Chris Skidmore MP - Who is he?

Chris Skidmore was elected as Conservative MP for Kingswood in 2010, being reelected in 2019 with a majority of 11,220.

He stood down from Westminster in January 2024 after disagreeing with the government on oil and gas licensing.

Skidmore had already announced his intention to stand down as an MP at the next election.

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Chris Skidmore has served as a Vice Chair of Conservative Party. In late 2022, he detailed his intention to step down from Westminster at the next election.

Skidmore was previously the Minister of State for University, Science, Research and Innovation (2018 – 2020). He was also briefly a Minister of State at the Department of Health (2019), and Parliamentary Secretary at the Cabinet Office (2016-2018). He is notable for being the minister that signed the UK’s Net Zero pledge into law.

Liz Truss, during her brief tenure as prime minister, appointed Skidmore to Chair the Independent Government Review on Net Zero. On 16 January 2023, Skidmore published the final report, “Mission Zero”, a 340-page document containing 129 recommendations on how to deliver the UK’s net zero commitments.

Skidmore has been a notable critic of current prime minister Rishi Sunak’s approach to net zero.

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Announcing his resignation as a Conservative MP in January 2024, Skidmore wrote in a statement: “As the former Energy Minister who signed the UK’s net zero commitment by 2050 into law, I cannot vote for a bill that clearly promotes the production of new oil and gas”.

It adds: “As fossil fuels become more obsolete, expanding new oil and gas licences or opening new oil fields will only create stranded assets of the future, harming local and regional communities that should instead be supported to transition their skills and expertise to renewable and clean energy”.

“The Net Zero Review I published a year ago next week, Mission Zero, set out how net zero can be the economic opportunity of this decade, if not our generation, bringing with it hundreds of thousands of new jobs, new growth, new regeneration and inward investment worth hundreds of billions of pounds. To achieve this however requires long term commitment to the energy transition, and a clear and consistent message to business and industry that the UK is committed to climate action as a global leader, as it has been for the past two decades.

“I cannot vote for the bill next week. The future will judge harshly those that do. At a time when we should be committing to more climate action, we simply do not have any more time to waste promoting the future production of fossil fuels that is the ultimate cause of the environmental crisis that we are facing”.

It adds: “But I can also no longer condone nor continue to support a government that is committed to a course of action that I know is wrong and will cause future harm. To fail to act, rather than merely speak out, is to tolerate a status quo that cannot be sustained. I am therefore resigning my party whip and instead intend to be free from any party-political allegiance.

“I am deeply grateful for the privilege I have had to serve in government across several departments, including as Energy Minister attending Cabinet, and to have been appointed as the Independent Chair of the Net Zero Review. It is nearly fourteen years since I was first elected as the Member of Parliament for Kingswood, and I am especially grateful to my constituents for placing their repeated trust and faith in me. First and foremost, my duty has been to serve them, as their elected representative.

“It is with that duty to them in mind as their representative that my personal decision today means, as I have long argued, that they deserve the right to elect a new Member of Parliament. I therefore will be standing down from Parliament as soon as possible.

“It has been a remarkable and wonderful opportunity to serve as a Member of Parliament for nearly fourteen years, but I now intend to focus all my energy and attention on delivering net zero and the energy transition”.

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The Kingswood constituency is found immediately to the west of Bristol. It covers the eastern suburbs of Bristol itself, alongside the town of Kingswood some four miles outside of Bristol, and a small number of surrounding commuter villages. This is an economically active area in which unemployment is low and home ownership is high.

Kingswood is one of the UKs most long standing marginal seats having been held by Labour between 1974 and 1979, the Conservatives between 1979 and 1992, Labour between 1992 and 2010, and the Conservatives since 2010.

Skidmore was born in 1980. He grew up in Bristol and attended Oxford University. Before entering politics, Chris worked briefly in journalism for the People Magazine and the Western Daily Press.

He also previously worked as an advisor to Michael Gove, and been a research fellow at the think tank, Policy Exchange.

Skidmore has been a historical researcher, and has written a number of books. His first book, a biography of the Tudor king Edward VI was published in 2007. His second book, Death and the Virgin was published in 2010. Before his election, he taught history part-time at Bristol University.

He is a fellow of the Royal Historical Society and a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries.

Chris Skidmore is Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Groups on University; and Museums. He is Vice Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Groups on Education Technology; and St George’s Day.

Skidmore is married with two children.