Bim Afolami
FRSA MP
Official portrait, 2020
Economic Secretary to the Treasury
Assumed office
13 November 2023
Prime MinisterRishi Sunak
Preceded byAndrew Griffith
Member of Parliament
for Hitchin and Harpenden
Assumed office
8 June 2017
Preceded byPeter Lilley
Majority6,895 (11.7%)
Personal details
Born
Abimbola Afolami

(1986-02-11) 11 February 1986
Crowthorne, Berkshire, England
Political partyConservative
SpouseHenrietta (née Jackson-Stops)[1]
Children3
EducationEton College
Alma materUniversity College, Oxford (BA)
OccupationPolitician
ProfessionSolicitor, Banker

Abimbola "Bim" Afolami// ⓘ FRSA (born 11 February 1986) is a British Conservative Party politician. He has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Hitchin and Harpenden in Hertfordshire since the 2017 general election. He has been the Economic Secretary to the Treasury since 2023.[2]

Early life

Afolami was born and brought up in Crowthorne, Berkshire. His father Samuel[3][4] is a Nigerian consultant doctor in the NHS, who moved to the UK in his early twenties.

Afolami was privately educated both at Bishopsgate School and at Eton College, and then attended University College, Oxford, where he read Modern History, served as Librarian of the Oxford Union Society and played football for the university team.[5][6] He was Berkshire county champion several times in both the 400m and triple jump as a schoolboy, and also competed at national level. He reached the final of the national English schools athletics championships finals in 2002 in the triple jump.[7]

Before he became an MP, Afolami worked as a corporate lawyer at Freshfields,[8] Simpson Thacher & Bartlett and then as a senior executive at HSBC.

Political career

Afolami was the Conservative Party candidate for Lewisham Deptford at the 2015 general election, where he finished in second place with 7,056 votes. Afolami voted "Remain" in the 2016 referendum on EU membership.[9] He was selected as the Conservative candidate for Hitchin and Harpenden constituency in 2017 following the announcement that the sitting Conservative MP, Peter Lilley, was to stand down.

He has described Winston Churchill as his "biggest hero".[10] Afolami has generally voted against UK membership of the EU whilst in Parliament, following the Conservative whip.[11]

In 2018, Afolami was named one of the Franco-British Council's Young Leaders.[12] In January that year, it was revealed that Afolami had claimed £2,000 in expenses for subscription to the European Research Group.[13] In April, Afolami was a member of the delegation to Beijing for the tenth Anniversary Leadership Forum, led by David Lidington. The Forum, entitled "Partners for Progress: Strengthening the UK-China relationship in the Golden Era", aimed to discuss practical cooperation between the UK and China.[14] It was announced in May that Afolami would be one of 14 members of the Conservative Reform Group, a group of centrist Conservative MPs.[15] At the end of 2018, Afolami joined the Steering Committee of the Constitution Reform Group,[16] a cross-party pressure group chaired by Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 7th Marquess of Salisbury, which supports the Act of Union Bill 2018,[17] a private member's bill introduced by Lord Lisvane in the House of Lords on 9 October 2018.

In September 2018, Afolami was appointed parliamentary private secretary in the Department for Transport.[18] In December, Afolami announced his support for Theresa May's Brexit deal.[19] In February 2019, Afolami was appointed PPS to the Secretary of State for International Development,[20] followed by his appointment as PPS to the Secretary of State for International Trade, Liz Truss. He was subsequently appointed as PPS to the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Therese Coffey. In April 2021, a private member's bill introduced by Afolami, the British Library Board (Power to Borrow) Act 2021, gained royal assent.[21]

He was appointed in September 2021 as Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Foreign Secretary, Liz Truss.

Afolami was appointed in November 2021 as Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, Nadine Dorries, and served in this role until his appointment as Vice Chairman of the Conservative Party for Youth in February 2022.

Afolami is Chair of PRASEG, the cross-party Parliamentary Renewable & Sustainable Energy Group, the largest and longest standing energy and climate change group in Westminster. In this role, Afolami plays a key role driving parliamentary activity relating to the UK's Presidency of COP26.

Afolami was the Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Credit Unions[22] and a Commissioner for the Financial Inclusion Commission,[23] a financial inclusion campaign group.

He is active in supporting charities and other voluntary groups. He is patron of Harpenden Spotlight on Africa[24] a charity working in health and education in rural Uganda. He is also patron of GRIT (Growing Resilience in Teens)[25] and Tilehouse Counselling,[26] two mental health charities in his constituency. Afolami also sits on the advisory board of the Social Market Foundation[27] and on the Programme Committee of the Ditchley Foundation.[28]

On 5 July 2022, whilst being interviewed live on television, Afolami resigned from his role as Vice Chair of the Conservative Party, owing to the recent scandals in government under Boris Johnson.[29]

In March 2023, Afolami announced that he would be contesting the new Hitchin constituency at the next General Election, following the 2023 review of constituency boundaries.[30]

Afolami was criticised in April 2023 for failing to declare that he received £2,000 a month from WPI Strategy to chair a pressure group (the “Regulatory Reform Group” of MPs) lobbying Rishi Sunak.

In May 2023, Afolami was asked to repay two £80 fines dating from December 2021, which he had claimed on his parliamentary expenses.[31]

Works by Bim Afolami

  • Bim Afolami MP (2023). "William III", 'Kings and Queens: 1200 Years of English and British Monarchs', September 2023
  • Bim Afolami MP, Sebastian Payne, James Blagden (2023). "Missing Millenials", 'Onward', May 2023[32]
  • Bim Afolami MP, Steve Hughes (2023). "The Purpose of Regulation: Improving accountability of our regulators to get a better deal for consumers, businesses, and the United Kingdom", 'Regulatory Reform Group', April 2023[33]
  • Bim Afolami MP, Janet Stevenson, Fay Jones, Sally-Ann Hart, Katherine Fletcher, Andy Street, Cllr Sam Chapman-Allen, Sir Robert Buckland and Ben Howlett (2023). "Levelling Up 2.0: A Blueprint for the Future", 'Curia', January 2023
  • Bim Afolami MP, Mike Crowhurst (2022). "Banking for Britain: The role of financial services in Levelling-Up", 'All-Party Parliamentary Group on Financial Markets and Services & Services', November 2022[34]
  • Bim Afolami MP, Laura Trott (2021). "Accelerator Zones: how to turbocharge economic opportunity across the UK", 'Social Market Foundation', February 2021[35]
  • Bim Afolami MP (2021). "The Role of Parliament in the Future Regulatory Framework for Financial Services", 'All-Party Parliamentary Group on Financial Markets and Services & Services', February 2021[36]
  • Bim Afolami MP (2020). "Unlocking Britain: Recovery and Renewal after Covid-19", 'Social Market Foundation', June 2020[37]
  • Bim Afolami MP (2018). "Making New Housing Popular", May 2018[38]

References

  1. ↑ "Afolami, Abimbola, (Bim), (born 11 Feb. 1986), MP (C) Hitchin and Harpenden, since 2017". WHO'S WHO & WHO WAS WHO. 2017. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U289479. ISBN 978-0-19-954088-4.
  2. ↑ "Ministerial appointments: November 2023". GOV.UK. 13 November 2023. Retrieved 14 November 2023.
  3. ↑ "Afolami, Abimbola, (Bim), (born 11 Feb. 1986), MP (C) Hitchin and Harpenden, since 2017 - WHO'S WHO & WHO WAS WHO". www.ukwhoswho.com. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U289479. ISBN 978-0-19-954088-4.
  4. ↑ The Times, 8 September 2012, Announcements section, Engagements
  5. ↑ "GroupSpaces is now discontinued". groupspaces.com.
  6. ↑ Yousif, Layth (15 May 2017). "Learn more about Hitchin and Harpenden's Conservative candidate Bim Afolami". Herts Advertiser. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  7. ↑ "Power of 10: British Athletics".
  8. ↑ Stewart, Victoria; Winckler, Marie (6 October 2011). "Rainbow Tories: The geek, the fundraiser and the Tanzanian immigrant's son". London Evening Standard. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  9. ↑ Layth Yousif (16 May 2017). "'I've worked hard and made the most of it – now I want to do it for you': The Comet meets Bim Afolami, the Conservative parliamentary candidate for Hitchin and Harpenden". The Comet. Archant Community Media Ltd. Archived from the original on 20 July 2018. Retrieved 30 May 2018.
  10. ↑ "8 things you need to know about your General Election candidates: Lewisham Deptford". News Shopper. 28 April 2015.
  11. ↑ "Bim Afolami". They Work For You. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
  12. ↑ "The Franco-British Young Leaders". Franco-British Council. Retrieved 23 May 2018.
  13. ↑ Asher, JP (12 January 2018). "Revealed: What your MP has claimed back on expenses". Herts Advertiser. Retrieved 31 January 2018.
  14. ↑ "10th UK-China Leadership Forum". The Great Britain-China Centre. Retrieved 23 May 2018.
  15. ↑ David Singleton (29 May 2018). "Progressive Tory MPs organise against Jacob Rees Mogg et al". Total Politics. Dods Group plc. Retrieved 30 May 2018.
  16. ↑ "Home".
  17. ↑ "Act of Union Bill [HL] 2017-19 — UK Parliament". services.parliament.uk.
  18. ↑ J P Asher (3 September 2018). "Hitchin and Harpenden MP Bim Afolami given Department for Transport post". The Comet. Archived from the original on 7 January 2019. Retrieved 7 January 2019.
  19. ↑ "Harpenden MP faces backlash online and in-person after announcing he would support Brexit deal". Herts Advertiser. 5 December 2018.
  20. ↑ Mountney, Dan (11 February 2019). "Hitchin & Harpenden MP Bim Afolami leaves Department for Transport role". The Comet. Archived from the original on 29 June 2020. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
  21. ↑ "British Library Board (Power to Borrow) Act 2021 - Details". Parliament.uk. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
  22. ↑ "All Party Parliamentary Group". www.abcul.org. Archived from the original on 7 January 2019. Retrieved 7 January 2019.
  23. ↑ "Financial Inclusion Commission". www.financialinclusioncommission.org.uk. Archived from the original on 7 January 2019. Retrieved 7 January 2019.
  24. ↑ "Bim Afolami MP, Hitchin and Harpenden". TheyWorkForYou.
  25. ↑ "Bim Afolami MP meets Dr Lousie Randall at launch of Self Harm charity GRIT". www.bimafolami.co.uk. Archived from the original on 3 January 2020. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
  26. ↑ "The Patrons of Tilehouse Counselling". Tilehouse Counselling.
  27. ↑ "About Us". Social Market Foundation. Archived from the original on 5 July 2014.
  28. ↑ "Mr Bim Afolami MP". Ditchley Foundation.
  29. ↑ "Nadhim Zahawi becomes chancellor and Steve Barclay health secretary, replacing Rishi Sunak and Sajid Javid – as it happened". the Guardian. 6 July 2022.
  30. ↑ @BimAfolami (30 March 2023). "Delighted to be readopted as the Parliamentary candidate for the new Hitchin constituency for the next General Election! Thank you everyone for your support" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  31. ↑ "MPS asked to repay driving fines claimed on expenses". BBC News. 28 May 2023.
  32. ↑ "Missing Millennials" (PDF).
  33. ↑ "Purpose of Regulation" (PDF).
  34. ↑ "Banking for Britain" (PDF).
  35. ↑ "Accelerator Zones".
  36. ↑ "Finance APPG" (PDF).
  37. ↑ "Unlocking Britain" (PDF).
  38. ↑ "Making New Housing Popular".
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