Oliver Dowden

A trained lawyer, Dowden joined the Conservative Research Department in 2004, before moving on to work in PR at Hill & Knowlton in 2007. He returned to the party in 2009, working as a special adviser. He was David Cameron’s chief of staff in Number 10 between 2010 and 2015. In recognition for his service to the prime minister, Dowden was awarded a CBE in the 2015 Dissolution Honours List. The same year he was elected to the Commons. Shortly after entering parliament, he joined the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee and the Petitions Committee. Dowden backed Cameron in the 2016 referendum, campaigning to remain within the European Union. He then served as parliamentary private secretary to the defence secretary and was later appointed parliamentary secretary in the Cabinet Office. Described as a ‘forward-thinking tech-head’ by Politico, he is a keen digital innovator and a good suit for the PM’s levelling-up agenda. After Johnson’s accession, Dowden joined the cabinet as Minister for the Cabinet Office in July 2019. And in February 2018, he was appointed Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. His handling of the culture sector during the pandemic has been heavily criticised. The £1.57 billion Culture Recovery Fund was ‘too late’ for many in the sector. His voting pattern on social issues put him down as a conservative. Though In November 2020, he demanded that Netflix clarify that The Crown is fiction amid concerns that certain scenes were damaging to the Royal Family.