As Oliver Dowden is named deputy PM, a look at the politician’s wife Blythe and family

Following Dominic Raab’s resignation on Friday morning, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has made two key appointments to fulfil his cabinet.

Downing Street announced that Mr Sunak’s long-term ally Oliver Dowden, who has served as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster since October 2022 and the Secretary of State for the Cabinet since February of this year, would take Dominic Raab’s position as deputy PM while Alex Chalk would succeed as justice secretary.

While Oliver Dowden will combine his new job role with his current tasks, the appointment echoes that of Theresa May’s cabinet reshuffle when Oliver was promoted to Parliamentary Secretary to the Cabinet Office in 2018.

As Mr Dowden prepares to enter Number 10 as the new deputy PM following the bullying allegations that in turn led to Mr Raab’s resignation, PeopleWorld takes a look at who Mr Dowden’s family is:

Oliver was born in August 1978 in Hertfordshire and attended Patmiter’s School in Bricket Wood before studying law in Trinity College, Cambridge.

Starting his political career, Oliver went to work for the Conservative Research Department almost two decades ago before taking up roles as David Cameron’s Deputy Chief of Staff, Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport in 2020, where he was responsible for announcing that Premier League was returning to the UK amid the pandemic as one of his roles, and co-chairman of the Conservative Party.

Although Oliver will be spending a lot of time in Downing Street now as deputy PM, he currently lives in Hertsmere with his wife, Blythe Dowden, their two children and their dog Betsy.

Blythe is a teacher in the local Hertfordshire area where Oliver was born and raised and has been seen with Oliver a handful of times such as the Qatar Goodwood Festival in 2021.

The couple tend to keep their private life away from the spotlight so not much is known about their children in terms of age or gender, but the Hertfordshire Advertiser reported they go to school in Dowden’s constituency.