George Freeman replaces Amanda Solloway as UK IP minister
George Freeman MP has been confirmed as the UK’s new Minister for Science & Innovation—which encompasses the IP portfolio.
Freeman is a Conservative Party politician who has held his Mid Norfolk seat since 2010.
Among his prior government posts, he served as parliamentary undersecretary of state for life sciences at the Department of Health and Social Care and the Department for Business, Innovation, and Skills between July 2014 and July 2016.
After a short government absence, he would later become the minister of state in the Department for Transport from July 2019 until the following February.
Reacting to his latest role change, the Norfolk MP said it was “a huge privilege and honor” to take up the science minister role.
“We have a historic opportunity to unleash UK science & innovation for post-Covid Recovery,” he tweeted.
George Freeman MP: the ministerial lowdown
The new IP minister is the son of Arthur Freeman, jockey and winner of the 1958 Grand National, who rode Irish horse Mr. What to victory.
And a Grand National winner isn’t Freeman’s only famous relative—he counts 19th-Century Prime Minister William Ewart Gladstone as his great-great-great-uncle, and Mabel Philipson as his great-aunt.
Before becoming a politician, he was a Westminster lobbyist for the National Farmers Union. Freeman would later become director of early-stage ventures at Merlin Biosciences Fund III around the turn of the century.
He also founded 4D Biomedical, a consulting and seed investment advisory business, which would go on to be acquired by PA Consulting in 2009.
His move into politics began in 2005—but was unsuccessful in his attempt in the 2005 general election to become MP for Stevenage. Five years later, he was elected in the 2010 general election as MP for Mid Norfolk.
In terms of his voting record, the new IP minister has, on the majority of issues, voted the same way as other Conservative MPs, according to TheyWorkForYou.
He has generally voted for restricting the scope of legal aid and in 2011 voted to reduce the tax incentives for companies to invest in assets.
In terms of his IP voting record, he voted in favour of post-Brexit copyright and related rights in February 2019, and a month prior also voted in favour of IP rightsholders controlling distribution and resales of products.
Freeman did however vote against a clause in 2014’s IP Bill, which would have required the creation of a report on the Government’s long-term plans for the future of IP in the UK prior to the introduction of new legislation.
Freeman in, Solloway out
Upon confirmation of Freeman’s appointment, the UK Intellectual Property Office’s chief executive Tim Moss extended a “warm welcome” to the new minister responsible for IP.
“IP is crucial to our drive to make the UK one of the world’s most innovative countries, and I look forward to working with [Freeman] to ensure the UK’s IP environment remains a powerful catalyst for growth,” Moss said.
Freeman replaced Amanda Solloway as science minister, who was appointed as a government whip in the Treasury department.
Solloway was appointed to the IP ministerial role in February 2020 and became the first to hold the portfolio for a calendar year since 2017.
Jo Johnson’s first stint between 2017 and 2018 was the last time prior to Solloway that a minister completed a year in the role, with a second stint for Johnson, Sam Gymiah, and Chris Skidmore all unable to accomplish the feat.
During her tenure in the IP minister’s chair, Solloway saw the UK retract from involvement in the Unified Patent Court, and launch an £800m ‘ARPA-style’ R&D agency, the Advanced Research & Invention Agency (ARIA).
Solloway was due to speak at the Quantum Computing Summit this week before she was moved to her new role.
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