Chris Philp

Philp attended the selective St Olave's Grammar School in Orpington, Kent[3] and then studied Physics at University College, Oxford.[4] In 1996 he was editor of the Oxford University student newspaper, Cherwell.[5]

Philp worked for McKinsey and Company before co-founding distribution business Blueheath Holdings, in 2000. It was floated on the AIM before merging with Booker Cash & Carry as part of the Booker Group in a £375 million deal.[6][7][8]

With future Conservative Party MP Sam Gyimah, he founded Clearstone Training and Recruitment Limited, a HGV training provider,[9] which sold its assets to RCapital in 2007 after going into administration.[10] Philp also founded property development lender Pluto Finance (UK) LLP.[11]

Along with his Blueheath business partner David Gurr, Philp was selected as one of the recipients of London and South Region Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year by Ernst & Young in 2003.[12]

Philp was Chairman of the Bow Group, a Conservative Party think tank, from 2004 to 2005.[13] Philp defeated the Labour Leader of Camden Council to become a Councillor in the Gospel Oak ward of Camden in May 2006 with a swing of over 10%, the first Conservative to win the ward in over 20 years.

At the 2010 general election Philp was the Conservative Parliamentary candidate for Hampstead and Kilburn, losing by 42 votes to the Labour's sitting MP Glenda Jackson and increasing the Conservative vote share of the vote by nearly 10 percentage points compared to the previous election.[14][15]

Philp's book Conservative Revival: Blueprint for a Better Britain was published in conjunction with the Bow Group and was co-authored by 10 Conservative MPs, or recent candidates in their 30s, and with a foreword written by David Cameron, the then Leader of the Opposition. Philp was also the author of "Work for the Dole: A proposal to fix welfare dependency", published by The Taxpayers' Alliance in September 2013. His report called for mandatory participation in community work and training in return for the continued payment of benefits payments.[16]

In November 2013, Philp was selected to be the Conservative parliamentary candidate for Croydon South, the seat was held by the then Conservative MP Richard Ottaway, who was retiring at the next general election. On 7 May 2015, he was elected as the Member of Parliament for Croydon South, and with a majority of over 17,000; the highest achieved in the constituency for over 20 years. Shortly after being elected to Parliament, Philp became the first of the 2015 Conservative intake to be elected by other MPs to the influential Treasury Select Committee.[17]

Philp is an outspoken critic of Govia Thameslink Railway's ownership of Southern Rail; in 2017, Philp called for the Government to take control of the Southern Rail franchise and for cross-party support in ending disputes between Southern Rail and the RMT Union.[18] He also proposed a Private Member's Bill to ban 'unreasonable' and 'damaging' strikes on essential services, including trains.[19] Philp wrote "Restoring Responsible Ownership", a report on corporate rules which recommended greater shareholder control over company directors' appointments and pay.[20] Philp's proposals received positive coverage for mounting 'pressure' and arguing that 'asset managers had to do much more to engage with companies, in particular to exert some degree of control over executive pay.'[21]

Philp was opposed to Brexit prior to the 2016 European membership referendum.[22] Philp supports selective grammar schools, arguing for one to open a satellite in his constituency to circumvent a ban in England on new selective schools and the borough council's own non-selective policy.[23] In May 2016, when debating the Government's Starter Homes Initiative, Philp was accused by housing charities of failing to understand how a couple buying a house for the first time cannot afford a £10,000 deposit. Responding to criticism, he stated 'No one says it is easy, the average age of a first time buyer these days is about 30 so people have 10 years to save £5,000.'[24]

Following the 2017 General Election, Philp was appointed Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) to HM Treasury Ministers.[25] Philp was made PPS to Sajid Javid then Secretary of State for the Ministry Housing, Communities and Local Government on 22 January 2018.[26] Between December 2018 to May 2019 he was the Conservative Party Vice Chairman for Policy.[27] In August 2019, he was appointed as PPS to Sajid Javid, Chancellor of the Exchequer. Philp had backed Javid in the 2019 Conservative Party leadership election.[28][29] In September 2019, he was appointed Parliamentary Under Secretary for the Ministry of Justice.[30] He then served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Immigration Compliance and Courts. He replaced Matt Warman as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Digital in September 2021.

Philp married Elizabeth in 2009.[31] Their twins, a boy and a girl, were born prematurely in April 2013, and spent an extended period in intensive care following their birth.[32] Philp's father Brian has stood as a candidate for the United Kingdom Independence Party.[33]

• Profile at Parliament of the United Kingdom
• Contributions in Parliament at Hansard
• Voting record at Public Whip
• Record in Parliament at TheyWorkForYou