing minister Chris Philp in Facebook group that praises camera vandalism". BBC News. 28 September 2023. Retrieved 5 November 2024.
  52. ↑ McLoughlin, Bill (28 September 2023). "Police minister is in anti-ULEZ Facebook group that praises camera vandals". The Standard. Retrieved 5 November 2024.
  53. ↑ "'Out-of-character' apartment complex plan for Croydon 'suburb' is rejected". South London News. 4 April 2024.
  54. ↑ Galliven, Harrison (4 April 2024). "Plans for 6 flats rejected as 'NIMBYs' claim it would be too 'overbearing'". My London.
  55. ↑ Silvester, Andy (3 April 2024). "In a grown-up country, the need for a 'Bakerloop' would be rightly ridiculed". CityAM.
  56. ↑ "UK minister appears to mix up Rwanda and Congo on Question Time". The Guardian. 26 April 2024. Retrieved 26 April 2024.
  57. ↑ "Chris Philp says Rwanda-Congo question was 'rhetorical'". BBC News. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
  58. ↑ Galliven, Harrison (5 July 2024). "Croydon South election results in full for every candidate". My London. Retrieved 6 January 2025.
  59. ↑ "'The Tories Can Have Him': Inside Reform's Rupert Lowe Crisis". 14 March 2025.
  60. ↑ "Tories lash out at Nigel Farage for 'appalling' treatment of Rupert Lowe". 13 March 2025.
  61. ↑ www.bbc.co.uk
  62. ↑ "Philp, Chris, (born 6 July 1976), MP (C) Croydon South, since 2015". Who's Who. 2015. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.u283931.
  63. ↑ 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.
  64. ↑ "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.
  65. ↑ 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.
  66. ↑ "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.
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		Succeeded by
Preceded by Shadow Home Secretary
2024–present		Incumbent

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