Sir Oliver Dowden | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2024 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 21 April 2023 – 5 July 2024 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Monarch | Charles III | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Prime Minister | Rishi Sunak | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Dominic Raab | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Angela Rayner | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chairman of the Conservative Party | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 15 September 2021 – 24 June 2022 Serving with Ben Elliot | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Leader | Boris Johnson | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Amanda Milling | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Andrew Stephenson | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Member of Parliament forHertsmere | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Assumed office 7 May 2015 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | James Clappison | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Majority | 7,992 (16.7%) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | Oliver James Dowden (1978-08-01)1 August 1978 (age 47) Park Street,Hertfordshire, England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Political party | Conservative | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Spouse | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Children | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Education | Parmiter's School | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Alma mater | Trinity Hall, Cambridge | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Signature |  | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Website | Parliamentary website | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sir Oliver James Dowden (born 1 August 1978) is a British politician who served asDeputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2023 to 2024. A member of theConservative Party, he previously held various ministerial positions under Prime MinistersTheresa May,Boris Johnson andRishi Sunak between 2018 and 2024. He has been theMember of Parliament (MP) forHertsmere since2015.
Dowden served in theBoris Johnson government asMinister for the Cabinet Office andPaymaster General from 2019 to 2020 andSecretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport from 2020 to 2021. In the2021 cabinet reshuffle, he was moved to the posts of Co-Chairman of the Conservative Party, serving alongsideBen Elliot, andMinister without Portfolio. He resigned from these roles in June 2022 after two by-election defeats.
Following a stint on the backbenches, he was re-appointed to the Cabinet in October 2022 byRishi Sunak as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. He was made Secretary of State in the Cabinet office in February 2023 and, following the resignation ofDominic Raab, was appointed deputy prime minister in April of the same year. Following Labour's victory in the 2024 general election, Dowden was appointedShadow Deputy Prime Minister[1] inSunak's caretaker shadow cabinet. TheNew Statesman named him as the tenth most powerful right-wing figure of 2023.[2]
Oliver Dowden was born on 1 August 1978 inPark Street, Hertfordshire.[3][4] He grew up there and inBricket Wood, and was educated atParmiter's School, a partially selective state comprehensive school inGarston.[3] He said he had an "excellent state education",[5] before going toTrinity Hall, Cambridge, where he read law.[6]
Dowden joined theConservative Research Department in 2004, moving toPR companyHill & Knowlton in 2007, before returning to the Conservative Party in 2009.[7]
He then worked as aspecial adviser andDavid Cameron's deputy chief of staff,[6] where he said most of his time was spent on "day-to-day crisis management".[8] Dowden was regarded as having expertise in the attacking form of political communications, leading to comparisons with Labour'sAlastair Campbell.[7]
Dowden was elected as MP forHertsmere at the2015 general election with 59.3% of the vote and a majority of 18,461 votes.[9][10][11] During his election campaign, among the policy priorities he highlighted in his campaign were improving transport infrastructure, preserving green belt land and improving education.[12] He made hismaiden speech on 17 June 2015.[4]
He opposedBrexit prior to the2016 referendum,[13] though he has subsequently supported it citing his "respect" for the verdict of the British people.[14]
Dowden has campaigned in Hertfordshire against development of the local Green Belt, including opposing Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council's draft local plan.[15]
Dowden was re-elected as MP for Hertsmere at the snap2017 general election with an increased vote share of 61.1% and a decreased majority of 16,951.[16] He was again re-elected at the2019 general election, with an increased vote share of 62.5% and an increased majority of 21,313.[17]
Dowden is a former officer of theConservative Friends of Israel, and has twice chaired the APPG for British Jews. Dowden has said he feels a "cultural affinity" with the Jewish community – his constituency of Hertsmere has the largest Jewish population outside of London.[18]
At the2024 general election, Dowden was again re-elected, with a decreased vote share of 44.7% and a decreased majority of 7,992.[19]
In January 2018, Dowden was promoted to parliamentary secretary to theCabinet Office, as part ofTheresa May's cabinet reshuffle.[20] In June 2019, during the2019 Conservative Party leadership election Dowden, along withRobert Jenrick andRishi Sunak, wrote an article headlined "The Tories are in deep peril. Only Boris Johnson can save us" forThe Times, endorsing formerForeign SecretaryBoris Johnson forPrime Minister.[21]
AppointedMinister for the Cabinet Office andPaymaster General by Johnson on 24 July 2019, Dowden was appointed a member of thePrivy Council the next day.[22]
As Minister for the Cabinet Office, Dowden led the government's plans to reform public procurement, after the liquidation of the contractorCarillion in 2018.[23]
On 13 February 2020, Dowden was appointedSecretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, succeedingBaroness Morgan of Cotes, who resigned from the cabinet.[24]
During theCOVID-19 pandemic, Dowden introduced a £1.57 billion support package for the arts industry, which received praise from across the sector.[25]
In July 2020 Dowden announced that equipment provided by Chinese telecommunications companyHuawei would be removed from the UK's 5G network by 2027.[26]
Dowden askedNetflix to add a "health warning" before episodes of the seriesThe Crown, and warned against younger viewers taking fiction as fact. Netflix did not make these changes until prior to the release of the series' fifth season.[27][28]
In August 2021, Dowden announced new multi-billion pound data partnerships between the UK, Australia and the Republic of Korea, billed as an opportunity to reduce global barriers to international trade after Brexit.[29] This presaged a series of reforms to the UK's data regime, with the aim of encouraging innovation and economic growth.[30]
Dowden also intervened in the national debate over the so-called "cancellation" of controversial historical figures, advocating a "retain and explain" approach from museums and heritage institutions, which would be "moreist" rather than "Maoist".[31] Dowden had previously said that "woke culture runs contrary to the great liberal traditions of Western democracies".[32]
As the minister responsible for the UK's national collections Dowden opposed the return of historic artefacts held in British museums and galleries that had been brought to Britain during thecolonial period. In particular he argued that theBenin Bronzes, most of which had been taken by force by British armed forces fromBenin City in what is nowNigeria duringa punitive raid in February 1897, should remain in Britain. In an interview withChannel 4 News in September 2021 about the bronzes held in theBritish Museum, he said "The collections of our great national institutions have been developed over many, many centuries, in many times in questionable circumstances. I think the question now is about what we do with these. I love the Benin bronzes, I've seen them many times throughout my life, and I think them being in the British Museum, which is a world repository of heritage, allows people to see it but that doesn't stop us from sharing it."[33]
In April 2021, Dowden led government opposition to the controversialEuropean Super League proposals, describing the planned breakaway by six Premier League clubs as "appalling" and "tone-deaf".[34]
In June 2023 it was reported inThe Daily Telegraph that Dowden had led a secretive governmental unit during his time as Culture Secretary to counter what the British government saw as lockdown dissent and COVID-19 disinformation.[35]
On 15 September 2021, Johnson appointed Dowden as an unpaidMinister without Portfolio andConservative Party Co-chairman duringa cabinet reshuffle.[36] In a speech at party headquarters following his appointment, Dowden told Conservative staff to "prepare for the next election".[37]
During his time as co-chairman, Dowden continued to be identified with the controversy over 'woke culture'. On 14 February 2022, Dowden gave a speech in the US toThe Heritage Foundation in which he criticisedcancel culture, calling it a "painful woke psychodrama" which is sweeping theWest and sapping its confidence, further saying thatwoke ideology is a "dangerous form of decadence". He had made similar remarks to theConservative Party Conference in October 2021.[38][39][40]
In April 2022, the Conservative Government announced a consultation on a measure that would give residents an automatic right to vote on proposals by their local council to change the name of the street in which they live. Street name changes would have to be put to a vote by residents and the result of that vote would have to be taken into account by the council. Dowden said in a press release quoted by theDaily Telegraph: "Labour and Liberal Democrat councils across the country are hiking council tax while squandering hard-earned local taxpayers' money on these woke pet projects that nobody wants. These proposals will give local residents a democratic check against the lefty municipal militants trying to cancel war heroes like Churchill and Nelson."[41] As at August 2022 the consultation had not yet been published.
On 24 June 2022, Dowden resigned as co-chairman of the Conservative Party and Minister without Portfolio following the Conservative defeats at theTiverton and Honiton by-election andWakefield by-election, saying: "We cannot carry on with business as usual"[42] and "Somebody must take responsibility".[43]
Dowden declared his support for formerChancellor of the ExchequerRishi Sunak at the beginning of theJuly–September leadership contest, before the first round of voting had begun and the day after Prime MinisterBoris Johnson announced he would resign after a leadership election had taken place.[44] He also supported Sunak in theOctober 2022 leadership contest.
After Sunak became prime minister on 25 October 2022, Dowden was appointedChancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, replacingNadhim Zahawi,[45] and as Secretary of State in the Cabinet Office, a new position, on 9 February 2023.[46][47] As of 2023, he is therefore responsible for overseeing the implementation of the UK Biological Security strategy.[48]
.jpg)
.jpg)
On 21 April 2023, followingDominic Raab's resignation after a report over claims he bullied staff was given to Sunak, Dowden was appointed as the deputy prime minister.[49][50][51]
As Deputy Prime Minister, Dowden deputised for Sunak atPrime Minister's Questions five times; four in 2023 – on 17 May, 7 June, 5 July and 12 July – and on 24 April 2024. He also took charge of the 'day to day' business of government whilst Sunak was on holiday in August 2023,[52] and in September 2023 headdressed the annual gathering of theUnited Nations General Assembly in Sunak's place,[53] with a speech onartificial intelligence.[54]
TheNew Statesman named Dowden as the tenth most powerful right-wing figure of 2023, stating "there are few with as much influence on how the government operates".[2]
On 25 March 2024 Dowden delivered a government statement on Chinese interference with domestic political processes. He indicated that theforeign interference offence might be brought to bear, especially in terms ofAPT31 which had been unsuccessful in its attempt to access secret data.[55]
Following the Conservative Party's defeat in the2024 general election and the subsequent formation of theStarmer ministry, Dowden was appointedShadow Deputy Prime Minister in Rishi Sunak'scaretaker Shadow Cabinet.[1]
Angela Rayner jokingly said she would miss her and Dowden's "battle of the gingers" in their last debate atPrime Minister's Questions.[56][57]
Dowden returned to the backbenches uponthe election ofKemi Badenoch as Leader of the Conservative Party.[58]
In September 2022, during a period when he was not in ministerial office, Dowden took up advisory roles withCaxton Associates LP, a global macro hedge fund, and Pierce Protocols (trading as Heni), an art services firm.[59] He resigned both roles on returning to a cabinet role, asChancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, in October 2022.[60] According to his entry in the Parliamentary Register of Members' Financial Interests,[61] he returned to the Caxton Associates role in November 2024 and to the Pierce Protocols role in January 2025. In June 2025, Dowden took up another advisory role, withFrancisco Partners Management LP,[62] a private equity firm with a technology focus.
Dowden is married to Blythe Dowden, a teacher, and they have two children.[63]
Dowden was appointed aCommander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the2015 Dissolution Honours on 22 September 2015 for political service as Cameron's deputy chief of staff.[64][65] On 4 July 2024, he was subsequently appointedKnight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB) in the2024 Dissolution Honours for political and public service.[66][67]
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forHertsmere 2015–present | Incumbent |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Parliamentary Secretary for the Cabinet Office 2018–2019 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister for the Cabinet Office 2019–2020 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Paymaster General 2019–2020 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport 2020–2021 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister without Portfolio 2021–2022 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster 2022–2024 | Succeeded by |
| New office | Secretary of State in the Cabinet Office 2023–2024 | Office abolished |
| Preceded by | Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom 2023–2024 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Shadow Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom 2024 | Vacant |
| Deputy Leader of the Opposition 2024 | Vacant | |
| Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster 2024 | Vacant | |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Chairman of the Conservative Party Serving withBen Elliot 2021–2022 | Succeeded by |
_(St_Edwards_Crown).svg)
.svg)
