He studied at Keele University, receiving a BA (Hons) in Economics, Politics and Modern History in 1967.

He is an Associate of the UK Society of Investment Professionals and a Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Information Technologists.

Before being elected for Esher in 1987, Taylor had fought Coventry South East in February 1974, being beaten by Labour's Bill Wilson.

During this time he dealt with a wide variety of issues, including providing support for the next phase of the Large Hadron Collider at CERN, increasing awareness of the importance of access to the early internet revolution and coordinating Government support for the Roslin Institute which led to the Cloning of Dolly the Sheep and the creation of the Human Genetics Advisory Commission] in February 1997.

[5] See this background interview on his technology policies: https://archivesit.org.uk/interviews/ian-taylor-mbe/ In 2003, he was one of only 15 Conservative MPs who voted against the Iraq War.

He was a Visiting Parliamentary Fellow at St. Antony's College Oxford in the Hilary Term 2007, lecturing on energy security.

[citation needed] In 2008, Taylor gained the (Sir) Arthur C. Clarke Award for Individual Achievement in Promoting Space and Science.

[7] During the 2019 general election campaign, he declared that he had become an Independent Conservative and explained in an open letter why on balance he supported the Liberal Democrat candidate in Esher and Walton.