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The Rt Hon Stephen Timms
Minister of State Competitiveness
In office 28 June 2007 – present
Prime Minister	Gordon Brown
Preceded by	Malcolm Wicks
Succeeded by	Incumbent
Chief Secretary to the Treasury
In office 5 May 2006 – 28 June 2007
Prime Minister	Tony Blair
Preceded by	Des Browne
Succeeded by	Andy Burnham
Financial Secretary to the Treasury
In office 12 September 2004 – 6 May 2005
Preceded by	Ruth Kelly
Succeeded by	John Healey
In office 29 July 1999 – 8 June 2001
Preceded by	Barbara Roche
Succeeded by	Paul Boateng
Member of Parliament for East Ham
In office 2 May 1997 – present
Preceded by	New Constituency
Succeeded by	Incumbent
Majority	13,155 (33.2%)
Member of Parliament for Newham North East
In office 9 June 1994 – 2 May 1997
Preceded by	Ron Leighton
Succeeded by	Constituency Abolished
Born	July 29, 1955 (1955-07-29) (age 52) Oldham, Lancashire, UK
Political party	Labour

Stephen Creswell Timms (born 29 July 1955, Oldham, Lancashire) is a politician in the United Kingdom and is currently Minister of State for Competitiveness at the newly created Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform. He is Labour Party member of Parliament for East Ham, and was first elected in a by-election in 1994. He is also Vice Chair of the Labour Party with responsibility for Faith Groups.

Contents 1 Early Life 2 Member of Parliament 2.1 In government 3 Personal Life 4 References 5 See also 6 External links

Timms was educated at Farnborough Grammar School and read mathematics at Emmanuel College, Cambridge. Before entering politics, Timms worked in the telecommunications industry for 15 years, first for Logica and then for Ovum, where he was the manager responsible for producing reports on the future of telecommunications. He was married in 1986, and has lived in the East London Borough of Newham since 1979.

Timms was elected as a councillor on Newham Council in a by-election in 1984 and served as Leader of the Council from 1990 to 1994.

In 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 1997 he was elected MP for the resulting new constituency of East Ham.

He served as Parliamentary Private Secretary to Andrew Smith from May 1997 to March 1998, and to Mo Mowlam 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 went on to serve as 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 has twice served as Financial Secretary to the Treasury, from 1999 to 2001 and September 2004 to May 2005.

In May 2006 he was promoted to the Cabinet as Chief Secretary to the Treasury, serving until June 28 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.

His portfolio at the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform is: ^[1]

• Enterprise, growth & business investment
• Strengthening regional economies
• Small business service including business support simplification
• Business sectors including: E-commerce; Communications and Information Industries; Creative Industries; Retail; Bioscience; Pharmaceuticals; Chemicals; Construction; Automotive; Manufacturing; Steel
• British Shipbuilders (health claims)
• Corporate governance
• Companies Act implementation
• Companies House
• Corporate Social Responsibility
• Shareholder Executive general oversight with specific responsibility for the Industrial Development Unit

He describes himself as a "Christian Socialist".

1. ^ Ministerial Portfolios at a Glance. Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform. Retrieved on 2007-07-11.

• Cabinet of the United Kingdom

• Stephen Timms MP official site
• Department for Work and Pensions - Stephen Timms official profile
• Guardian Unlimited Politics - Ask Aristotle: Stephen Timms MP
• TheyWorkForYou.com - Stephen Timms MP
• Newham Labour Party Website

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Ron Leighton	Member of Parliament for Newham North East 1994–1997	Succeeded by constituency abolished
Preceded by new constituency	Member of Parliament for East Ham 1997 – present	Incumbent
Political offices
Preceded by Barbara Roche	Financial Secretary to the Treasury 1999–2001	Succeeded by Paul Boateng
Preceded by Douglas Alexander	Minister of State for E-Commerce and Competitiveness 2002–2003	Succeeded by Post Upgraded
Preceded by New Post	Minister of State for Energy, E-Commerce and Postal Services 2003–2004	Succeeded by Mike O'Brien Minister of State for E-commerce, Energy & Competitiveness
Preceded by Ruth Kelly	Financial Secretary to the Treasury 2004–2005	Succeeded by John Healey
Preceded by Malcolm Wicks	Minister of State for Pensions Reform 2005–2006	Succeeded by James Purnell
Preceded by Des Browne	Chief Secretary to the Treasury 2006–2007	Succeeded by Andy Burnham
Preceded by Office Created	Minister of State for Competitiveness 2007 – present	Incumbent