Mims Davies

Miriam Jane Alice Davies (born 2 June 1975), known as Mims Davies, is a British politician who has served as a Member of Parliament since 2015, for three successive constituencies. A member of the Conservative Party, she has served as Shadow Minister for Women and Equalities since July 2024. She previously served in various ministerial positions between 2018 and 2024.

Davies was first elected as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Eastleigh in May 2015. She was the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Sport, Civil Society and Loneliness in Theresa May's government from 2018 to 2019. After Boris Johnson became Prime Minister in July 2019, Davies was appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Employment at the Department for Work and Pensions. She was elected in the 2019 election as the MP for Mid Sussex. She resigned as Employment Minister in July 2022, after losing confidence in Johnson's leadership. Davies was re-elected to Parliament in 2024 after standing in the newly established East Grinstead and Uckfield constituency.

Early life and career
Miriam Davies was educated at the fee-paying Royal Russell School in Croydon, London, and the state-sector Collyers Sixth Form College in Horsham, West Sussex. She then studied Politics and International Relations at Swansea University, being the first in her family to enter higher education.

After graduation, she worked primarily as a local radio presenter, reporter and producer. She later worked as a road safety communications officer with the Automobile Association, the police force, and Sussex Safer Roads Partnership.

Political career
Davies served as a Conservative Party town councillor for Haywards Heath Town Council and as a District councillor on Mid Sussex District Council for the Haywards Heath Lucastes ward from 2011 to 2015. Her political involvement began when she was co-opted onto Hurstpierpoint and Sayers Common Parish Council.

At the 2015 general election, Davies was elected as MP for Eastleigh with 42.3% of the vote and a majority of 9,147.

She campaigned for the UK to leave the European Union during the 2016 referendum.

Davies was re-elected as MP for Eastleigh at the snap 2017 general election with an increased vote share of 50.4% and an increased majority of 14,179.

Davies was appointed an Assistant Government Whip on 9 January 2018, and subsequently to the role of Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales on 26 July 2018.

In the House of Commons she sat on the Commons Reference Group on Representation and Inclusion and previously sat on the Consolidation Bills (Joint Committee) and Women and Equalities Committee. On 23 October 2018, Davies resigned from a committee chaired by Commons Speaker John Bercow, citing lack of confidence in Bercow's ability to tackle bullying and sexual harassment problems in Parliament.

On 5 November 2018, Davies was appointed Minister for Sport and Civil Society at the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, after the resignation of Tracey Crouch over a delay to the introduction of reduced limits on the stakes of fixed-odds betting terminals.

In February 2019, in her role as Sports Minister, she called for an urgent summit with football leaders in order to address issues relating to abuse in the sport. She suggested there should be a zero tolerance approach to problems concerning racist, homophobic and antisemitic chanting.

In May 2019, she attended the "End the cage age" event campaigning against caged birds. This event was organised by Compassion in World Farming. Davies stated that she was against caged laying hens.

In July 2019, new Prime Minister Boris Johnson appointed Davies to the position of Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Employment at the Department for Work and Pensions.

Davies announced on 30 October 2019 that she would be standing down as MP for Eastleigh in order to spend more time with her children; she later announced she was to be on the shortlist for Mid Sussex. On 9 November, she was selected to stand for the seat. At the 2019 general election, she was elected as MP for Mid Sussex with 53.3% of the vote and a majority of 18,197.

On 6 July 2022 she resigned from her position as Parliamentary Under-Secretary at the Department for Work and Pensions, having lost confidence in Boris Johnson as a result of the Chris Pincher scandal.

Davies stood as the Conservative candidate for East Grinstead and Uckfield at the 2024 election as a result of boundary changes to her previous constituency of Mid Sussex.

On 8 July 2024, Davies was appointed as Shadow Minister for Women and Equalities for Rishi Sunak's shadow cabinet.

Personal life
She was a carer to her two elderly parents before becoming an MP, which she has said "informed a significant portion of her parliamentary work". She is a keen runner and has completed several long-distance races, including the 2017 London Marathon.