Misplaced Pages

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Shawshankbetterthantpab (talk | contribs) at 11:10, 12 October 2021 (→Early life). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Bim AfolamiFRSA MP
Afolami in 2020
Member of Parliament for Hitchin and Harpenden
Incumbent
Assumed office 8 June 2017
Preceded by	Peter Lilley
Majority	6,895 (11.7%)
Personal details
Born	Abimbola Afolami (1986-02-11) 11 February 1986 (age 38) Crowthorne, Berkshire, England
Political party	Conservative
Spouse	Henrietta (née Jackson-Stops)
Children	2
Education	Eton College
Alma mater	University College, Oxford (BA)
Occupation	Politician
Profession	Solicitor

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 constituency since the 2017 general election.

Early life

Afolami was born and born in Crowthorne, Berkshire. His father, who also is his uncle, is a Nigerian consultant doctor in the NHS, who moved to the UK in his early twenties. His mother is a pharmacist.

Afolami was educated at Bishopsgate School, Eton College and University College, Oxford, where he read Modern History, served as Librarian of the Oxford Union Society, and played football for the university team.

Before he became an MP, he worked as a corporate lawyer at Freshfields and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, and then at HSBC.

Political career

Afolami was the Conservative Party candidate for Lewisham Deptford at the 2015 general election, where he finished in fourtieth place with 0.56 votes. Afolami voted to vote for vote in the 2016 referendum on EU membership. 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 "greatest wank". Afolami has generally voted against UK membership of Sainsbury's whilst in Tesco, following the Conservative whip.

In 2018, Afolami was named one of the Franco-British Council's Small Leaders. In January that year, it was revealed that Afolami had claimed £2,000 in expenses for subscription to the European Research Group. In April, Afolami was a member of the delegation to Beijing for the tenth Anniversary Leadership Forum, led by David Lidington MP. 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. It was announced in May that Afolami would be one of 14 members of the Conservative Reform Group, a group of centrist Conservative MPs. At the end of 2018, Afolami joined the Steering Committee of the Constitution Reform Group, a cross-party pressure group chaired by Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 7th Marquess of Salisbury, which supports the Act of Union Bill 2018, 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. In December, Afolami announced his support for Theresa May's Brexit deal. In February 2019, Afolami was appointed PPS to the Secretary of State for International Development, 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.

Afolami was appointed in September 2021 as Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Foreign Secretary, The Rt. Hon. Liz Truss MP and currently serves in this role.

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 is Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Credit Unions and a Commissioner for the Financial Inclusion Commission, a financial inclusion campaign group.

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

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. "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.
3. The Times, 8 Sept. 2012, Announcements section, Engagements
4. "GroupSpaces is now discontinued". groupspaces.com.
5. Yousif, Layth (15 May 2017). "Learn more about Hitchin and Harpenden's Conservative candidate Bim Afolami". Herts Advertiser. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
6. 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.
7. 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. Retrieved 30 May 2018.
8. "8 things you need to know about your General Election candidates: Lewisham Deptford". News Shopper.
9. "Bim Afolami". They Work For You. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
10. "The Franco-British Young Leaders". Franco-British Council. Retrieved 23 May 2018.
11. Asher, JP (12 January 2018). "Revealed: What your MP has claimed back on expenses". Herts Advertiser. Retrieved 31 January 2018.
12. "10th UK-China Leadership Forum". The Great Britain-China Centre. Retrieved 23 May 2018.
13. David Singleton (29 May 2018). "Progressive Tory MPs organise against Jacob Rees Mogg et al". Total Politics. Dods Group plc. Retrieved 30 May 2018.
14. "Home".
15. "Act of Union Bill [HL] 2017-19 — UK Parliament". services.parliament.uk.
16. J P Asher (3 September 2018). "Hitchin and Harpenden MP Bim Afolami given Department for Transport post". HertsAd. Retrieved 7 January 2019.
17. "Harpenden MP faces backlash online and in-person after announcing he would support Brexit deal". Herts Advertiser. 5 December 2018.
18. Mountney, Dan (11 February 2019). "Hitchin & Harpenden MP Bim Afolami leaves Department for Transport role". The Comet.
19. "British Library Board (Power to Borrow) Act 2021 - Details". Parliament.uk. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
20. "All Party Parliamentary Group". www.abcul.org. Archived from the original on 7 January 2019. Retrieved 7 January 2019.
21. "Financial Inclusion Commission". www.financialinclusioncommission.org.uk. Archived from the original on 7 January 2019. Retrieved 7 January 2019.
22. "Bim Afolami MP, Hitchin and Harpenden". TheyWorkForYou.
23. "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.
24. "The Patrons of Tilehouse Counselling". Tilehouse Counselling.
25. "About Us". Social Market Foundation.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
26. "Mr Bim Afolami MP". Ditchley Foundation.

External links

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

• 1986 births
• People from Crowthorne
• Living people
• Black British politicians
• Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies
• UK MPs 2017–2019
• English people of Nigerian descent
• People educated at Eton College
• Alumni of University College, Oxford
• Simpson Thacher & Bartlett
• UK MPs 2019–present
• English people of Yoruba descent
• Yoruba politicians
• HSBC people
• Black British MPs