Chris Skidmore

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 from 2010 to 2024.

Skidmore was first elected at the 2010 general election. As a backbencher, he joined the Free Enterprise Group of Conservative MPs, founded by Liz Truss, and co-authored a number of papers and books, including After the Coalition (2011) and Britannia Unchained (2012). Following Theresa May'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'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 pledge into law.

Skidmore became Minister of State for Health after Boris Johnson became prime minister in July 2019. He returned to his former position of universities minister in September 2019 following Jo Johnson'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.

Skidmore was born on 17 May 1981 in Bristol, and grew up in Longwell Green and Bitton, Avon. In 1996, as a teenager, he became a member of the Conservative Party. 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.

Skidmore worked for David Willetts and Michael Gove as an advisor, and served as chairman of the Bow Group for 2007–08, before being appointed by another right-leaning think tank, Policy Exchange, as a research fellow. He is the author of four books on medieval and Tudor history.

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.

Skidmore served as a member of the Health Select Committee, leaving that committee on 17 June 2013 (being replaced by Charlotte Leslie), to sit on the Education Select Committee. He is also a member of the Free Enterprise Group of MPs, founded by Liz Truss, and along with Truss, Priti Patel, Kwasi Kwarteng and Dominic Raab, he co-authored After the Coalition (2011) and Britannia Unchained (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.