Sir Oliver Dowden KCB CBE is the Conservative MP for Hertsmere, having first been elected at the 2015 general election.

Dowden served as deputy prime minister from 2023 to 2024 during Rishi Sunak’s tenure in 10 Downing Street.

In the 2024 general election, Dowden received 21,451 votes, representing 44.7% of the vote share. The Labour candidate Josh Tapper received 13,459 votes (28.0%), while the Reform UK candidate secured 6,584 votes (13.7%). Dowden was duly elected with a majority of 7,992.

The Hertsmere constituency is situated in southern Hertfordshire, bordering Greater London and including towns such as Borehamwood, Potters Bar, and Bushey. It contains a large number of residents who commute into London.

Historically a safe Conservative seat, it has been represented by the party since its creation in 1983. The constituency is noted for having one of the largest Jewish communities in the UK by population. Elstree Film Studios are located within Hertsmere.

Dowden’s immediate predecessor was James Clappison (Conservative). Cecil Parkinson, a long-serving cabinet minister in Margaret Thatcher’s government, represented the seat from 1983 to 1992.

Political Career

Dowden previously served as shadow deputy prime minister and shadow chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster in the interim/caretaker shadow cabinet constructed after the 2024 general election. He returned to the backbenches after Kemi Badenoch’s election as Conservative leader in November 2024.

Prior to the 2024 election, which saw the Conservative Party return to opposition after 14 years in power, Dowden held several senior government posts. A close ally of Rishi Sunak, he served as deputy prime minister from April 2023 to July 2024 and chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster from October 2022 to July 2024.

Dowden was appointed deputy prime minister after the resignation of his predecessor, Dominic Raab, which was triggered by the lengthy report by Adam Tolley KC into multiple bullying accusations made against him by senior civil servants.

Under Boris Johnson, Dowden served as co-chairman of the Conservative Party and minister without portfolio from September 2021 to June 2022. He resigned from these positions in June 2022 following significant Conservative losses in the Wakefield and Tiverton and Honiton by-elections.

In his resignation letter, Dowden wrote: “[The Wakefield and Tiverton and Honiton by-elections] are the latest in a run of very poor results for our party. Our supporters are distressed and disappointed by recent events, and I share their feelings.”

He added: “We cannot carry on with business as usual. Somebody must take responsibility”.

The latter remark was widely interpreted as a veiled criticism of the then-prime minister amid the rolling revelations of the “Partygate” scandal.

Dowden served as secretary of state for digital, culture, media and sport from February 2020 to September 2021. During this time, Dowden provided emergency funding for the arts during the pandemic and also banned Huawei from UK 5G networks.

As culture secretary, Dowden wrote to Netflix to request a “health warning” be played before The Crown so viewers were aware that the historical drama is a work of fiction.

Dowden told the Mail on Sunday: “It’s a beautifully produced work of fiction, so as with other TV productions, Netflix should be very clear at the beginning it is just that … Without this, I fear a generation of viewers who did not live through these events may mistake fiction for fact.”

Before entering the cabinet, Dowden was paymaster general and minister for the Cabinet Office (July 2019 – February 2020), under Boris Johnson; and parliamentary secretary for the Cabinet Office under Theresa May (January 2018 – July 2019).

Dowden was a member of the House of Commons petitions committee from July 2015 to May 2017, and the public administration and constitutional affairs committee from July 2015 to October 2016.

Dowden is listed as a member of the all-party parliamentary groups (APPG) for the United Arab Emirates.

Dowden is a former officer of the Conservative Friends of Israel, and has chaired the APPG for British Jews on two occasions.

Dowden delivered his maiden speech on 17 June 2015 during a debate on productivity.

In it, he said: “What characterises Hertsmere, far more than its landscape or its industry, is the character of its people. They get up very early every morning and from Bushey, Potters Bar, Radlett and Borehamwood they cram on to commuter trains or set off along the M25 and the A1.

“They are hard-working men and women who make sacrifices to provide for themselves, their families and their community. They know that in this life, we do not get something for nothing; we have to work in order to get something out.”

He added: “For only if, as with this government, we take tough choices to reform welfare and control our deficit can we continue to invest in our infrastructure, invest in our schools, and cut taxes so that hard-working people keep more of what they earn. That is how we boost productivity – by pursuing this government’s aspirational agenda that will deliver for the hard-working people of Hertsmere.”

On 4 July 2024, Dowden was appointed Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB) in the 2024 Dissolution Honours for political and public service.

Political Views

In a June 2021 edition of BBC Radio 4’s Political Thinking podcast, Dowden said that he had “always viewed” himself as a “one-nation liberal Conservative.”

He added: “I really did relate to Margaret Thatcher’s life story and the story of working hard.”

In an interview delivered during his tenure as culture secretary, published May 2021, Dowden argued that “woke culture” is contrary to the “the great liberal traditions of Western democracies.”

He told the Evening Standard: “One of the great strengths of our nation is freedom of expression, and I worry that elements of what has been branded woke culture runs contrary to the great liberal traditions of Western democracies.”

He added: “I want to make sure that a granny in Middlesbrough or a middle-aged man in Wolverhampton feels as represented as an Islington millennial.”

In February 2022, during his time as Conservative chair, Dowden delivered a speech in the United States criticising “cancel culture” as a “painful woke psychodrama”.

Speaking to the Heritage Foundation, a rightwing US thinktank, Dowden said: “Rogue states are seeking to challenge the international order. And at the precise point when our resolve ought to be strongest, a pernicious new ideology is sweeping our societies.

“It goes by many names. In Britain, its adherents sometimes describe themselves as ‘social justice warriors’. They claim to be ‘woke’, awakened to the so-called truths of our societies. But wherever they are found, they pursue a common policy inimical to freedom.”

He added: “The US and the UK may certainly be very different societies. But we are joined by the same fundamental values. Neither of us can afford the luxury of indulging in this painful woke psychodrama… Too many people have already fallen for the dismal argument that standing up for freedom is reactionary or that somehow it’s kind or virtuous to submit to these self-righteous dogmas. Well, it plainly is not.”

Leadership elections and loyalty

Tory leadership 2022 (I): Dowden supported Rishi Sunak’s candidacy in the Conservative Party’s July-September 2022 leadership election. The contest was triggered by the resignation of Boris Johnson, following the mass exodus of more than 60 frontbenchers.

Sunak, the former chancellor, warned against “comforting fairytales” regarding unfunded tax cuts. Although he won every round of the parliamentary ballots, securing 137 votes in the final stage, Sunak was defeated by Liz Truss in the membership vote, finishing with 60,399 votes (42.6%).

Dowden was considered a close ally of the former prime minister.

Tory leadership 2022 (II): Dowden also supported Sunak’s candidacy in the Conservative Party’s October 2022 leadership election. The contest was triggered by the resignation of Liz Truss after just 45 days in office, following the financial and political tailspin triggered by her “mini-budget”.

Tory leadership 2019: Dowden supported Boris Johnson for the party’s leadership in 2019. The election was triggered by the resignation of Theresa May following her inability to secure a Brexit deal acceptable to the Conservative Party.

In fact, Dowden was among the triumvirate of Conservative MPs, considered rising stars in the party, who penned a piece in The Times in 2019 backing Boris Johnson as the next Conservative leader and prime minister – a piece that was seen at the time as crucial in bolstering Johnson’s campaign.

In the article, published June 2019, Dowden, Sunak and Robert Jenrick jointly argued that Johnson was the answer to the “existential threat” facing the Conservative Party.

They wrote: “Our country doesn’t have time for a new leader to earn the public’s trust on Brexit. Boris commands the instant credibility needed to achieve support for a renegotiated deal amongst a suspicious public, let down by delays and defeats.

“We do not want no deal, but he is right to fully prepare for it and keep it on the table.”

They added: “Beyond Brexit, Boris Johnson is one of life’s optimists and can help us recapture a sense of excitement and hope about what we Conservatives can do for Britain: resourcing and reforming education so that it brings opportunity to every child, regardless of their background; a new wave of infrastructure investment, ensuring that prosperity reaches every corner of the country; safe streets, where families and communities can thrive – and a dynamic free enterprise sector, creating the wealth to pay for our public services and the innovations that make our lives better.”

According to a 2020 ConservativeHome article, Dowden, Sunak and Jenrick interviewed Johnson for an hour before deciding to write the article.

Johnson confidence vote: In June 2022, Dowden publicly declared their loyalty to the prime minister, Boris Johnson, ahead of a Conservative “no-confidence” in his leadership. The vote was triggered by discontent within the parliamentary party following the “partygate” scandal and the publication of the Sue Gray report. While the prime minister ultimately won the vote, the scale of the rebellion against him, with 148 of his own MPs voting to remove him, severely weakened his authority and presaged his resignation the following month.

Tory leadership 2016: Dowden supported Theresa May for the party’s leadership in July 2016. The contest was triggered by the resignation of David Cameron following the UK’s vote to leave the European Union.

May, the then-home secretary, secured a commanding lead in the parliamentary stages, receiving 165 votes in the first ballot and 199 in the second. Following the withdrawal of her final rival, Andrea Leadsom, on 11 July, May was declared leader unopposed and was appointed prime minister two days later.

Brexit and Europe

Brexit referendum: Dowden supported the Remain campaign in the 2016 referendum on Britain’s membership of the European Union (EU), and therefore disagreed with a majority of constituents, 50.8% of whom voted to Leave.

Article 50: In February 2017, Dowden voted in favour of the European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Bill. The legislation empowered the prime minister to notify the Council of the European Union of the UK’s intention to withdraw, formally triggering the process set out in Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union. MPs supported the bill by 498 votes to 114 at second reading.

Assisted dying

Dowden voted for the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, better known as the assisted dying bill, at both second reading (November 2024) and third reading (June 2025).

In a statement setting out his position, issued following the bill’s second reading, Dowden said: “I have always tried to live by the principle of do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

“While I hope and pray that neither I nor my family nor loved ones would ever have to have recourse to assisted dying, I do not believe that the state should stand in the way of one at least having the comfort of the option.”

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Foreign policy and security

Trident renewal (2016): Dowden voted in favour of a government motion calling for the renewal of the Trident nuclear deterrent system in July 2016. The motion, which was passed by 472 votes to 117, committed the UK to constructing a new fleet of submarines to carry the nation’s nuclear weapons.

Syria airstrikes (2015): Dowden voted in favour of a government motion to extend UK airstrikes against Isis from Iraq into Syria in December 2015. The motion, which was passed by 397 votes to 223 after a ten-hour debate in the House of Commons, authorised the RAF to conduct strikes against Isis targets in Syria.

Before Politics

Born in Park Street, Hertfordshire on 1 August 1978, Oliver Dowden was educated at Parmiter’s School, a state comprehensive school in Garston. He studied Law at Trinity Hall, Cambridge University.

Dowden joined the Conservative Research Department in 2004. In 2007, he left to work for the PR company Hill & Knowlton – but returned to the Tory fold to work alongside Andy Coulson, then the party’s communications director, in early 2009.

Dowden worked in David Cameron’s Downing Street operation as a special adviser and deputy chief of staff.

Dowden won the nickname “the undertaker” for advising David Cameron, the then prime minister, which Conservative MPs could not survive the expenses scandal. Dowden has stated that he spent much of his time in Cameron’s No 10 on crisis management.

His other nickname, Olive, reportedly began as teasing in the Conservative research department when, in 2005, a misspelling of his first name led to many letters being addressed to a “Miss Dowden”.

George Osborne, who served as chancellor from 2010-2016, later told the BBC: “Part of the secret sauce of the Cameron government was Oliver Dowden beavering away sorting out problems. Sometimes the Cameron government looked a bit swan like, but there was furious paddling underneath and Oliver Dowden was one of the paddlers.”

Personal Life

Dowden married Blythe, a teacher, in 2008. They have two children.

Dowden’s father “worked in a factory in Watford” and his mother “at a chemist’s in St Albans”, according to his 2015 maiden speech.

Trivia

Dowden beat Sunak for the nomination of his Hertsmere seat in 2014. A contemporary report in the Borehamwood Times reads: “Oliver Dowden secured the backing of more than 50 per cent of Conservative members in a selection meeting held last night.

“He was selected above hopefuls Antonia Cox, Rishi Sunak and Chris Hayward.”

During his time working as an adviser to David Cameron, Dowden’s strengths in the attacking form of political communications led to comparisons with Alastair Campbell.

The New Statesman named Dowden as the tenth most powerful right-wing figure of 2023.

During his time as deputy PM and shadow deputy PM, Dowden jousted with Labour’s Angela Rayner across the commons despatch boxes. In their final frontbench encounter, Rayner referred to their exchanges as the “battle of the gingers”.

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Dowden is said to be a “huge fan” of the poet John Betjeman.