Oliver Dowden
 Oliver Dowden      (politician) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | 1 August 1978 England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Alma mater | University of Cambridge/Trinity Hall | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Children | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Spouse | Blythe Dowden | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Member of | Hill & Knowlton Strategies | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Party | Conservative | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
PR company Hill and Knowlton, then UK media minister, promoter of "vaccine passports"
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Oliver James Dowden is a British politician who was appointed Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom by Rishi Sunak in succession to Dominic Raab who resigned from the government.[1]
A member of the Conservative Party, Oliver Dowden is also Secretary of State in the Cabinet Office and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Hertsmere since 2015.
He was deputy campaigns director of the Conservative Party before joining the infamous lobbying firm Hill and Knowlton in 2007. He was Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport from 2020 to 2021 and was co-Chairman of the Conservative Party, alongside Ben Elliot, and Minister without Portfolio from 2021 to 2022.[2]
Background
Oliver Dowden studied Law at Cambridge.
Career
Dowden joined the Conservative Research Department in 2004, moving to PR company Hill & Knowlton in 2007, before returning to the Conservative Party in 2009.[3]
He then worked as a Special Adviser and David Cameron's deputy chief of staff, where he said most of his time was spent on "day-to-day crisis management".[4][5] Dowden was regarded as having expertise in the attacking form of political communications, leading to comparisons with Alastair Campbell.
Oliver Dowden was elected MP for Hertsmere in the 2015 General Election, with a majority of 18,461 votes.[6]
While standing as an MP, among the policy priorities Dowden highlighted in his campaign were improving transport infrastructure, preserving green belt land and improving education.[7] Dowden opposed Brexit prior to the 2016 EU Referendum.[8]
In January 2018, Dowden was promoted to Parliamentary Secretary to the Cabinet Office, as part of Theresa May's cabinet reshuffle.[9]
Appointed Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General by incoming Prime Minister Boris Johnson on 24 July 2019, Dowden was sworn of the Privy Council the next day.[10]
DCMS Secretary
On 13 February 2020, Dowden was appointed Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, succeeding Baroness Morgan of Cotes, who resigned from HM Cabinet.[11]
On 10 September 2021, he said that Vaccine passports should be used for future public health emergencies.[12]
Honours
Oliver Dowden was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2015 Dissolution Honours List on 27 August 2015.[13]
Resignation
On 24 June 2022, Conservative co-chair Oliver Dowden resigned following two by-election losses for the party to the Labour Party and the Liberal Democrats.
The Lib Dems overturned a huge Tory majority in Tiverton and Honiton, Devon, their third by-election victory over Boris Johnson's party in a year.
And Labour retook the seat of Wakefield, West Yorkshire, which it lost at the UK/2019 General Election.
The prime minister said he would "keep going" and address people's concerns.
In a letter to Mr Johnson, Dowden said Tory supporters were "distressed and disappointed":
- "We cannot carry on with business as usual. Somebody must take responsibility and I have concluded that, in these circumstances, it would not be right for me to remain in office."
Dowden also called his resignation "a deeply personal decision that I have taken alone" following a "run of very poor results for our party".[14]
References
- ↑ "Oliver Dowden named deputy PM and Alex Chalk justice secretary after Raab quits"
- ↑ https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/CBP-8256/CBP-8256.pdf
- ↑ https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/olive-in-charge-after-no-10-shakeup-8210440.html
- ↑ http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2221334/Oliver-Dowden-David-Camerons-aide-Olive-finds-happening-politics-listening-radio.html
- ↑ https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newsvideo/uk-politics-video/9624396/David-Camerons-special-adviser-in-US-television-gaffe.html
- ↑ https://electionresults.parliament.uk/election/2015-05-07/results/Location/Constituency/Hertsmere
- ↑ https://www1.dehavilland.co.uk/election-blog/meet-mps-profiling-conservative-2015-intake
- ↑ http://blogs.spectator.co.uk/2016/02/which-tory-mps-back-brexit-who-doesnt-and-who-is-still-on-the-fence/
- ↑ https://www.whtimes.co.uk/news/hertsmere-mp-oliver-dowden-promoted-in-cabinet-reshuffle-1-5348961
- ↑ http://privycouncil.independent.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/2019-07-25-List-of-Business.pdf |date=2019
- ↑ https://www.gov.uk/government/people/dowden
- ↑ https://news.sky.com/story/covid-19-extension-to-use-of-vaccine-passports-will-be-looked-at-if-there-is-a-public-health-need-oliver-dowden-says-12403610
- ↑ https://www.gov.uk/government/news/dissolution-honours-2015
- ↑ "Conservative co-chairman Oliver Dowden quits after by-election losses"
