Chris Hinchliff
Christopher Volante Hinchliff is a British Labour Party politician who has been Member of Parliament for North East Hertfordshire since 2024. He was previously a North Hertfordshire District Councillor for Royston Palace.
Early life and education
Christopher Volante Hinchliff was born in December 1993. He was educated at The Howard of Effingham School in Surrey and King's College, Cambridge, where he read history and was a member of Cambridge University Labour Club. In 2016, he graduated with an MSc in ecological economics from the University of Edinburgh. Prior to his election to Parliament, Hinchliff was the policy and campaigns officer for the Campaign to Protect Rural England.Political career
Hinchliff joined the Labour Party as a young adult and assisted in Daniel Zeichner's successful campaign for Cambridge in the 2015 general election. He then led the Thurrock Labour campaign in the 2018 local elections. In 2022, he was elected as a Labour and Co-operative Party councillor for the Royston Palace ward of North Hertfordshire District Council. On the council, he served on the Employment Appeals and Royston & District committees, as well as the Cabinet Panel on the Environment. He was re-elected in 2024 and appointed Cabinet Executive Member for Planning and Transport.Hinchliff was selected as the Labour candidate for North East Hertfordshire in May 2024. He won the constituency from the Conservatives in the 2024 general election with a majority of 1,923 votes. Hinchliff resigned as a councillor on 2 September 2024 following his election to Parliament. In October 2024, he was elected to the Environmental Audit Select Committee.
On 16 July 2025, Hinchliff was suspended from the Labour Party and had the whip withdrawn following persistent breaches of party discipline, including rebelling against proposed welfare cuts and publicly criticising the party's planning reforms.
On 7 November 2025, the whip was restored.
Political positions
Welfare
In September 2024, Hinchliff signed Neil Duncan-Jordan's early day motion calling on the government to postpone ending the Winter Fuel Payment for pensioners without means-tested benefits such as Pension Credit. However, in the vote on the topic that same month, he voted to implement the restrictions. Following the March 2025 spring statement, Hinchliff opposed the cuts to several benefits including Universal Credit as well as changes to the eligibility criteria for the Personal Independence Payment, labelling them "crude measure designed to meet self-imposed fiscal rules". He stated that he believed in "a welfare state that supports everyone in times of need, protects the most vulnerable, and upholds equality and dignity for all".Planning regulation and the environment
In April 2025, Hinchliff proposed a series of amendments to the government's Planning and Infrastructure Bill, stating that the government's approach had "a narrow focus on increasing housing supply, when we already have substantially more homes per capita than we did 50 years ago" and that the government's consultation with HSBC, BlackRock and the Phoenix Group on housing policy was a "problem" because "private finance will always prioritise profits over meeting housing needs". He also stated that there needed to be a "progressive alternative" to the plans, focused on building more affordable and council houses. Hinchliff received criticism for his position, with opponents branding him a "NIMBY" and arguing that he was attempting to block new housing.Hinchliff has also opposed the expansion of London Luton Airport.