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Bim AfolamiMP FRSA
Official parliamentary portrait 2017
Member of Parliament for Hitchin and Harpenden
Incumbent
Assumed office 9 June 2017
Preceded by	Peter Lilley
Majority	12,031 (20.5%)
Personal details
Born	Abimbola Afolami (1986-02-11) 11 February 1986 (age 38) Crowthorne, Berkshire, England
Political party	Conservative
Spouse	Henrietta Jackson-Stops
Children	2
Alma mater	University College, Oxford

Abimbola "Bim" Afolami FRSA (born 11 February 1986) is a British Conservative Party politician. He has served as the Member of Parliament for Hitchin and Harpenden constituency since the 2017 general election.

Early life

Afolami was born and raised in Crowthorne, Berkshire. His father is a Nigerian consultant doctor in the NHS, who came to the UK in his early-twenties. He was educated at Bishopsgate School, Eton College and University College, Oxford where he read Modern History, served as Vice President 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 official Conservative candidate for Lewisham Deptford at the 2015 general election, where he finished in second place with 7,056 votes, and achieved the best result for the Conservative Party since 1992. 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'.

In 2018, Afolami was named one of the Franco-British Council's Young Leaders, a group of 57 from across a diverse range of sectors people who represent the future of the bilateral relations.

In January 2018, it was revealed that Afolami had claimed £2,000 in expenses for subscription to the pro-Brexit European Research Group.

In April 2018, Afolami was also a member of the delegation to Beijing for the tenth Anniversary Leadership Forum, led by Cabinet Minister 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 in light of Brexit.

In May 2018, it was announced that Afolami would be one of 14 new patrons of the Conservative Reform Group, a group of centrist Conservative MPs. Afolami voted "Remain" in the 2016 referendum on EU membership. He has said that as the country is leaving the EU, the UK should be prepared to compete hard to protect the interests of the City of London during Brexit negotiations.

Afolami has also been campaigning for a better deal for commuters across his constituency, following the announcement of huge timetable changes from May 2018 by Govia Thameslink.

In September 2018, Afolami was appointed parliamentary private secretary to the Department for Transport.

In December 2018, Afolami was subjected to a barrage of hostile questions from angry constituents when he announced that he was intending to back Theresa May's Brexit deal. He also said that he was in favour of a Plan B, known as Norway+, should the original deal fail to pass parliament.

Afolami is a member of the Steering Committee of the Constitutional Reform Group,, a group chaired by the Marquess of Salisbury, which is a cross party group working to build a consensus for a new Act of Union for the United Kingdom. He is also Chair of the APPG on Credit Unions and a Commissioner for the Financial Inclusion Commission, a body chaired by Sir Sherard Cowper-Coles (former British ambassador to Egypt, Israel, and Saudi Arabia, now Group Head of Government Affairs at HSBC, which is working to ensure that financial inclusion remains top of the public policy agenda.

References

1. Yousif, Layth (15 May 2017). "Learn more about Hitchin and Harpenden's Conservative candidate Bim Afolami". Herts Advertiser. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
2. 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.
3. "8 things you need to know about your General Election candidates: Lewisham Deptford". News Shopper.
4. "The Franco-British Young Leaders". Franco-British Council. Retrieved 23 May 2018.
5. Asher, JP (12 January 2018). "Revealed: What your MP has claimed back on expenses". Herts Advertiser. Retrieved 31 January 2018.
6. "10th UK-China Leadership Forum". The Great Britain-China Centre. Retrieved 23 May 2018.
7. David Singleton. "Progressive Tory MPs organise against Jacob Rees Mogg et al". Total Politics. Dods Group plc. Retrieved 30 May 2018.
8. Layth Yousif. "'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.
9. Albert Evans (1 May 2018). "'Compete HARD!' Tory MP explains how UK can UPPER HAND on EU using City banking prowess". Express. Retrieved 7 January 2019.
10. Andy Roden. "Harpenden MP urges Thameslink frequency improvements". Rail Magazine. Bauer Consumer Media Ltd. Retrieved 23 May 2018.
11. J P Asher (3 September 2018). "Hitchin and Harpenden MP Bim Afolami given Department for Transport post". HertsAd. Retrieved 7 January 2019.
12. "Harpenden MP faces backlash online and in-person after announcing he would support Brexit deal". Herts Advertiser. 5 December 2018.
13. "Steering Committee". constitutionreformgroup.co.uk.
14. "About the Constitution Reform Group". constitutionreformgroup.co.uk.
15. "All Party Parliamentary Group". www.abcul.org.
16. "Financial Inclusion Commission". www.financialinclusioncommission.org.uk.

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–
• English people of Nigerian descent
• People educated at Eton College
• Alumni of University College, Oxford
• Simpson Thacher & Bartlett