Oliver Dowden

In particular he argued that the Benin bronzes, most of which had been taken by force by British armed forces from Benin City in what is now Nigeria during a punitive raid in February 1897, should remain in Britain.

In an interview with Channel 4 News in September 2021 about the bronzes held in the British 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."

In April 2021, Dowden led government opposition to the controversial European Super League proposals, describing the planned breakaway by six Premier League clubs as "appalling" and "tone-deaf".

Oliver James Dowden (born 1 August 1978) is a British politician and the current Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

Oliver Dowden was born on 1 August 1978.

He grew up in Bricket Wood, Hertfordshire, being educated at Parmiter's School, a partially selective state comprehensive school in Garston.

He said he had an "excellent state education", before going to Trinity Hall, Cambridge, where he read law.

Dowden joined the Conservative Research Department in 2004, moving to PR company Hill & Knowlton in 2007, before returning to the Conservative Party in 2009.

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".

Dowden was regarded as having expertise in the attacking form of political communications, leading to comparisons with Labour's Alastair Campbell.

A member of the Conservative Party, he is also Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Secretary of State in the Cabinet Office and has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Hertsmere since 2015.

Dowden was elected as MP for Hertsmere at the 2015 general election with 59.3% of the vote and a majority of 18,461 votes.

During his election campaign, among the policy priorities he highlighted in his campaign were improving transport infrastructure, preserving green belt land and improving education.

He made his maiden speech on 17 June 2015.

Dowden was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2015 Dissolution Honours List on 27 August 2015.

He opposed Brexit prior to the 2016 referendum, though he has subsequently supported it citing his "respect" for the verdict of the British people.

Dowden has campaigned in Hertfordshire against development of the local Green Belt, including opposing Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council's draft local plan.

Dowden was re-elected as MP for Hartsmere at the snap 2017 general election with an increased vote share of 61.1% and a decreased majority of 16,951.

In January 2018, Dowden was promoted to parliamentary secretary to the Cabinet Office, as part of Theresa May's cabinet reshuffle.

As Minister for the Cabinet Office, Dowden led the government's plans to reform public procurement, after the liquidation of the contractor Carillion in 2018.

Dowden served in the Boris Johnson government as Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General from 2019 to 2020 and Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport from 2020 to 2021.

In the 2021 cabinet reshuffle, he was moved to the posts of Co-Chairman of the Conservative Party, serving alongside Ben Elliot, and Minister without Portfolio.

He resigned from these roles in June 2022.

Following a stint on the backbenches during Johnson's caretaker government and the premiership of Liz Truss, he was re-appointed to the Cabinet in October 2022 by new Prime Minister Rishi 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 of Dominic Raab, was appointed deputy prime minister in April of the same year.

He was again re-elected at the 2019 general election, with an increased vote share of 62.5% and an increased majority of 21,313.

Dowden is a former officer of the Conservative 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.

In June 2019, during the 2019 Conservative Party leadership election Dowden, along with Robert Jenrick and Rishi Sunak, wrote an article headlined "The Tories are in deep peril. Only Boris Johnson can save us" for The Times, endorsing former Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson for Prime Minister.

Appointed Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General by Johnson on 24 July 2019, Dowden was appointed a member of the Privy Council the next day.

On 13 February 2020, Dowden was appointed Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, succeeding Baroness Morgan of Cotes, who resigned from the cabinet.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Dowden introduced a £1.57 billion support package for the arts industry, which received praise from across the sector.

In July 2020 Dowden announced that equipment provided by Chinese telecommunications company Huawei would be removed from the UK's 5G network by 2027.

Dowden asked Netflix to add a "health warning" before episodes of the series The Crown, and warned against younger viewers taking fiction as fact.

Netflix didn't make these changes until prior to the release of the series' fifth season.

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.

This presaged a series of reforms to the UK's data regime, with the aim of encouraging innovation and economic growth.

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".

Dowden had previously said that "woke culture runs contrary to the great liberal traditions of Western democracies".

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 the colonial period.