Chris was born in Walsall and grew up in Wombourne near Wolverhampton. He lives in within his constituency in Shenstone.
A Midlander through and through, Chris was first elected as the Conservative Member of Parliament for Tamworth in May 2010, and was re-elected in December 2019 with a majority of 19,364.
In 2011, Chris was a member of the Armed Forces Bill Committee, and between 2010 and 2015, he was a member of the Energy and Climate Change Committee. Following the 2015 General Election, he was appointed as the Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Foreign Secretary.
From 17 July to 15 June 2016 he was transferred to the Whips Office becoming Assistant Whip then climbing to Comptroller of HM Household from June 2017. In January 2018 Chris became Deputy Chief Whip Treasurer of HM Household ensuring Government legislation passed, despite the slim majority in Parliament. He was invited to join the Privvy Council in 2018.
On July 25, 2019 he was appointed Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office for Europe and the Americas. This means Chris looked after affairs with Europe, the European Union, NATO and the OCSE. He played a key role in the Brexit process. Chris also had responsibility for policy towards the Americas including Cuba. Diplomacy, migration, security and defence, technology, prosperity and the United Kingdom's work with the British Overseas Territories.
Normally loyal to Government, Chris will stand up when he thinks it is right, he did not back the extension of Article 50 (to block Brexit), he voted against daylight savings time being implemented. He also campaigned against HS2 as he felt the business case was flawed.
On Jan 13, 2020 Chris was appointed as Minister of State at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. His focus is on housing and delivering the Government's commitment to build the housing that people need and reforming the planning system.
On 8 Feb 2022, during the mini-reshuffle, Chris was moved back to his role as Deputy Chief Whip Treasurer of HM Household ensuring Conservative Government can deliver on their manifesto and help the United Kingdom bounce back post pandemic.
In July 2022 Chris became an independent MP whilst an investigation took place.
Personal Life:
After reading history at the London School of Economics, Chris joined a major IT management consultancy firm where he worked for 18 years (Andersen/Accenture). His work for the firm educated him on a wide variety of industries from retail to financial services, including time working in Saudi Arabia and in France.
A Conservative Party member since 1987, he has campaigned hard for the Britain he believes in. He believes strongly in local communities where people look after one another, support their local schools and hospitals, respect common traditions and stand together against the threat of crime and anti-social behaviour. He supported the leave campaign and voted to exit the EU.
In his limited spare time outside of his work in politics, he is a member of Tamworth's Hodge Lane Nature Reserve, the Peel Society and a Patron of the Canwell Show. He enjoys playing golf, watching horse racing and grand prix, and reading. His favourite authors include Evelyn Waugh, Arnold Bennett, R L Stevenson, John Buchan and Simon Raven. In London he is a member of the Traveller's Club and enjoys travel abroad when time and finances allow.
When he gets the chance he does a 'wine' column in the Critic Magazine