Katie Lam
Katie Lam | |
|---|---|
Official portrait, 2024 | |
| Member of Parliament for Weald of Kent | |
| Assumed office 4 July 2024 | |
| Preceded by | Constituency established |
| Majority | 8,422 (16.6%) |
| Opposition Assistant Whip | |
| Assumed office 18 November 2024 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | August 1991 (age 34) |
| Party | Conservative |
| Education | Guildford County School |
| Alma mater | Trinity College, Cambridge |
Katie Jane Lotte Lam (born August 1991) is a British Conservative politician who has been Member of Parliament for Weald of Kent and Opposition Assistant Whip since 2024.[1][2]
Early life
Lam's paternal grandfather's family is of Dutch Jewish descent and her paternal grandmother's family were from Germany and included a left-wing senator representing Saxony. Her grandmother's family moved as refugees to England to escape political persecution. Most of her grandfather's family was killed in the Holocaust. Her father's parents met while delivering leaflets for the Labour Party in the 1940s.[3]
Lam was educated at her local comprehensive, Guildford County School, where she was head girl.[4] The school did not teach Latin or Greek, so she learned those independently, going on to study classics at Trinity College, Cambridge.[5]
While at Cambridge she was elected president of the Cambridge Union and chairman of the Cambridge University Conservative Association.[6] As president of the Union she was criticised by women's groups for inviting Dominique Strauss-Kahn after he had resigned after being accused of sexual assault.[7] She defended the decision saying "He hasn't been found guilty of anything and it's not up to us to judge him."[8]
Early career
After graduation, Lam worked at Goldman Sachs for six years.
She became a special adviser to Boris Johnson in 2019 after meeting Andrew Griffith at the Conservative Party conference.[4] Working as Johnson's deputy Chief of Staff[6] she became known for her work ethic and regularly slept at her desk during the COVID-19 pandemic.[4] She left the Johnson administration in early 2021 after an incident where Carrie Johnson's dog, Dilyn was about to urinate on Lam's handbag and Lam had to intervene.[9] She joined PR company Portland Communications as chief policy adviser in September 2021[10] and then worked as chief of staff at AI company Faculty.[11]
She then worked on Rishi Sunak's first leadership campaign.[11] She was also a special advisor to Suella Braverman and Alok Sharma.[12][3] Whilst working for Braverman, she had a primary focus on national security, was a Brexit supporter and was known for supporting the UK leaving the European Convention on Human Rights.[5]
Parliamentary career
Lam was selected for the new seat of Weald of Kent in September 2023 ahead of the 2024 election.[6] She gained the seat with 39.8 % of the vote, a majority of 8,422.
In the 2024 Conservative Party leadership election, she supported Robert Jenrick.[3] Kemi Badenoch appointed her as a junior whip in the government.[13] She was later appointed as Home Office shadow minister.[14] According to The Guardian in 2025 she is a "disciple" of Dominic Cummings[15] and a "rising star" in the Conservative Party, tipped as a future leader.[16] At the Margaret Thatcher Conference, held in March 2025, Lam said that the Conservative Party should end its "obsession" with Thatcher, saying that while Thatcher "correctly diagnosed" issues about the state of the world, it does not "help or serve" the party in 2025.[17]
Lam described the grooming gangs scandal as "the greatest stain on this country in the 20th and 21st centuries".[14] In April 2025, she gave a speech in the Commons in which she used graphic language to describe gang rape. The speech was poorly received by other parliamentarians but went viral on social media.[14][18]
In October 2025, in an interview with The Sunday Times, Lam stated that a large number of people legally resident in the UK should have their right to remain revoked and be sent "home". She said this was necessary to create a "mostly but not entirely culturally coherent group of people." The comments were strongly condemned by Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey, who described them as "deeply concerning and unpatriotic" in a letter to the Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch.[19] Badenoch's spokesperson said that Lam's views were "broadly in line" with Conservative policy.[20]
Later, on 30 October, Badenoch clarified that Lam had spoken 'imprecisely' and that it was not, in fact, Conservative Party policy to retrospectively revoke the status of legally settled people. This followed several Conservative MPs privately criticising Lam's remarks and complaining to the party whips. She retained her Shadow Cabinet position despite calls from Liberal Democrats Home Affairs spokesperson Max Wilkinson to dismiss her.[21]
Musical career
In collaboration with Alex Parker, Lam has co-written five musicals, including an adaptation of The Railway Children.[5][22]
References
- ^ "Weald of Kent | General Election 2024". Sky News. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
- ^ "Parliamentary career for Katie Lam". UK Parliament. Retrieved 22 October 2025.
- ^ a b c Balls, Katy (4 April 2025). "The Katie Lam Edition". The Spectator.
- ^ a b c Glancy, Josh (18 October 2025). "Katie Lam: head girl, immigration hardliner — and the Tories' new hope". The Times. Archived from the original on 22 October 2025. Retrieved 20 October 2025.
- ^ a b c Walker, Peter (4 October 2025). "Next Tory leader? Rise of Katie Lam reflects rightward shift on migration". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 October 2025.
- ^ a b c Francis, Paul (5 September 2023). "The former Boris Johnson aide picked for new Weald of Kent seat rated one of country's safest". Kent Online.
- ^ Paton, Graeme (25 February 2012). "Anger over Dominique Strauss-Kahn's invitation to address Cambridge Union". The Daily Telegraph.
- ^ Eden, Richard (15 January 2012). "Dominique Strauss-Kahn books date with British students". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 24 October 2025. Retrieved 24 October 2025.
- ^ Diver, Tony (20 February 2021). "'Someone please shoot that dog!' orders Boris Johnson, after Dilyn chewed priceless books and furniture". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 21 February 2021. Retrieved 24 October 2025.
- ^ Sims, Maja. "Portland Appoints Boris Johnson's Former Deputy Chief Of Staff". PRovoke Media. Retrieved 26 October 2025.
- ^ a b Manancourt, Vincent; Bristow, Tom; Clarke, Laurie; Bambridge, Joseph (26 September 2024). "Tech policy: 20 people to meet at Tory conference". Politico. Retrieved 26 October 2025.
- ^ Atkinson, William (23 August 2023). "Weald of Kent. 'Impressive' Lam selected by an association that wanted a 'first-rate candidate' to 'make the area proud'". Conservative Home. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
- ^ Fraser, Tali; Symonds, Harriet (18 November 2024). "Kemi Badenoch Gives All 26 New Tory MPs Jobs In Opposition". Politics Home. Retrieved 24 October 2025.
- ^ a b c Brown, Mick (25 October 2025). "Katie Lam: 'Talk of me replacing Kemi Badenoch is a distraction'". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 25 October 2025. Retrieved 25 October 2025.
- ^ Boffey, Daniel (24 March 2025). "Dominic Cummings breaks silence after secret dinner with Nigel Farage". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 October 2025.
- ^ Courea, Eleni; Walker, Peter (23 October 2025). "Conservatives complain to whips about fellow MP's comments on legally settled people". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 October 2025.
- ^ Holl-Allen, Genevieve. "Stop Thatcher obsession, Tory whip tells party". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 17 March 2025. Retrieved 25 October 2025.
- ^ Cunliffe, Rachel (16 July 2025). "Katie Lam: "Margaret Thatcher left power before I was born"". New Statesman. Archived from the original on 16 July 2025. Retrieved 26 October 2025.
- ^ Elgot, Jessica (20 October 2025). "Tory MP criticised after demanding legally settled families be deported". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 20 October 2025.
- ^ Walker, Peter (22 October 2025). "Deporting legally settled people is 'broadly in line' with Tory policy, says Badenoch's office". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 October 2025.
- ^ Walker, Peter (30 October 2025). "Tories will not deport legally settled people, Badenoch clarifies". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 31 October 2025.
- ^ "ALL SHOWS". PARKER + LAM. Archived from the original on 10 July 2024. Retrieved 9 August 2024.