For more information see our Privacy Policy. Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. And when Sunak became prime minister following Liz Truss’s resignation last autumn, he appointed Dowden to the Cabinet Office in a roving role that allowed him to tackle problems across different departments, such as the winter’s industrial action. When Sunak did run in the eventual leadership campaign, Dowden was an early backer. Somebody must take responsibility.” His comments were taken at the time to be a veiled criticism of the prime minister, and Dowden was accused of being part of a plan to make Sunak prime minister. In his resignation letter, he said: “We cannot carry on with business as usual. Last summer, Dowden resigned as the chair of the Conservative party after a pair of disastrous byelection defeats, saying he was taking responsibility for the results. Together with Robert Jenrick, who is now the immigration minister, they wrote a piece in the Times in 2019 backing Boris Johnson as the next Tory leader and prime minister – a piece that was seen at the time as crucial in bolstering Johnson’s campaign. His new role will enable him to continue working across government, and will also see him deputise should the prime minister be unable to attend prime minister’s questions.ĭowden and Sunak have been close for years. His promotion came only an hour after sources had briefed that Sunak would not formally appoint a new deputy to replace Raab, suggesting the prime minister had made a last-minute change of plan. Sunak’s appointment of Dowden as deputy prime minister cements his reputation in government as the prime minister’s right-hand man, after a stint in the Cabinet Office where he was responsible for co-ordinating the government’s response to winter strikes.ĭowden was culture, media and sport secretary for 18 months in Boris Johnson’s government, during which time he provided emergency funding for the arts during the pandemic and also banned Huawei from UK 5G networks. The appointments came hours after Raab’s resignation, which was triggered by the lengthy report by Adam Tolley KC into multiple bullying accusations made against him by senior civil servants. Alex Chalk leaving Downing Street on Friday.
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