Chris Pincher

Christopher John Pincher (born 24 September 1969) is a British former politician and member of the Conservative Party who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Tamworth from 2010 until his resignation in 2023. Pincher served as Government Deputy Chief Whip, and Treasurer of the Household from 2018 to 2019 and from February to June 2022.

Pincher was first elected as the Conservative MP for Tamworth at the 2010 general election, when he gained the seat from the Labour Party. He first contested the seat in 2005. He served as a parliamentary private secretary to Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond from 2015 to 2016.

Pincher served as an assistant whip and Comptroller of the Household in 2017, before he resigned after being implicated in the 2017 Westminster sexual misconduct allegations, having been accused of sexual misconduct by Tom Blenkinsop and Alex Story. Two months later, in January 2018, he was appointed by Theresa May as Government Deputy Chief Whip and Treasurer of the Household. After Boris Johnson became prime minister in July 2019, Pincher was appointed Minister of State for Europe and the Americas. In the February 2020 cabinet reshuffle, he was appointed Minister of State for Housing. In February 2022, he returned to his former role of Government Deputy Chief Whip and Treasurer of the Household.

After allegedly groping two men while he was drunk, Pincher resigned as Deputy Chief Whip on 30 June 2022, and had the Conservative whip removed. This triggered a scandal over his appointment to the role, as Johnson knew about the allegations but did not dismiss him, leading to a government crisis that ultimately resulted in Johnson's resignation. Pincher continued to sit as an MP for another year, but did not make any further contributions in the House of Commons.

Pincher announced in April 2023 that he would stand down at the next UK general election. In its investigation of his conduct, the Commons Select Committee on Standards censured Pincher in a report published on 6 July 2023, labelling his actions profoundly damaging both to the reputation of Parliament and his victims, and an abuse of power. The committee recommended Pincher be suspended from Parliament for eight weeks. On 7 September 2023, he announced his imminent resignation as an MP, which triggered the 2023 Tamworth by-election.