Robin Walker

Background

About Robin Walker

After 14 years as MP for Worcester from 2010 to 2024, I have returned to the world of strategic communications and joined Cardew Group to lead their work in Education and in Mining and Metals. Prior to politics I had a successful career in financial communications where I rose to become a partner of Finsbury Ltd. As an MP I was as elected to the Select Committee for Business, Innovation and Skills in 2012. I helped to lead the cross party f40 campaign for fairer funding overa number of years. This campaign secured £390 million for schools in the lowest funded parts of the country of which £6.7m came to Worcestershire. In later years I helped secure £46 million in funding for regeneration and development in the city, upgrades to our hospital and a medical school. I also secured funding for key local transport projects such as Worcestershire Parkway Station and the dualling of the Southern Link Road. I backed cross party campaigns including the APPG for regeneration through innovation, the campaign for financial education for young people, & for Apprenticeships. In 2014 I became Chair of the APPG for credit unions and was named CAB Parliamentarian of the Year for a successful campaign to cap payday loans and make high cost credit providers contribute to financial advice. In the 2016 referendum, I campaigned for remain on pragmatic grounds but always made clear I would respect whatever voters decided. When the result came in and both my constituency and the country had voted to leave I determined to work as hard as I could to deliver this result with a deal. Having previously served as PPS in three Departments, Northern Ireland, DEFRA and Education, in 2016 joined the Government as Minister in the new Department for Exiting the European Union. After 3 years, serving longer than any other Minister and helping to secure the withdrawal agreement and transition period, I moved to the Scotland office and the Northern Ireland Office. Following the 2019 election in which I secured my highest majority and share of the vote, I returned the NIO helping to support the work of the Secretary of State in securing the New Decade New Approach deal which restored devolved Government & in February 2020 I was promoted to Minister of State. My last Ministerial post was as Minister for Schools where I helped to write a white paper, supported the return to school after the pandemic and delivered a record funding settlement for schools. I resigned from Government in July 2022 and was elected chair of the Education Committee by cross party colleagues later that year.