Voting summaries
MPs have many roles, but one of the most important is that they make decisions. These decisions shape the laws that govern us, and can affect every aspect of how we live our lives.
One of the ways MPs make decisions is by voting.
On TheyWorkForYou, we create voting summaries that group a set of decisions together, show how an MP has generally voted on a set of related votes, and if they differ from their party.
You can read more about our process , the kinds of votes we include , how we compare MPs to parties , and why we think this is important .
Below are summaries of how Oliver Dowden has voted on key issues, grouped by policy area (randomly ordered).
This page shows relevant votes while Oliver Dowden has been in Parliament, you can also view a summary just for the current Parliament .
Oliver Dowden’s voting in Parliament
Oliver Dowden is a Conservative MP, and on the vast majority of issues follow instructions from their party and vote the same way as other Conservative MPs.
Where MPs differ is either because they have made a decision not to follow the party whip (rebelling), or where they have differed from the majority of their colleagues in a free vote.
Oliver Dowden sometimes differs from their party colleagues, such as:
In the last year, Oliver Dowden has an alignment score of 100% with other MPs of their party (over 304 votes). Find out more .
Last voted on between 2020 and 2024
Generally voted against a more proportional system for electing MPs Show votes
2 votes against, 1 absence, between 2015 and 2024. Comparable Conservative MPs generally voted against.
Generally voted against a lower voting age Show votes
4 votes against, 2 absences, between 2015 and 2022. Comparable Conservative MPs almost always voted against.
Almost always voted against transferring more powers to the Senedd/Welsh Parliament Show votes
2 votes for, 14 votes against, between 2016 and 2022. Comparable Conservative MPs almost always voted against.
Almost always voted against transferring more powers to the Scottish Parliament Show votes
3 votes for, 27 votes against, 3 absences, between 2015 and 2024. Comparable Conservative MPs almost always voted against.
Consistently voted for reducing central government funding of local government Show votes
4 votes for, between 2016 and 2021. Comparable Conservative MPs consistently voted for.
Generally voted against more powers for local councils Show votes
2 votes for, 6 votes against, 1 absence, between 2015 and 2024. Comparable Conservative MPs generally voted against.
Generally voted against fixed periods between parliamentary elections Show votes
1 vote against, 2 absences, in 2021. Comparable Conservative MPs consistently voted against.
Generally voted for photographic voter identification at polling stations Show votes
2 votes for, 2 absences, between 2017 and 2022. Comparable Conservative MPs consistently voted for.
Consistently voted against removing hereditary peers from the House of Lords Show votes
1 vote against, between 2016 and 2024. Comparable Conservative MPs generally voted against.
Generally voted against fewer MPs in the House of Commons Show votes
1 vote against, 1 absence, between 2016 and 2020. Comparable Conservative MPs generally voted against.
Absences for this policy may be affected COVID-19 restrictions .
Generally voted against more powers for the devolved administration in Northern Ireland Show votes
2 votes for, 8 votes against, between 2017 and 2022. Comparable Conservative MPs generally voted against.
Generally voted for an equal number of electors per parliamentary constituency Show votes
3 votes for, 1 vote against, 1 absence, between 2016 and 2020. Comparable Conservative MPs generally voted for.
Tended to vote for (alignment score: 67%) approving reports and recommendations made by the Standards Committee Show votes
1 vote against, 2 agreements, 2 absences, between 2021 and 2023. Comparable Conservative MPs generally voted for.
Last voted on between 2015 and 2019
Last updated: 3 December 2024.
Learn more about our voting records and what they mean.
How Oliver Dowden voted on Business and the Economy #
Last voted on between 2025 and 2026
Last voted on between 2020 and 2024
Generally voted for new high speed rail infrastructure Show votes
2 votes for, 2 absences, between 2016 and 2021. Comparable Conservative MPs generally voted for.
Consistently voted for stronger tax incentives for companies to invest in assets Show votes
2 votes for, in 2021. Comparable Conservative MPs consistently voted for.
Generally voted against requiring imported goods to meet domestic standards Show votes
1 vote for, 3 votes against, between 2020 and 2021. Comparable Conservative MPs generally voted against.
Voted a mixture of for and against (alignment score: 50%) measures to reduce tax avoidance Show votes
2 votes for, 2 votes against, 2 absences, between 2016 and 2020. Comparable Conservative MPs tended to vote for (alignment score: 68%).
Generally voted for reducing the rate of corporation tax Show votes
9 votes for, 2 votes against, between 2015 and 2021. Comparable Conservative MPs generally voted for.
Last updated: 8 July 2025.
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How Oliver Dowden voted on Taxation and Employment #
Last voted on between 2025 and 2026
Consistently voted against taxing salary-sacrifice pension contributions above £2,000 a year Show votes
2 votes against, between 2025 and 2026. Comparable Conservative MPs consistently voted against.
Generally voted against increasing income tax (in real terms) Show votes
4 votes for, 10 votes against, 2 absences, between 2015 and 2025. Comparable Conservative MPs generally voted against.
Generally voted against charging VAT on private school fees Show votes
2 votes against, 1 absence, between 2024 and 2025. Comparable Conservative MPs consistently voted against.
Generally voted against increasing capital gains tax Show votes
6 votes against, 5 absences, between 2016 and 2025. Comparable Conservative MPs almost always voted against.
Consistently voted for higher taxes on alcoholic drinks Show votes
3 votes for, 1 absence, between 2017 and 2025. Comparable Conservative MPs almost always voted for.
Last voted on between 2020 and 2024
Last updated: 21 January 2026.
Learn more about our voting records and what they mean.
How Oliver Dowden voted on Environmental Issues #
Last voted on between 2025 and 2026
Last voted on between 2020 and 2024
Consistently voted against improving biodiversity Show votes
7 votes against, in 2021. Comparable Conservative MPs consistently voted against.
Consistently voted against improving air quality Show votes
5 votes against, in 2021. Comparable Conservative MPs consistently voted against.
Almost always voted against the preservation of environmental protections after withdrawal from the EU Show votes
1 vote for, 6 votes against, 1 absence, between 2016 and 2023. Comparable Conservative MPs generally voted against.
Consistently voted against improving environmental water quality Show votes
4 votes against, 1 absence, between 2021 and 2024. Comparable Conservative MPs consistently voted against.
Generally voted for new high speed rail infrastructure Show votes
2 votes for, 2 absences, between 2016 and 2021. Comparable Conservative MPs generally voted for.
Consistently voted against greater regulation of hydraulic fracturing (fracking) to extract shale gas Show votes
1 vote against, between 2015 and 2022. Comparable Conservative MPs consistently voted against.
Last updated: 11 February 2026.
Learn more about our voting records and what they mean.
How Oliver Dowden voted on Home Affairs #
Last voted on between 2025 and 2026
Last voted on between 2020 and 2024
Consistently voted for making it easier to remove those trespassing on land with an intent to reside there Show votes
4 votes for, in 2021. Comparable Conservative MPs consistently voted for.
Generally voted for mass surveillance of people’s communications and activities Show votes
2 votes for, 2 absences, between 2016 and 2024. Comparable Conservative MPs consistently voted for.
Consistently voted for making it easier to remove someone's British citizenship Show votes
4 votes for, 1 absence, between 2021 and 2022. Comparable Conservative MPs consistently voted for.
Almost always voted for stronger laws and enforcement of immigration rules Show votes
22 votes for, 2 votes against, 2 absences, between 2015 and 2024. Comparable Conservative MPs almost always voted for.
Generally voted for authorising criminal conduct by undercover officers and covert sources Show votes
2 votes for, 2 absences, between 2020 and 2021. Comparable Conservative MPs consistently voted for.
Last voted on between 2015 and 2019
Last updated: 28 April 2026.
Learn more about our voting records and what they mean.
As a result of COVID-19, some MPs were less able to vote in Parliament in certain periods, and this will be reflected by absences in their voting record.
11th May to 2nd June 2020
All MPs could vote remotely through an online voting tool. Votes cast remotely are shown as normal on the TheyWorkForYou voting record.
2nd to 9th June 2020
The option of online voting was removed, and a number of MPs may have been unable to vote because they were not physically able to attend.
10th June 2020 onwards
The requirements on proxy voting were relaxed, allowing MPs to designate another MP to cast a vote on their behalf.
If an MP votes by proxy, it is effectively exactly the same as if they cast the vote in person and it shows up on their TheyWorkForYou voting record.
MPs are not required to designate a proxy, and may instead pair with an opposing MP to miss a vote. Parliament does not record when two MPs have come to a pairing arrangement, so on TheyWorkForYou, they will both appear to have been absent for the vote.
See more detail on votes during the COVID-19 period here.
Note for journalists and researchers: The data on this page may be used freely, on condition that TheyWorkForYou.com is cited as the source.
This data was produced by TheyWorkForYou from a variety of sources.
For an explanation of the vote descriptions please see our page about voting information on TheyWorkForYou .
Profile photo: © Parliament (CC-BY 3.0)
