Rt Hon Sir Oliver Dowden, MP for Hertsmere
Oliver Dowden has been an MP since 2015.
Roles and committees
Posts held in government or opposition, and committee seats, as Parliament records them.
In government
| Post | When | |
|---|---|---|
| Deputy Prime Minister (Cabinet Office) | 2023 to 2024 | |
| Secretary of State in the Cabinet Office (Cabinet Office) | 2023 to 2024 | |
| Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (Cabinet Office) | 2022 to 2024 | |
| Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office) (Cabinet Office) | 2021 to 2022 | |
| Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport) | 2020 to 2021 | |
| Paymaster General (HM Treasury) (HM Treasury) | 2019 to 2020 | |
| Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Cabinet Office) | 2019 to 2020 | |
| Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office) (Cabinet Office) | 2018 to 2019 |
In opposition
| Post | When | |
|---|---|---|
| Shadow Deputy Prime Minister (HM Official Opposition) | 2024 | |
| Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (Cabinet Office) | 2024 |
Committees
| Post | When | |
|---|---|---|
| Petitions Committee | 2015 to 2017 | |
| Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee | 2015 to 2016 |
Other posts
| Post | When | |
|---|---|---|
| Co-Chair, Conservative Party | 2021 to 2022 |
Source: UK Parliament Members API · Parliament’s own page
Declared interests
MPs must publish certain paid work, gifts, donations and other interests. This is a record of what they declared, not a suggestion that anything is wrong.
Oliver Dowden has 37 interests currently registered.
| Type | What was registered | Registered |
|---|---|---|
| Employment and earnings - Ad hoc payments | Payment received on 01 September 2026 - £15,000.00 | 17 Sep 2026 |
| Employment and earnings | Strategic Adviser - Man Capital LLP | 17 Sep 2026 |
| Miscellaneous | Patron to the Israeli Dance Institute. This is an unpaid role. | 28 Jul 2026 |
| Employment and earnings | Mentor - Mentor Hub LLP (The Mentor Hub) | 22 Jul 2026 |
| Gifts, benefits and hospitality from UK sources | Fenchurch Advisory Partners LLP - £1,414.92 | 22 Jul 2026 |
| Gifts, benefits and hospitality from UK sources | Embassy of the United Arab Emirates - £510.00 | 9 Jul 2026 |
| Employment and earnings - Ad hoc payments | Payment received on 17 June 2026 - £20,000.00 | 1 Jul 2026 |
| Gifts, benefits and hospitality from UK sources | SKY UK LIMITED - £360.00 | 1 Jul 2026 |
| Employment and earnings - Ad hoc payments | Payment received on 28 May 2026 - £15,000.00 | 12 Jun 2026 |
| Gifts, benefits and hospitality from UK sources | Fenchurch Advisory Partners LLP - £3,500.00 | 3 Jun 2026 |
Show the other 27
| Type | What was registered | Registered |
|---|---|---|
| Employment and earnings - Ad hoc payments | Payment received on 08 May 2026 - £10,000.00 | 26 May 2026 |
| Employment and earnings - Ad hoc payments | Payment received on 14 April 2026 - £9,017.87 | 8 May 2026 |
| Employment and earnings - Ad hoc payments | Payment received on 16 April 2026 - £10,000.00 | 5 May 2026 |
| Employment and earnings - Ad hoc payments | Payment received on 13 March 2026 - £12,500.00 | 27 Mar 2026 |
| Employment and earnings - Ad hoc payments | Payment received on 13 March 2026 - £10,000.00 | 27 Mar 2026 |
| Employment and earnings - Ad hoc payments | Payment received on 09 March 2026 - £15,000.00 | 11 Mar 2026 |
| Employment and earnings - Ad hoc payments | Payment received on 06 February 2026 - £10,000.00 | 17 Feb 2026 |
| Visits outside the UK | International visit to United Arab Emirates between 27 January 2026 and 30 January 2026 | 17 Feb 2026 |
| Employment and earnings - Ad hoc payments | Payment received on 12 January 2026 - £10,000.00 | 22 Jan 2026 |
| Employment and earnings - Ad hoc payments | Payment received on 02 January 2026 - £35,000.00 | 19 Jan 2026 |
| Visits outside the UK | International visit to United Arab Emirates between 06 December 2025 and 11 December 2025 | 29 Dec 2025 |
| Employment and earnings - Ad hoc payments | Payment received on 15 December 2025 - £10,000.00 | 20 Dec 2025 |
| Employment and earnings - Ad hoc payments | Payment received on 17 November 2025 - £15,000.00 | 4 Dec 2025 |
| Employment and earnings - Ad hoc payments | Payment received on 17 November 2025 - £10,000.00 | 1 Dec 2025 |
| Visits outside the UK | International visit to United Arab Emirates between 28 October 2025 and 31 October 2025 | 18 Nov 2025 |
| Employment and earnings - Ad hoc payments | Payment received on 08 October 2025 - £25,000.00 | 28 Oct 2025 |
| Gifts, benefits and hospitality from UK sources | Deep Shah - £2,556.00 | 28 Oct 2025 |
| Employment and earnings - Ad hoc payments | Payment received on 03 October 2025 - £10,000.00 | 20 Oct 2025 |
| Gifts, benefits and hospitality from UK sources | London Town Group of Companies Limited - £758.59 | 20 Oct 2025 |
| Employment and earnings - Ad hoc payments | Payment received on 08 September 2025 - £10,000.00 | 23 Sep 2025 |
| Employment and earnings - Ad hoc payments | Payment received on 26 August 2025 - £15,000.00 | 4 Sep 2025 |
| Employment and earnings - Ad hoc payments | Payment received on 26 August 2025 - £10,000.00 | 4 Sep 2025 |
| Employment and earnings | Strategy Adviser - Francisco Partners Management LP | 9 Jul 2025 |
| Miscellaneous | Chair of Conservative Friends of India | 13 May 2025 |
| Employment and earnings | Strategy Adviser - Pierce Protocols Limited trading as Heni | 9 Jan 2025 |
| Employment and earnings | Strategy Adviser - Caxton Associates LLP | 19 Nov 2024 |
| Miscellaneous | A patron of the Peace Hospice, Watford (unpaid). | 29 Jul 2016 |
Source: Register of Members’ Financial Interests · Parliament’s own page
Questions
MPs can ask ministers questions in writing. The questions show what an MP is working on, which votes cannot.
Oliver Dowden asked 188 written questions in the last 12 months.
Who they asked
Latest questions
Source: Written Questions API · Updated 4 Oct 2026
Expenses
MPs claim back money for running an office and working in two places. An independent body, IPSA, publishes every claim. This is what was paid in 2025-26.
33 claims. For comparison, across the 657 MPs in IPSA’s file the middle MP was paid £18,469 and the average was £19,699.
Source: IPSA, individual business costs data · About this data
Election result and area
Oliver Dowden represents Hertsmere. Here is who won there at the last general election, and a few numbers about the area.
Conservative
votes ahead of second place
of people who could vote did
Oliver Dowden won with 45% of the votes, and Josh Tapper (Labour) came second with 28%.
Votes for each party
Every candidate
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oliver Dowden | Conservative | 21,451 | 44.7% |
| Josh Tapper | Labour | 13,459 | 28.0% |
| Darren Selkus | Reform UK | 6,584 | 13.7% |
| Emma Matanle | Liberal Democrat | 3,710 | 7.7% |
| John Humphries | Green Party | 2,267 | 4.7% |
| Ray Bolster | Independent | 536 | 1.1% |
2024 General Election, on today’s boundaries. Source: House of Commons Library via the Members API.
Your area at a glance
Median gross weekly pay, 2025. Source: ONS, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings.
Share of people aged 16 to 64, August 2026. Source: ONS and DWP claimant count.
How they vote
In the last 12 months Oliver Dowden took part in 179 Commons votes.
More detail on how they vote
Oliver Dowden voted the same way as their party in 177 of the 177 votes where parties gave instructions (100%), and went the other way in 0.
What does this mean?
Parties tell their MPs how to vote. Most MPs usually follow that. A high or low count says nothing on its own about whether an MP is good or bad, and we do not rank MPs by it. We only count votes where parties gave instructions, not free votes. How we count it
Recent votes
| Date | Vote | They voted | Compared with party |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 Sep | End of life for terminally ill adults: the first main vote | For | Free vote |
| 11 Sep | A vote to end a debate | For | Free vote |
| 10 Sep | Social housing: an attempt to block it | For | Same as party |
| 8 Sep | Health: a proposed change | For | Same as party |
| 8 Sep | Health: a proposed change | For | Same as party |
| 8 Sep | Health: a proposed change | For | Same as party |
See every vote on Parliament’s site
Has this changed over time?
View data table
| Month | This MP | Party average |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 25 | 100% | 100% |
| Nov 25 | 100% | 100% |
| Dec 25 | 100% | 100% |
| Jan 26 | 100% | 100% |
| Feb 26 | 100% | 100% |
| Mar 26 | 100% | 100% |
| Apr 26 | 100% | 100% |
| May 26 | 100% | 100% |
| Jun 26 | 100% | 100% |
| Jul 26 | 100% | 100% |
| Sep 26 | 100% | 100% |
Source: Commons Votes API
This page states what the record shows. It does not say why an MP voted as they did. How we calculate this