Timms, Stephen (Creswell) (1955– )

British Labour politician, member of Parliament for Newham North East 1994–97 and for East Ham from 1997, and minister of state for employment and welfare reform from January 2008. He was chief secretary to the Treasury with cabinet rank 2006–07 and minister of state for competitiveness June 2007–January 2008. He has a particular interest in urban regeneration and is a patron of the Christian Socialist Movement.

Timms studied mathematics at Cambridge University and worked for 15 years in the computing and telecommunications industry until his election to the House of Commons in a by-election in June 1994. From 1984 he was also a local government councillor in Newham in east London, leading the council from 1990 to 1994. He was re-elected to Parliament in May 1997 for the new London constituency of East Ham and served as a parliamentary private secretary until his appointment to the Department of Social Security in July 1998 as undersecretary of state and, from January 1999, as minister of state. From 1999 to 2001 he was financial secretary to the Treasury, then became minister of state for school standards at the Department for Education and Skills. Following a subsequent period as minister of state at the Department of Trade and Industry from 2002 to 2004, he was again appointed financial secretary to the Treasury before moving to the Department for Work and Pension with responsibility for pensions reform after the May 2005 general election. In the government reshuffle of May 2006 he was promoted to the Cabinet as chief secretary to the Treasury.