Tim Yeo

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Timothy Stephen Kenneth Yeo (born March 20, 1945) is a British Conservative politician, Member of Parliament for South Suffolk. He is also a paid director of Univent PLC and Genus PLC, and writes articles for Golf Weekly and Country Life magazines, and occasionally the Financial Times.

He has been MP for South Suffolk since 1983, and became PPS to Douglas Hurd in 1988. In 1992, he became Minister for the Environment and Countyside in John Major's government, but was forced to resign after a scandal involving his so-called 'love child' with a Tory councillor, Julia Stent, who was born on 8th July 1993 — which was seen to conflict with the Government's emphasis on 'Back to Basics', and family values. The story broke on Boxing Day and during a quiet news period, intense coverage was given to the scandal. Yeo resigned on 5 January 1994. In 1990 Yeo had told Relate that "It is in everyone's interest to reduce the amount of single parent families. I have seen in my own constituency the consequences of marital breakdown".

After the Conservative landslide defeat in the 1997 General Election, the new leader William Hague appointed him spokesman on Environment, Transport and the Regions. He was a member of the shadow cabinet under Iain Duncan Smith as shadow Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, and in 2003 was made Michael Howard's shadow Education and Health Secretary, holding two jobs with responsibility for both schools and hospitals. In 2004, he was moved to Environment and Transport. During this period, his Chief of Staff was Nick Hurd, who is Douglas Hurd's son and since the 2005 general election is the MP for Ruislip-Northwood.

He resigned from the shadow cabinet shortly after the 2005 general election saying he wished to be free to play a role in rethinking the Conservative party's future. On 27 August Yeo ruled himself out of the leadership contest following Michael Howard's resignation as party leader, announcing his backing for former Chancellor of the Exchequer Ken Clarke (though the contest was eventually won by the Shadow Secretary of State for Education and Skills, David Cameron).

He is chairman of Univent PLC, which operates care homes for the elderly.