Christopher James Skidmore (born 17 May 1981) is a British former Conservative Party politician and author of popular history who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Kingswood in

South Gloucestershire South Gloucestershire is a unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of Gloucestershire, South West England. Towns in the area include Yate, Chipping Sodbury, Kingswood, Thornbury, Filton, Patchway and Bradley Stoke. The southern p ...

from 2010 to 2024. Skidmore was first elected at the 2010 general election. As a

backbencher In Westminster system, Westminster and other parliamentary systems, a backbencher is a member of parliament (MP) or a legislator who occupies no Minister (government), governmental office and is not a Frontbencher, frontbench spokesperson ...

, he joined the

Free Enterprise Group The Free Enterprise Group was a grouping of Thatcherite British Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Party Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Members of Parliament founded in mid-2011 by Liz Truss that existed until 2022. The book ''Britannia ...

of Conservative MPs, founded by

Liz Truss Mary Elizabeth Truss (born 26 July 1975) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from September to October 2022. On her fiftieth da ...

, and co-authored a number of papers and books, including '' After the Coalition'' (2011) and ''

Britannia Unchained ''Britannia Unchained: Global Lessons for Growth and Prosperity'' is a political book written by several British Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Party MPs and released on 13 September 2012. Its authors present a treatise focusing on the e ...

'' (2012). Following

Theresa May Theresa Mary May, Baroness May of Maidenhead (; ; born 1 October 1956), is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2016 to 2019. She previously served as Home Secretar ...

's appointment as prime minister in July 2016, he was appointed Parliamentary Secretary for the Constitution; he was removed from this position in the January 2018 reshuffle, becoming the Conservative Party's policy vice chairman. He returned to government in 2018 as Minister of State for Universities, Science, Research and Innovation following

Sam Gyimah Samuel Phillip Gyimah (; born 10 August 1976) is a British politician and banker who served as the Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for East Surrey (UK Parliament constituency), East Surrey from 2010 United Kingd ...

's resignation. He was interim Minister of State for Energy and Clean Growth from May to July 2019, covering for Claire Perry. In this position, he signed the UK's

Net Zero Global net-zero emissions is reached when greenhouse gas emissions and removals due to human activities are in balance. It is often called simply net zero. ''Emissions'' can refer to all greenhouse gases or only carbon dioxide (). Reaching net ze ...

pledge into law. Skidmore became Minister of State for Health after

Boris Johnson Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (born 19 June 1964) is a British politician and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He wa ...

became prime minister in July 2019. He returned to his former position of universities minister in September 2019 following

Jo Johnson Joseph Edmund Johnson, Baron Johnson of Marylebone, (born 23 December 1971) is a British politician and peer who was Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, Minister of State for Universities, Science, Research and Innovation ...

's resignation, and was dismissed from government in the February 2020 reshuffle. Skidmore chaired a review of the government's net-zero strategy in 2022 and 2023. He resigned as an MP in January 2024 over the proposed introduction of the government's Offshore Petroleum Licensing Bill.

Early life and education

Skidmore was born on 17 May 1981 in

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

, and grew up in

Longwell Green Longwell Green is a suburban neighbourhood and electoral ward in South Gloucestershire, England. It is part of the Bristol Built-up Area, east of the city centre of Bristol. Longwell Green takes its name from the medieval well which used to ...

and

Bitton Bitton is a village and civil parish of South Gloucestershire in Gloucestershire, England, to the east of Bristol and on the River Boyd. The parish of Bitton had a population of 9,307, and apart from the village itself, includes Swineford, ...

, Avon. In 1996, as a teenager, he became a member of the Conservative Party. Skidmore was educated at

Bristol Grammar School Bristol Grammar School (BGS) is a 4–18 Mixed-sex education, mixed, Private schools in the United Kingdom, private day school in Bristol, England. It was founded in 1532 by Royal Charter for the teaching of 'good manners and literature', endowe ...

, an independent day school, before attending

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church (, the temple or house, ''wikt:aedes, ædes'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by Henry V ...

, graduating in 2002 with a first-class degree in Modern History ( BA). In 2001, he served as President of the Oxford Reform Club, whose ex-members include

and

Olly Robbins Sir Oliver Robbins (born 20 April 1975) is a senior British civil servant who served as the Prime Minister's Europe Adviser and the chief Brexit negotiator from 2017 to 2019 and was appointed Permanent Under-Secretary at the Foreign Office ...

. Skidmore worked for

David Willetts David Linsay Willetts, Baron Willetts, (born 9 March 1956) is a British politician and life peer. From 1992 to 2015, he was the Member of Parliament representing the constituency of Havant in Hampshire. He served as Minister of State for Uni ...

and

Michael Gove Michael Andrew Gove, Baron Gove (; born Graeme Andrew Logan, 26 August 1967) is a British politician and journalist who served in various Cabinet of the United Kingdom, Cabinet positions under David Cameron, Theresa May, Boris Johnson and Rish ...

as an advisor, and served as chairman of the

Bow Group The Bow Group is a UK-based think tank promoting conservative opinion. Founded in 1951, it is the oldest group of its kind, counting many senior Conservative Party MPs and peers among its members. It represents a forum for political debate with ...

for 2007–08, before being appointed by another right-leaning

think tank A think tank, or public policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governme ...

Policy Exchange Policy Exchange is a British conservative think tank based in London. In 2007 it was described in ''The Daily Telegraph'' as "the largest, but also the most influential think tank on the right". Policy Exchange is a registered charity; it most ...

, as a

research fellow A research fellow is an academic research position at a university or a similar research institution, usually for academic staff or faculty members. A research fellow may act either as an independent investigator or under the supervision of a p ...

. He is the author of four books on medieval and Tudor history.

Parliamentary career

After being selected to contest the

marginal seat A marginal seat or swing seat is a constituency held with a small majority in a legislative election, generally one conducted under a single-winner voting system. In Canada, they may be known as target ridings. The opposite is a safe seat. T ...

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. Skidmore served as a member of the

Health Select Committee The Health and Social Care Select Committee (abbreviated to HSC, HSCC and HSCSC) is a Departmental Select Committee of the British House of Commons, the lower house of the United Kingdom Parliament. Its remit is to examine the policy, administ ...

, leaving that committee on 17 June 2013 (being replaced by

Charlotte Leslie Charlotte Leslie (born 11 August 1978) is a British Conservative Party politician who is the current Director of the Conservative Middle East Council. She was the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Bristol North West constituency, losing he ...

), to sit on the

Education Select Committee The Education Select Committee is a select committee of the House of Commons in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The remit of the committee is to examine the expenditure, administration and policy of the Department for Education and any asso ...

. He is also a member of the

of MPs, founded by

, and along with Truss,

Priti Patel Dame Priti Sushil Patel (born 29 March 1972) is a British politician who has served as Shadow Foreign Secretary since November 2024, having previously served as Home Secretary from 2019 to 2022. A member of the Conservative Party, she was Secr ...

Kwasi Kwarteng Akwasi Addo Alfred Kwarteng (born 26 May 1975) is a British politician who served as the Chancellor of the Exchequer from September to October 2022 under Liz Truss and the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy from 202 ...

and

Dominic Raab Dominic Rennie Raab ( ; born 25 February 1974) is a British former politician who served as Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Justice Secretary and Lord Chancellor from September 2021 to September 2022 and again from October 2022 to ...

, he co-authored ''After the Coalition'' (2011) and ''

'' (2012). 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 The chancellor of the exchequer, often abbreviated to chancellor, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom, and the head of HM Treasury, His Majesty's Treasury. As one of the four Great Offices of State, t ...

. From 2016 to 2018, Skidmore was Parliamentary Secretary for the Constitution. Following the 2018 cabinet reshuffle, he was sacked from this role but given the role of vice-chairman of the Conservative Party for policy. Skidmore was named by the

ConservativeHome ConservativeHome is a politically conservative news website and events company. It was first established by Tim Montgomerie in 2005 with the aim of arguing for a broad conservative spectrum, which is serious about both social justice and a fair ...

website in 2012 as one of a minority of loyal Conservative backbench MPs not to have voted against the government in any significant rebellions. Skidmore was opposed to

Brexit Brexit (, a portmanteau of "Britain" and "Exit") was the Withdrawal from the European Union, withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU). Brexit officially took place at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February ...

prior to the 2016 EU membership referendum. 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". Skidmore was appointed Minister of State for Universities, Science, Research and Innovation on 5 December 2018, following

's resignation over the government's

policy. On 27 June 2019, as Interim Minister for Energy and Clean Growth, Skidmore signed the UK's

Pledge into law, becoming the first major economy to do so. Following the appointment of

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

in July 2019, Skidmore was moved to the

Department for Health and Social Care The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) is a ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for government policy on health and adult social care matters in England, along with a few elements of the s ...

, serving as the Minister of State for Health. After the resignation of

from cabinet, Skidmore re-assumed his position of minister of state for universities, science, research and innovation in September 2019. However, he was dismissed from government and replaced by

Michelle Donelan Michelle Emma May Elizabeth Donelan (born 8 April 1984) is a British former politician who served as Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology from July 2023 to July 2024, having previously served in the position from February to ...

Minister of State for Universities The minister of state for Skills, formerly Minister of State for Skills, Apprenticeships and Higher Education and previously Minister of State for Universities, is a mid-level position in the Department for Education in the Government of the U ...

and

Amanda Solloway Amanda Jane Solloway (née Edghill, 6 June 1961) is a British politician who served as Lord Commissioner of the Treasury from September 2022 to July 2024 and Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Affordability and Skills from February 202 ...

as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Science, Research and Innovation in the cabinet reshuffle of February 2020. Skidmore submitted a letter of no confidence in Boris Johnson on 6 July 2022 during mass resignations of government ministers. He initially supported

Rishi Sunak Rishi Sunak (born 12 May 1980) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 2022 to 2024. Following his defeat to Keir Starmer's La ...

in the July–September 2022 Conservative Party leadership election, but changed his support to

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. On 19 October 2022, Skidmore put out a statement on

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

, in advance of a debate on

fracking Fracking (also known as hydraulic fracturing, fracing, hydrofracturing, or hydrofracking) is a well stimulation technique involving the fracturing of formations in bedrock by a pressurized liquid. The process involves the high-pressure inje ...

, saying that " 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. On 16 January 2023, Skidmore published "Mission Zero", the final report of the Net Zero Review. 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. In June 2023, it was announced that Skidmore had been appointed to a professorship at the

University of Bath The University of Bath is a public research university in Bath, England. Bath received its royal charter in 1966 as Bath University of Technology, along with a number of other institutions following the Robbins Report. Like the University ...

to undertake research on sustainability and climate change.

Resignation

On 26 November 2022, Skidmore announced that he would not seek re-election as an MP at the next general election, later stating in Parliament that "my constituency of Kingswood is being formally abolished in the boundary changes and there is nowhere for me to go." 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 ishi Sunak'spremiership". On 8 January, Skidmore formally submitted his resignation as an MP, which was effected on the same day by his appointment as Steward of the Chiltern Hundreds. In response to Skidmore's resignation statement, Karl McCartney, Tory MP for Lincoln, tweeted: "A now 'former colleague', who was gifted various positions, ahead of many better, well-qualified, and collegiate colleagues, dumps on all from a great height. Once more, another non-Conservative handpicked as part of avidCameron's A List." On 20 June, Skidmore announced that in the

2024 UK general election The 2024 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday, 4 July 2024 to elect all 650 members of the House of Commons. The opposition Labour Party, led by Keir Starmer, won a landslide victory over the governing Conservative Party unde ...

he would vote Labour because of the party's Net Zero policies.

Honours

Fellow A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...

ship of the

Royal Society of Arts The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce, commonly known as the Royal Society of Arts (RSA), is a learned society that champions innovation and progress across a multitude of sectors by fostering creativity, s ...

(FRSA) (2008) *

ship of the

Royal Historical Society The Royal Historical Society (RHS), founded in 1868, is a learned society of the United Kingdom which advances scholarly studies of history. Origins The society was founded and received its royal charter in 1868. Until 1872 it was known as the H ...

(FRHistS) (2010) *

ship of the

Society of Antiquaries of London The Society of Antiquaries of London (SAL) is a learned society of historians and archaeologists in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1707, received its royal charter in 1751 and is a Charitable organization, registered charity. It is based ...

(FSA) (10 October 2014) * Sworn in as a member of

Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council The Privy Council, formally His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, is a privy council, formal body of advisers to the sovereign of the United Kingdom. Its members, known as privy counsellors, are mainly senior politicians who are curre ...

on 6 November 2019 at

Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a royal official residence, residence in London, and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and r ...

. This gave him the honorific title "

The Right Honourable ''The Right Honourable'' (abbreviation: The Rt Hon. or variations) is an honorific Style (form of address), style traditionally applied to certain persons and collective bodies in the United Kingdom, the former British Empire, and the Commonwealt ...

" for life. * Appointed

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(OBE) in the

2022 Birthday Honours The 2022 Queen's Birthday Honours are appointments by some of the 15 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to Orders and decorations of the Commonwealth realms, various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those ...

for parliamentary and public service.

Bibliography

*''Edward VI: The Lost King of England'' (2007) *''Death and The Virgin: Elizabeth, Dudley and the Mysterious Fate of Amy Robsart'' (2010) *''Bosworth: The Birth of the Tudors'' (2013) (published in the United States as ''The Rise of the Tudors: The Family That Changed English History'', 2014) *''Richard III: Brother, Protector, King'' (2017)

Notes

References

External links

*
Profile
on the Conservative Party website
''Debrett's People of Today''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Skidmore, Chris 1981 births Living people People educated at Bristol Grammar School Politicians from Bristol Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford 21st-century English non-fiction writers English male non-fiction writers Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Politics of South Gloucestershire District Fellows of the Royal Historical Society Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London UK MPs 2010–2015 UK MPs 2015–2017 UK MPs 2017–2019 UK MPs 2019–2024 Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Ministers for universities of the United Kingdom Officers of the Order of the British Empire Free Enterprise Group