Minister of State
Responsibilities
Current role holder
Chris McDonald MP
Chris McDonald MP was appointed Minister of State jointly in the Department for Health and Social Care on 23 July 2026 and the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade on 21 July 2026.
He was previously Minister for Industry in the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) and the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) between 11 September 2025 and 21 July 2026.
He was elected as the MP for Stockton North in July 2024.
Education
Chris studied Chemical Engineering at Cambridge, graduating with BA and MEng degrees. He also completed an MBA at the University of Warwick.
Career outside politics
Before becoming an MP Chris spent 20 years working in the steel industry, with a focus on research.
In 2008, he became a laboratory manager within the research division of Tata Steel. In 2014 he led the divestment of the Materials Processing Institute from Tata Steel UK, becoming CEO.
Chris is also a Fellow at the Royal Academy of Engineering.