Bim Afolami

Bim Afolami MP 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 Crowthorne, Berkshire, England
Nationality	British
Political party	Conservative
Spouse(s)	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.^[1]

Before he became an MP, he worked as a corporate lawyer at Freshfields and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett and then at HSBC.^[2]

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'.^[3]

In October 2017, Afolami announced on Twitter that he had heard from an unnamed source that "certain members" of the local Constituency Labour Party (CLP) in his Hitchin and Harpenden constituency were trying to find out where he was living and where his children attended school (though they were too young to attend). Afolami told the BBC this was an "unacceptable way to conduct politics" and claimed it constituted attempted harassment of his family.^[4] He said he had informed the police and parliamentary authorities,^[5] and later identified his source as a concerned member of the local CLP.^[6]

After exchanging emails with Hitchin Labour Party chairman John Hayes, Afolami tweeted that he was prepared to "draw a line" under the incident, adding that Hayes had confirmed internal Labour discussions about "getting the detail (for political purposes) as to my address and where my children go to school".^[6] Hayes called this a gross misrepresentation of what he had told Afolami and denied that Labour members had sought to harass the MP's family. He told the Comet newspaper that members had raised questions about the new MP's living arrangements to ascertain whether he was a resident of the constituency—which he had not been during the general election campaign—and whether he would use the local schools or educate his children privately, but "that was it".^[6] Hayes said that if someone interpreted that as "some scientific campaign to find out about that, then that’s an absolute nonsense".^[6] Afolami firmly stood by his claim.^[6]

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.^[7]

In January 2018, it was revealed that Afolami had claimed £2,000 in expenses for subscription to the pro-Brexit European Research Group.^[8]

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.^[9]

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.^[10] Afolami voted "Remain" in the 2016 referendum on EU membership,^[11] but 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.^[12]

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.^[13] However, since accepting a PPS role to Chris Grayling, efforts have been noticeably reduced and train service issues continue for commuters in Hitchin and Harpenden.

References

External links

• Profile at Parliament of the United Kingdom
• Contributions in Parliament at Hansard 2010–present
• Voting record at Public Whip
• Record in Parliament at TheyWorkForYou