The Rt Hon Stephen Timms has been the Member of Parliament for East Ham since 1994, and since 2020 has been Chair of the Work and Pensions Select Committee in the House of Commons. He was a Minister in the Labour Governments of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown from 1998 to 2010, including serving in the Cabinet for a year, in 2006-7, as Chief Secretary to the Treasury, and as Minister for Pensions in 1999-2000 and 2005-6. He was the Shadow Minister for Employment from 2010 to 2015. He is also the Labour Party's Faith Envoy.

Before entering Parliament, Stephen worked in the telecommunications industry for fifteen years, first for Logica and then for Ovum, and was Leader of the Council in the London Borough of Newham. He is also a member of the Ramblers Association and is former Chair of Christians on the Left.