Nick Timothy | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2024 | |
| Member of Parliament forWest Suffolk | |
| Assumed office 4 July 2024 | |
| Preceded by | Matt Hancock |
| Majority | 3,247 (7.1%) |
| Downing Street Chief of Staff | |
| In office 14 July 2016 – 9 June 2017 Serving with Fiona Hill | |
| Prime Minister | Theresa May |
| Deputy | Joanna Penn |
| Preceded by | Edward Llewellyn |
| Succeeded by | Gavin Barwell |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Nicholas James Timothy March 1980 (age 45) Birmingham, England |
| Political party | Conservative |
| Alma mater | University of Sheffield |
Nicholas James TimothyCBE (born March 1980) is a British politician and formerspecial adviser who has served asMember of Parliament (MP) forWest Suffolk since 2024. A member of theConservative Party, he previously served as jointDowning Street Chief of Staff, alongsideFiona Hill, underPrime MinisterTheresa May from 2016 to 2017.
Timothy was born inBirmingham, the son of a steel worker and a school secretary.[1] He was educated atKing Edward VI Grammar School in Aston, Birmingham,[2] and at theUniversity of Sheffield, where he gained afirst in politics.[3][4] He was the first member of his family to attend university.
Timothy has cited as his inspiration in politics the Birmingham-bornLiberal Unionist politicianJoseph Chamberlain, of whom he wrote a short biography for the Conservative History Group.[5] He has supported conservative philosophies which he believes promote strong communities that make markets work and has argued the Conservative Party should focus on benefiting all citizens and regions.[1][6]
Following his graduation, Timothy worked at theConservative Research Department (CRD) for three years, from 2001 to 2004.[3] In 2004, Timothy left the Conservative Research Department to work as corporate affairs adviser for theCorporation of London.[3] In 2005, Timothy took up a post as a policy adviser for theAssociation of British Insurers.[3] In 2006, Timothy returned to politics after two years in the financial sector, spending a year working forTheresa May - the first of three posts on May's staff.[3] In 2007, Timothy returned to the CRD, where he worked for a further three years.[3]
In 2010, Theresa May was appointed Secretary of State at theHome Office and appointed Timothy as a special adviser, focusing on police reform, immigration, and counter-terrorism policy. He spent five years working for the Home Secretary, before leaving, in 2015, to become a Director at theNew Schools Network (NSN).[3][7][8]
While at the NSN he spoke in favour of ending the50% Rule which requires oversubscribed Free Schools to allocate half of their places without reference to faith.[9]
During this time, Timothy wrote a regular column forConservativeHome where he covered a range of issues in addition to the national security threat from China. This included describing the Climate Change Act 2008 as a “unilateral and monstrous act of self-harm” for British industry,[10] criticising the Treasury for ignoring “evidence that mass immigration can hold down wages and displace some workers from the labour market”,[11] and calling for a “coherent governing philosophy with the interests of ordinary people at its heart.”[12]
In 2015, Timothy wrote an article to express his worry that the People's Republic of China was effectively buying Britain's silence onallegations of Chinese human rights abuse and opposing China's involvement in sensitive sectors such as theHinkley Point C nuclear power station. He criticisedDavid Cameron andGeorge Osborne for "selling ournational security to China" and asserted that "the Government seems intent on ignoring the evidence and presumably the advice of the security and intelligence agencies." He warned that security experts were worried that the Chinese could use their role in the programme to build weaknesses intocomputer systems which would allow them to shut down Britain's energy production at will and argued that "no amount of trade and investment should justify allowing a hostile state easy access to the country's critical national infrastructure."[13][14]
In October 2016, theHealth Service Journal rated him as the fifth most influential person in the English NHS in 2016.[15]
Timothy has stated that he voted to leave theEuropean Union in the2016 membership referendum.[16][17]
Following David Cameron's resignation as Prime Minister in the wake of the Brexit referendum result, Timothy took a sabbatical from his position at the NSN to work onTheresa May's 2016 leadership campaign. May's campaign was a success and Timothy was appointed Joint Chief of Staff to the Prime Minister on 14 July 2016.[18]
In spring 2017, May called asnap general election. As a result of the election, the Conservative Party lost its majority and became a minority government dependent on theDemocratic Unionist Party for their majority. Timothy, along withFiona Hill, faced immediate calls for his removal.[19] Theresa May was also given an ultimatum by Conservative Members of Parliament, to sack Timothy or face her own leadership challenge.[20] On 9 June 2017, Timothy resigned as Joint Chief of Staff to the Prime Minister.[21] Reflecting in 2020 on the projected cost of adult social care, Timothy wrote "Many things went wrong in that election campaign, but I resigned as joint Chief of Staff in Downing Street because our social care proposal blew up the manifesto."[22]
After leaving Downing Street, Timothy worked as a columnist forThe Daily Telegraph newspaper[23] and as a sports columnist forThe Critic.[24] Timothy is the founder and co-editor of the online newsletterThe Conservative Reader.[25] Timothy published a book about the future of conservatism,Remaking One Nation, in 2020.[26]
He also became a business consultant, founding trustee of a new specialist maths school,[27] Chairman of the Future of Conservatism project at Onward,[28] a Senior Policy Fellow at Policy Exchange,[29] a visiting professor at Sheffield University, a visiting fellow at Wadham College, Oxford, and an adviser to the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China. In early 2023 he completed anindependent review of the Home Office on behalf of the Prime Minister and Home Secretary.
In January 2019 Timothy was appointed as a member of the organising committee of the2022 Commonwealth Games, to be held in his home city of Birmingham.[30] Timothy also served as a board member of the Department for Education and the Government’s £250 million Sports Survival Package.[31]
In February 2018, Timothy denied allegations ofantisemitism made in theNew Statesman byStephen Bush[32][33] following the publication of an article of which he was the principal author that claimed the existence of a "secret plot" to stopBrexit by the Jewish philanthropistGeorge Soros.[33] In response, Timothy tweeted: "Throughout my career I’ve campaigned against antisemitism, helped secure more funding for security at synagogues and Jewish schools".[32] When theJewish Chronicle reported on Theresa May's pro-Israel stance as Prime Minister, a source said "If [Timothy] was a journalist, and he was Jewish, you could imagine him editing theJC."[34]
In November 2019, Timothy failed to be selected as the Conservative candidate for theMeriden constituency in theWest Midlands, for the2019 general election.[35] The seat had previously been held byCaroline Spelman, who opted to stand down as an MP over the "intensity of abuse arising out of Brexit".[36]
In February 2022,The New York Times released a podcast entitled "The Trojan Horse Affair" which was created byBrian Reed andHamza Syed.[37] The podcast claimed that Timothy contributed tothe scandal when he emailed a Birmingham community centre which was due to host an event entitled "Trojan Horse or Trojan Hoax" in order to shut down the event. In the email it is alleged that Timothy insinuated that the owners of the community centre would be associated with terrorism if they allowed the event to go ahead.[37] Timothy andMichael Gove wrote a joint foreword for aPolicy Exchange report with their own account of how hardline activists had taken over several state schools in an attempt to impose, in the words of one of the several official inquiries, an “intolerant and aggressive Islamic ethos”.[38] The podcast has also since been criticised byObserver columnistSonia Sodha who argued that it "presents a one-sided account that minimises child protection concerns, misogyny and homophobia in order to exonerate the podcast’s hero, a man calledTahir Alam. In doing so, it breaches the standards the public have the right to expect of journalists, with cruel consequences for those it uses and abuses along the way."[39]
On 30 July 2023, Timothy was selected as the Conservativeprospective parliamentary candidate forWest Suffolk.[40] This was followingMatt Hancock's announcement of standing down from parliament.[41] He defeated incumbent MP forPenrith and The Border,Neil Hudson[42][43] and formerFinancial Times journalistSebastian Payne.[44] He said he hoped to "draw a line" under the controversy of Hancock who was suspended from the Conservative Party after he appeared onI'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!.[45] Timothy was elected Member of Parliament for West Suffolk at the2024 General Election.[46]
Nick Timothy was appointed as an Opposition Assistant Whip and Shadow Energy Minister by new Conservative Leader Kemi Badenoch in November 2024, and moved to being a Shadow Education Minister in October 2025.[47]
In his backbench capacity, Timothy has contributed to debates around the economy, education, crime, immigration, and multiculturalism.[48] He has appeared on the BBC and GB News, and written columns forThe Telegraph,[49]The Sun,[50]The Spectator,[51] andConservativeHome.[52]
In 2024, Timothy criticised the Labour government for approving the development of a large solar farm in his constituency.[53] He called it an "insult" to locals.[53] This issue gained national attention due to broader debates about renewable energy and rural communities. Timothy says he opposes all ground-mounted solar applications in Suffolk on the basis that it is “bad energy policy, bad farming policy, and simply unfair to Suffolk and East Anglia.”[54]
As a Shadow Energy Minister, Timothy has criticised the Government in Parliament for its lack of ambition on nuclear power, and its “ideological” approach to renewables and carbon pricing.[55] He has appeared in news coverage exposing what he calls the “madness” of net zero, criticising billions in subsidies being paid towards new renewables like wind and solar as well as the Drax power plant.[56] He has responded for the Conservatives during legislative scrutiny of new regulations and in parliamentary debates.[48]
On 18 December 2024, Timothy led speeches in a debate he called on immigration and nationality statistics, arguing that mass immigration is “the biggest broken promise in British politics”.[57]
Timothy has also given speeches in Parliament on the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill, arguing “the future of immigration policy must be not just about who comes here, but about who we decide must leave” and “we must accept that not every migrant is the same, and not every culture is equal.”[58] He also proposed amendments to the Employment Rights Bill at committee and report stages to regulate the use of substitution clauses in the gig economy that have been widely used to facilitate illegal work for migrants.[59] This later received support from Baroness Penn in the House of Lords.[60]
Timothy has called for the Home Secretary to order the creation of a specialist unit in the National Crime Agency to investigate police officers, councillors, and public officials accused of enabling the grooming gangs or participating in child sexual exploitation. Following allegations revealed by the BBC in July he wrote to the Home Secretary reiterating his demand.[61]
On 10 June 2025 Timothy used theTen-minute rule to introduce the Freedom of Expression (Religion or Belief System) Bill.[62][63][64] It sought to clarify that provisions of thePublic Order Act 2023 does not apply in the case of "discussion, criticism or expressions of antipathy, dislike, ridicule, insult or abuse of particular religions or the beliefs or practices of their adherents".[65][66] It was supported by ten MPs including shadow justice secretaryRobert Jenrick and independent MPRupert Lowe.[66] Timothy said:[66]
The Public Order Act is increasingly being used as a blasphemy law to protect Islam from criticism. The act was never intended to do this. Parliament never voted for this, and the British people do not want it. To use the Public Order Act in this way is especially perverse, since it makes a protester accountable for the actions of those who respond with violence to criticism of their faith. This is wrong, and it destroys our freedom of speech. We should be honest that the law is only being used in this way because the authorities have become afraid of the violent reaction of mobs of people who want to impose their values on the rest of us. My bill will put a stop to this and restore our freedom of speech — and our right to criticise any and all religions, including Islam.
The bill was a reaction to the trial ofHamit Coskun[67][68] and the grievous assault ofSalman Rushdie, for which the assailant was sentenced by a jury to the maximum term of 25 years in jail,[69] amongst other events.[66] TheNational Secular Society amongst others said that the conviction of Coskun revives blasphemy laws.[65] He (Timothy) felt that theCrown Prosecution Service had given "the game away when it first sought to prosecute Coskun for causing “distress” to “the religious institution of Islam”.. appeasing the mob never works. If we allow threats and violence to succeed, more threats and violence will follow until the mob gets its way and imposes its beliefs and culture even more emphatically on the rest of us."[66] The Bill was also proposed as an amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill.[70]
Timothy has also campaigned against what he describes as Labour’s “rigged ‘Islamophobia’ consultation”, calling for public support to “stop Britain's new Islamic blasphemy laws”.[71] This generated media attention around religious freedom and hate crime legislation. The working group responsible delayed the publication of its findings after thousands of people wrote in expressing their opposition.[72]
Timothy has called for a Mildenhall relief road as part of the town’s expansion plans.[73] He has also campaigned for the renewal of the Haverhill to Cambridge rail link, engaging in talks with the Government about reinstating this major transport connection, and proposed a Charter for West Suffolk to manage new development.[74]
He has also backed the horse racing industry during its action over Government proposals to harmonise online gambling taxes, reflecting the interests of Newmarket, the world capital of horse racing, in West Suffolk.[75] He is the Joint Chairman of the APPG on Horseracing and Bloodstock and has made several calls in Parliament for reforms to the way the sport is funded.[76]
Since the election, Timothy has opposed the Government’s business tax increases and their impact on the local economy and campaigned to save Suffolk Police from a merger with Norfolk. Timothy has also adopted a sceptical position towards the reorganisation of local government in Suffolk.[77]
Timothy and his family live in West Suffolk. He is anAston Villa supporter.[78]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Nick Timothy | 15,814 | 34.3 | −30.0 | |
| Labour | Rebecca Denness | 12,567 | 27.2 | +5.0 | |
| Reform | David Bull | 9,623 | 20.8 | N/A | |
| Liberal Democrats | Henry Batchelor | 4,284 | 9.3 | +0.3 | |
| Green | Mark Ereira-Guyer | 2,910 | 6.3 | +1.8 | |
| Independent | Katie Parker | 485 | 1.1 | N/A | |
| Independent | Luke O'Brien | 345 | 0.7 | N/A | |
| SDP | Ivan Kinsman | 133 | 0.3 | N/A | |
| Majority | 3,247 | 7.1 | −35.1 | ||
| Turnout | 46,331 | 60.1 | −4.6 | ||
| Registered electors | 77,149 | ||||
| Conservativehold | Swing | −17.5 | |||
Joseph Chamberlain was one of the dominant figures of Victorian and Edwardian Britain – but while he is remembered for his record as Mayor of Birmingham, his role in committing the Conservative Party to social reform has been neglected by modern Tories. In this study, Nick Timothy explores the many roles Chamberlain played during his political life – Radical and Unionist; outsider and Cabinet Minister – and argues that his legacy is every bit as important to modern Conservatism as Disraeli's 'One Nation' approach and Randolph Churchill's Tory Democracy
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| Government offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Downing Street Chief of Staff 2016–2017 With:Fiona Hill | Succeeded by |
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forWest Suffolk 2024–present | Incumbent |
