Christopher Ian Brian Mynott Philp[1] (born 6 July 1976) is a British politician who has served as Shadow Home Secretary since November 2024.

In September 2019, he was appointed by Prime Minister Boris Johnson as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Ministry of Justice and in February 2020 at the Home Office.

In October 2022, when Kwasi Kwarteng was dismissed as Chancellor as a result of his "mini-budget", Philp was demoted to Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General.

[7][8] Christopher Philp was born in West Wickham, London, and attended St Olave's Grammar School in Orpington, Bromley,[9] before studying physics at University College, Oxford, graduating in 1997.

In October 2015, he argued for one to open a satellite in his constituency to circumvent a ban in England on new selective schools and the borough council's own non-selective policy.

[30] He also proposed a Private Member's Bill to ban "unreasonable" and "damaging" strikes on essential services, including trains.

[35] Philp was made PPS to Sajid Javid then Secretary of State for the Ministry Housing, Communities and Local Government on 22 January 2018.

[43] Philp was appointed by Liz Truss as Chief Secretary to the Treasury and made a member of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom.

[44] Shortly after Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng announced the government's 'mini-budget' on 23 September, Chris Philp as his Treasury deputy, posted a tweet that prematurely celebrated the rise in the pound against the dollar, which read: "Great to see sterling strengthening on the back of the new UK Growth Plan."

[45][46][47][48] Speaking at the Conservative party conference in early October, Philp defended the mini-budget giving it "9.5 out of 10" and rejected analyses which showed it disproportionally benefited high earners, despite him acknowledging that it did to the media only days before.

[50] Philp was demoted to Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General, the two positions that his successor Edward Argar had previously held.

[52][53] In 2024, Philp opposed the construction of a small block of flats on the plot of one family home in Purley, siding with a local residents association.

Philp argued, "New homes are needed but the right place for new flats is Croydon town centre, central London and brownfield sites."

[56] On an episode of Question Time, broadcast on 25 April 2024, Philp discussed the government's new policy on sending migrants to Rwanda.

When questioned by an audience member, Philp appeared to confuse Rwanda with the Democratic Republic of the Congo and seemed unsure as to whether they were separate countries.