Philp was opposed to Brexit prior to the 2016 European membership referendum. Philp supports selective grammar schools, arguing for one to open a satellite in his constituency to circumvent a ban in England on new selective schools and the borough council's own non-selective policy. In May 2016, when debating the Government's Starter Homes Initiative, Philp was accused by housing charities of failing to understand how a couple buying a house for the first time cannot afford a £10,000 deposit. Responding to criticism, he stated 'No one says it is easy, the average age of a first time buyer these days is about 30 so people have 10 years to save £5,000.'