Stephen Timms
Encyclopedia
Stephen Creswell Timms is a British
Labour
politician
, who has been the Member of Parliament
for East Ham
since 1994. He is a former Cabinet Minister having served as Chief Secretary to the Treasury
from 2006 to 2007. He is also the Vice-Chair of the Labour Party
, and vice chairman for faith groups.
Timms was the Financial Secretary to the Treasury
1999-2001, 2004-2005, and 2008-2010. Since 11 May 2010, he has been the Shadow Financial Secretary to the Treasury
. Timms has the largest majority of any sitting MP (27,826), with 70.4% of the local vote.
On 14 May 2010 he survived an assassination attempt by a radical Islamist constituent, Roshonara Choudhry
.
, Lancashire
, to Ronald James Timms, an engineer, and Margaret Joyce Timms, a teacher. He was educated at Farnborough Grammar School
in Farnborough, Hampshire
, and read Mathematics at Emmanuel College, Cambridge
where he gained an MA in Mathematics in 1977 and an MPhil
in Operational Research in 1978.
Before entering politics, Timms worked in the telecommunications industry for 15 years, first for Logica from 1978–86 and then for Ovum
from 1986–94, where he was the manager responsible for producing reports on the future of telecommunications. Timms was elected as a councillor for the Little Ilford
Ward on Newham London Borough Council
in a by-election
in 1984, and served as Leader of the Council from 1990 to 1994.
.
from March to July 1998.
In 1998 Timms was appointed Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department of Social Security, rising to Minister of State in that department the following year. He served as Minister of State for E-Commerce and Competitiveness and Minister of State for Energy, E-Commerce and Postal Services at the Department of Trade and Industry; Minister of State for School Standards at the Department for Education and Skills; Minister of State for Pensions at the Department for Work and Pensions
; and served as Financial Secretary to the Treasury
, from 1999 to 2001, September 2004 to May 2005 and October 2008 to May 2010.
as Chief Secretary to the Treasury
, effectively the Chancellor's second-in-command with responsibility for department budget issues, a post in which he remained until 28 June 2007, when he was dropped from the cabinet by new Prime Minister
Gordon Brown
. It was later announced that he had been appointed Minister of State for Competitiveness
at the newly created Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform
.
, Timms moved to the Department for Work and Pensions
to become Minister for Employment and Welfare Reform.
replaced him there on 3 October 2008, and Timms returned to his former role as Financial Secretary to the Treasury.
In August 2009, he was given additional responsibility for Digital Britain
. In September 2009, he announced plans for a tax of £6 per year to be levied on each phone account in the UK. At the time, this was broadly characterised as a stealth tax
in the UK media. In April 2010, Timms' department made an embarrassing slip when a letter purporting to be from him mistakenly identified IP address
as "intellectual property
address". According to the accountants' magazine Accountancy Age
, he was highly regarded by finance professionals despite such gaffes.
, during his constituency surgery
at the Beckton Globe Library in Kingsford Way, Beckton
, East London. She stabbed him twice in his abdomen with a 6 inches (152.4 mm) kitchen knife, before being disarmed. She stated that she had been influenced by watching sermons of Anwar al-Awlaki
, a leader of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula
, and that her attack was to punish Timms for voting for the Iraq War, and seek revenge for the Iraqi people.
Timms suffered "potentially life-threatening" wounds–lacerations to his liver
and a perforation to his stomach–and a senior police officer said he "was extremely fortunate not to have been killed". He underwent emergency surgery at the Royal London Hospital
, from which he was discharged on 19 May.
On 2 November, Choudhry was found guilty of Timms' attempted murder
. She was subsequently given a life sentence, with a recommendation that she serve a minimum jail term of 15 years. After the court case, Timms said he was not bitter, but that forgiveness was not an issue until his attacker showed remorse. He was seeking the banning of incendiary material on popular Internet sites "to protect other vulnerable young people from going down the same road." YouTube
removed some videos of al-Awlaki within hours of the sentence.
". He has lived in the East London Borough of Newham
since 1979. He married Hui-Leng Lim in the borough in 1986.
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British people
The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...
Labour
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
politician
Politics of the United Kingdom
The politics of the United Kingdom takes place within the framework of a constitutional monarchy, in which the Monarch is the head of state and the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government...
, who has been the Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for East Ham
East Ham (UK Parliament constituency)
East Ham is a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, in the London Borough of Newham...
since 1994. He is a former Cabinet Minister having served as Chief Secretary to the Treasury
Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The Chief Secretary to the Treasury is the third most senior ministerial position in HM Treasury, after the Prime Minister and the Chancellor of the Exchequer . In recent years, the office holder has usually been given a junior position in the British Cabinet...
from 2006 to 2007. He is also the Vice-Chair of the Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
, and vice chairman for faith groups.
Timms was the Financial Secretary to the Treasury
Financial Secretary to the Treasury
Financial Secretary to the Treasury is a junior Ministerial post in the British Treasury. It is the 4th most significant Ministerial role within the Treasury after the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, and the Paymaster General...
1999-2001, 2004-2005, and 2008-2010. Since 11 May 2010, he has been the Shadow Financial Secretary to the Treasury
Financial Secretary to the Treasury
Financial Secretary to the Treasury is a junior Ministerial post in the British Treasury. It is the 4th most significant Ministerial role within the Treasury after the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, and the Paymaster General...
. Timms has the largest majority of any sitting MP (27,826), with 70.4% of the local vote.
On 14 May 2010 he survived an assassination attempt by a radical Islamist constituent, Roshonara Choudhry
Roshonara Choudhry
Roshonara Choudhry stabbed British MP Stephen Timms on 14 May 2010 in an attempt to kill him.- Attack :On 14 May 2010, Timms was approached by 21-year-old Roshonara Choudhry, during his constituency surgery at the Beckton Globe Library in Kingsford Way, Beckton, East London...
.
Early life
Timms was born in OldhamOldham
Oldham is a large town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies amid the Pennines on elevated ground between the rivers Irk and Medlock, south-southeast of Rochdale, and northeast of the city of Manchester...
, Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
, to Ronald James Timms, an engineer, and Margaret Joyce Timms, a teacher. He was educated at Farnborough Grammar School
The Sixth Form College, Farnborough
The Sixth Form College, Farnborough is a sixth form college situated in Farnborough, Hampshire.-Admissions:It is also known as Farnborough Sixth Form College, or 'Farnborough Sixth' among the local population to differentiate it from Farnborough College of Technology, a further education college...
in Farnborough, Hampshire
Farnborough, Hampshire
-History:Name changes: Ferneberga ; Farnburghe, Farenberg ; Farnborowe, Fremborough, Fameborough .Tower Hill, Cove: There is substantial evidence...
, and read Mathematics at Emmanuel College, Cambridge
Emmanuel College, Cambridge
Emmanuel College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge.The college was founded in 1584 by Sir Walter Mildmay on the site of a Dominican friary...
where he gained an MA in Mathematics in 1977 and an MPhil
Master of Philosophy
The Master of Philosophy is a postgraduate research degree.An M.Phil. is a lesser degree than a Doctor of Philosophy , but in many cases it is considered to be a more senior degree than a taught Master's degree, as it is often a thesis-only degree. In some instances, an M.Phil...
in Operational Research in 1978.
Before entering politics, Timms worked in the telecommunications industry for 15 years, first for Logica from 1978–86 and then for Ovum
Ovum Ltd.
Ovum Ltd. is an independent analyst and consultancy firm headquartered in London, specializing in global coverage of IT, and telecommunications industries. It began operations in 1985 and by 2005 claimed to be the largest technology analyst firm that was headquartered outside of the United States...
from 1986–94, where he was the manager responsible for producing reports on the future of telecommunications. Timms was elected as a councillor for the Little Ilford
Little Ilford
Little Ilford is a district of London, England in the London Borough of Newham and the name of a ward in that borough.-Locale:It is located near to Ilford in the London Borough of Redbridge...
Ward on Newham London Borough Council
Newham London Borough Council
Newham London Borough Council is the local authority for the London Borough of Newham in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in the United Kingdom capital of London. The council is unusual in that its executive function is controlled by a directly elected mayor of...
in a by-election
By-election
A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....
in 1984, and served as Leader of the Council from 1990 to 1994.
Member of Parliament
In June 1994 he was elected to Parliament as MP for Newham North East. For the next election, his constituency was merged with part of Newham South, and in May 1997 he was elected MP for the resulting new constituency of East HamEast Ham (UK Parliament constituency)
East Ham is a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, in the London Borough of Newham...
.
In government
He served as Parliamentary Private Secretary to Andrew Smith from May 1997 to March 1998, and to Mo MowlamMo Mowlam
Marjorie "Mo" Mowlam was a British Labour Party politician. She was the Member of Parliament for Redcar from 1987 to 2001 and served in the Cabinet as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Minister for the Cabinet Office and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster.Mowlam's time as Northern...
from March to July 1998.
In 1998 Timms was appointed Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department of Social Security, rising to Minister of State in that department the following year. He served as Minister of State for E-Commerce and Competitiveness and Minister of State for Energy, E-Commerce and Postal Services at the Department of Trade and Industry; Minister of State for School Standards at the Department for Education and Skills; Minister of State for Pensions at the Department for Work and Pensions
Department for Work and Pensions
The Department for Work and Pensions is the largest government department in the United Kingdom, created on June 8, 2001 from the merger of the employment part of the Department for Education and Employment and the Department of Social Security and headed by the Secretary of State for Work and...
; and served as Financial Secretary to the Treasury
Financial Secretary to the Treasury
Financial Secretary to the Treasury is a junior Ministerial post in the British Treasury. It is the 4th most significant Ministerial role within the Treasury after the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, and the Paymaster General...
, from 1999 to 2001, September 2004 to May 2005 and October 2008 to May 2010.
Chief Secretary to the Treasury; Minister of State for Competitiveness
In May 2006 he was promoted to the CabinetCabinet of the United Kingdom
The Cabinet of the United Kingdom is the collective decision-making body of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom, composed of the Prime Minister and some 22 Cabinet Ministers, the most senior of the government ministers....
as Chief Secretary to the Treasury
Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The Chief Secretary to the Treasury is the third most senior ministerial position in HM Treasury, after the Prime Minister and the Chancellor of the Exchequer . In recent years, the office holder has usually been given a junior position in the British Cabinet...
, effectively the Chancellor's second-in-command with responsibility for department budget issues, a post in which he remained until 28 June 2007, when he was dropped from the cabinet by new Prime Minister
Prime minister
A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...
Gordon Brown
Gordon Brown
James Gordon Brown is a British Labour Party politician who was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 until 2010. He previously served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Labour Government from 1997 to 2007...
. It was later announced that he had been appointed Minister of State for Competitiveness
Minister of State for Competitiveness
The Minister of State for Competitiveness is an office of the United Kingdom Government, held by an elected Member of Parliament and appointed by the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom ....
at the newly created Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform
Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform
The Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform was a United Kingdom government department. The department was created on 28 June 2007 on the disbanding of the Department of Trade and Industry , and was itself disbanded on 6 June 2009 on the creation of the Department for Business,...
.
Minister for Employment and Welfare Reform
Following the government reshuffle on 24 January 2008 as a result of the resignation of Peter HainPeter Hain
Peter Gerald Hain is a British Labour Party politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for the Welsh constituency of Neath since 1991, and has served in the Cabinets of both Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, firstly as Leader of the House of Commons under Blair and both Secretary of State for...
, Timms moved to the Department for Work and Pensions
Department for Work and Pensions
The Department for Work and Pensions is the largest government department in the United Kingdom, created on June 8, 2001 from the merger of the employment part of the Department for Education and Employment and the Department of Social Security and headed by the Secretary of State for Work and...
to become Minister for Employment and Welfare Reform.
Financial Secretary to the Treasury
Tony McNultyTony McNulty
Anthony "Tony" James McNulty is a former British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament for Harrow East from 1997 to 2010 and was a government minister from 2002 to 2009. He was Minister for London and Minister of State for Employment and Welfare Reform at the Department for...
replaced him there on 3 October 2008, and Timms returned to his former role as Financial Secretary to the Treasury.
In August 2009, he was given additional responsibility for Digital Britain
Digital Britain
The Digital Britain report was a policy document published in 2009, which outlined the United Kingdom Government's strategic vision for ensuring that the country is at the leading edge of the global digital economy....
. In September 2009, he announced plans for a tax of £6 per year to be levied on each phone account in the UK. At the time, this was broadly characterised as a stealth tax
Stealth tax
A stealth tax is a tax levied in such a way that is largely unnoticed, or not recognized as a tax,. The phrase was generally used in the United Kingdom by Conservatives to attack the New Labour government's behaviour...
in the UK media. In April 2010, Timms' department made an embarrassing slip when a letter purporting to be from him mistakenly identified IP address
IP address
An Internet Protocol address is a numerical label assigned to each device participating in a computer network that uses the Internet Protocol for communication. An IP address serves two principal functions: host or network interface identification and location addressing...
as "intellectual property
Intellectual property
Intellectual property is a term referring to a number of distinct types of creations of the mind for which a set of exclusive rights are recognized—and the corresponding fields of law...
address". According to the accountants' magazine Accountancy Age
Accountancy Age
Accountancy Age is a trade magazine for accountants and financial staff in the United Kingdom. After running from 1969 to 2011 with a circulation of over 60,000 in print, it changed with effect from May 2011 to an online-only publication.-History:...
, he was highly regarded by finance professionals despite such gaffes.
Attempted assassination
On 14 May 2010, Timms was approached by 21-year-old Roshonara ChoudhryRoshonara Choudhry
Roshonara Choudhry stabbed British MP Stephen Timms on 14 May 2010 in an attempt to kill him.- Attack :On 14 May 2010, Timms was approached by 21-year-old Roshonara Choudhry, during his constituency surgery at the Beckton Globe Library in Kingsford Way, Beckton, East London...
, during his constituency surgery
Surgery (politics)
A political surgery or clinic is a term used to describe a series of one-to-one meetings. A Member of Parliament may have with his or her constituents, at which a constituent may raise issues of local concern...
at the Beckton Globe Library in Kingsford Way, Beckton
Beckton
Beckton is part of the London Borough of Newham, England, located east of Charing Cross.Its boundaries are the A13 trunk road to the north, Barking Creek to the east, the Royal Docks to the south, and Prince Regent Lane to the west. The area around Prince Regent Lane is also known as Custom House...
, East London. She stabbed him twice in his abdomen with a 6 inches (152.4 mm) kitchen knife, before being disarmed. She stated that she had been influenced by watching sermons of Anwar al-Awlaki
Anwar al-Awlaki
Anwar al-Awlaki was an American and Yemeni imam who was an engineer and educator by training. According to U.S. government officials, he was a senior talent recruiter and motivator who was involved with planning operations for the Islamist militant group al-Qaeda...
, a leader of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula
Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula
Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula is a militant Islamist organization, primarily active in Yemen and Saudi Arabia. It was named for al-Qaeda, and says it is subordinate to that group and its now-deceased leader Osama bin Laden, a Saudi citizen whose father was born in Yemen...
, and that her attack was to punish Timms for voting for the Iraq War, and seek revenge for the Iraqi people.
Timms suffered "potentially life-threatening" wounds–lacerations to his liver
Liver
The liver is a vital organ present in vertebrates and some other animals. It has a wide range of functions, including detoxification, protein synthesis, and production of biochemicals necessary for digestion...
and a perforation to his stomach–and a senior police officer said he "was extremely fortunate not to have been killed". He underwent emergency surgery at the Royal London Hospital
Royal London Hospital
The Royal London Hospital was founded in September 1740 and was originally named The London Infirmary. The name changed to The London Hospital in 1748 and then to The Royal London Hospital on its 250th anniversary in 1990. The first patients were treated at a house in Featherstone Street,...
, from which he was discharged on 19 May.
On 2 November, Choudhry was found guilty of Timms' attempted murder
Attempted murder
Attempted murder is a crime in England and Wales and Northern Ireland.-Today:In English criminal law, attempted murder is the crime of more than merely preparing to commit unlawful killing and at the same time having a specific intention to cause the death of human being under the Queen's Peace...
. She was subsequently given a life sentence, with a recommendation that she serve a minimum jail term of 15 years. After the court case, Timms said he was not bitter, but that forgiveness was not an issue until his attacker showed remorse. He was seeking the banning of incendiary material on popular Internet sites "to protect other vulnerable young people from going down the same road." YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
removed some videos of al-Awlaki within hours of the sentence.
Personal life
Timms describes himself as a "Christian SocialistChristian socialism
Christian socialism generally refers to those on the Christian left whose politics are both Christian and socialist and who see these two philosophies as being interrelated. This category can include Liberation theology and the doctrine of the social gospel...
". He has lived in the East London Borough of Newham
London Borough of Newham
The London Borough of Newham is a London borough formed from the towns of West Ham and East Ham, within East London.It is situated east of the City of London, and is north of the River Thames. According to 2006 estimates, Newham has one of the highest ethnic minority populations of all the...
since 1979. He married Hui-Leng Lim in the borough in 1986.
External links
- Stephen Timms MP official constituency website
- Newham Labour Party
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