Chris Skidmore

Chris Skidmore was born in Avon and is a former adviser to Conservative MPs and future ministers David Willetts and Michael Gove. He later served as chairman of the Bow Group from 2007 to 2008 and then as a research fellow at Policy Exchange. Following his election, Skidmore joined the Health and Social Care Committee and two years later joined the Education Committee. In 2015, he succeeded Robert Halfon as PPS to chancellor George Osborne. Skidmore backed Remain in the 2016 referendum, but after Vote Leave’s victory, he decided to support the government’s Brexit plan. In 2016, he became parliamentary under-secretary at the Cabinet Office. He has been the vice-chair of the Conservative Party since 2018, with a particular responsibility for policy. In 2018, Skidmore was moved from the Cabinet Office to become minister of state for universities, science, research and innovation. He briefly left the department in 2019 following the election of Boris Johnson as leader of the Conservative party, and was appointed as health minister. After Jo Johnson announced his resignation as a minister and an MP, Skidmore once again became universities minister, serving until February 2020.