Kristan Frederick Hopkins (born 8 June 1963) is a British

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

politician, who was formerly the Member of Parliament for

Keighley Keighley ( ) is a market town and a civil parish in the City of Bradford Borough of West Yorkshire, England. It is the second largest settlement in the borough, after Bradford. Keighley is north-west of Bradford city centre, north-west o ...

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exi ...

. Elected in 2010, he served as Vice-Chamberlain of the Household, a government

whip A whip is a tool or weapon designed to strike humans or other animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain. They can also be used without inflicting pain, for audiovisual cues, such as in equestrianism. They are generally ...

. He was previously Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for

Department for Communities and Local Government The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC), formerly the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for housing, communities, local governme ...

and the former

housing minister A Housing minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for Housing Policy. Country-related articles and lists * Australia: Minister for Housing ** Victoria: Minister for Housing ** Western Australia: Minister fo ...

. He lost his seat in the 2017 general election.

Military career

Hopkins served in

Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is #Descriptions, variously described as ...

and

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

as a

Private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

in the

Duke of Wellington's Regiment The Duke of Wellington's Regiment (West Riding) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, forming part of the King's Division. In 1702, Colonel George Hastings, 8th Earl of Huntingdon, was authorised to raise a new regiment, which he di ...

Academic career

According to his CV, on leaving the Army he completed a degree in

communications Communication (from la, communicare, meaning "to share" or "to be in relation with") is usually defined as the transmission of information. The term may also refer to the message communicated through such transmissions or the field of inquir ...

and

cultural studies Cultural studies is an interdisciplinary field that examines the political dynamics of contemporary culture (including popular culture) and its historical foundations. Cultural studies researchers generally investigate how cultural practices re ...

at Leeds University before going on to lecture in

media theory Media studies is a discipline and field of study that deals with the content, history, and effects of various media; in particular, the mass media. Media Studies may draw on traditions from both the social sciences and the humanities, but most ...

, communications and

digital media Digital media is any communication media that operate in conjunction with various encoded machine-readable data formats. Digital media can be created, viewed, distributed, modified, listened to, and preserved on a digital electronics device. ...

. His CV gives neither dates nor places for any of these activities. He actually studied at Trinity and All Saints College in Horsforth, Leeds (now

Leeds Trinity University Leeds Trinity University is a public university in Horsforth, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. Originally established to provide qualified teachers to Catholic schools, it gradually expanded and now offers foundation, undergraduate, and postg ...

). The college's degrees at that time were awarded externally by the

University of Leeds , mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased , established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds , ...

Political career

Hopkins had stood twice for Parliament before being elected, when he was second to

Linda Riordan Linda June Riordan (née Haigh; 31 May 1953) is an English Labour Co-operative politician who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Halifax from the 2005 general election until standing down in 2015. Early life Riordan was born in Halifax ...

in the 2005 election for the seat of Halifax, also in

and for the Leeds West Constituency in 2001. Before his election to

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

, Hopkins had been a member of

Bradford Council City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council is the local authority of the City of Bradford in West Yorkshire, England. It is a metropolitan district council, one of five in West Yorkshire and one of 36 in the metropolitan counties of England, ...

since 1998, rising to become the council's deputy leader in 2004 and leader in 2006. In 2012, Hopkins alleged that some Muslim gangs were targeting young white girls for rape, saying: "if we deny that fact in this House then the BNP and everybody else climbs on board" and suggested that law enforcement was hindered in pursuing them by "

political correctness ''Political correctness'' (adjectivally: ''politically correct''; commonly abbreviated ''PC'') is a term used to describe language, policies, or measures that are intended to avoid offense or disadvantage to members of particular groups in socie ...

". In October 2013, Hopkins appointed Minister for Housing. Conservative Party colleague

Nadine Dorries Nadine Vanessa Dorries (''née'' Bargery, 21 May 1957) is a British politician who served as Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport from 2021 to 2022 under Prime Minister Boris Johnson. A member of the Conservative Party, sh ...

called the promotion of Hopkins to a junior ministerial posts "a really awful decision", describing him on Twitter as "one of parliament's slimiest, nastiest MP's".

Therese Coffey Therese or Thérèse is a variant of the feminine given name Teresa. It may refer to: Persons Therese *Duchess Therese of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (1773–1839), member of the House of Mecklenburg-Strelitz and a Duchess of Mecklenburg * Therese of B ...

defended Hopkins, describing him as "authentic and brave" In the July 2014 reshuffle, Hopkins became minister for local government and adult social care. Following the May 2015 general election, Hopkins was appointed Vice-Chamberlain of the Household – a senior position within the whips' office. He was a losing candidate in the general election of 8 June 2017. He later became a Special Adviser at the

Northern Ireland Office The Northern Ireland Office (NIO; ga, Oifig Thuaisceart Éireann, Ulster-Scots: ''Norlin Airlann Oaffis'') is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for Northern Ireland affairs. The NIO is led by the Secretary of State for N ...

References

External links

Kris Hopkins
Official website * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hopkins, Kris 1963 births Living people Alumni of the University of Leeds Alumni of Leeds Trinity University Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 2010–2015 UK MPs 2015–2017 Councillors in Bradford Duke of Wellington's Regiment soldiers Ministers of State for Housing (UK) Conservative Party (UK) councillors