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Oliver Dowden has joined Tory HQ as an expert on aggressive political ad campaigns for David Cameron Dowden was previously chairman of the Conservative Party but resigned last year after the Conservatives suffered terrible losses in two by-elections. Some members of the Conservative Party call it an "olive branch."
Rishi Sunak has tried to restore order after his deputy prime minister resigned in a bullying scandal by bringing in one of his closest political allies.
Oliver Dowden, affectionately nicknamed Olive by his Tory friends, is the new Deputy Prime Minister, appointed just hours after Dominic Raab left the cabinet.
Despite an early experience in the offensive form of political communications that once led to comparisons to Alastair Campbell, Dowden is known as one of the "good guys" in politics. Considered a safe pair of hands, one of your jobs will be to act as a spokesperson for the government when a crisis breaks out.
It's no coincidence that his sweet style is the antithesis of that of Raab, who today criticized the bullying investigation that led to his resignation as a 'Kafkaesque' saga, suggesting that officials tried to force him to resign.
Like Raab, Dowden studied law and went to Cambridge but, unlike many of his Tory colleagues, he attended a local public school in Garston, Hertfordshire.
He is highly regarded by Conservative MPs, although there is some envy for his closeness to the Prime Minister.
But he was elected to high office even before he became an MP, when he was working as a highly respected assistant to David Cameron. Another aide who worked with him at Downing Street for four years said he thrived in the role of solving everyday problems for Cameron. He was "always calm," he added.
His foray into the culture wars has occasionally caused some Tory MPs to shake their heads, as when he made a name for himself waging war against the National Trust and attacking 'awake psychodrama', including the West's alleged 'obsession' with pronouns. . But many thought it was genuine and not just a pandering to the prime minister at the time, one Boris Johnson.
The friends believe that the sign of their respect throughout the party can be seen in their longevity, even though the party has been run by very different characters. “Look how it served so many PMs,” said one.
He is considered one of the reasons why Sunak restored his abilities after the chaos of the Boris Johnson and Liz Truss eras.
Without behind-the-scenes glamor, he is an operator at the heart of government.
When he was working for Cameron, a colleague said: "He was brilliant, although no one had ever heard of him."
Defense Minister Alex Chalk has been appointed to replace Raab in his other role as Justice Secretary.
For Chalk, it's a major promotion and means he will be leaving the Defense Ministry, where he was in charge of procurement, to take on the much larger role of running the Justice Ministry.
He and Dowden have been close to Sunak for a long time and it came as no surprise that the two landed jobs in the new administration after Liz Truss's short-lived tenure.
Chalk, who was chosen in 2015 to represent Cheltenham, is no stranger to legal matters. A lawyer by training, he was Solicitor General for England and Wales and served as Minister for Prisons and Probation.
He and Sunak are also former Wykeham members, Winchester College alumni, and Chalk was among the ministers who joined the sweeping resignation that helped end Johnson's term.
He will take responsibility for prisons, the courts and a host of other matters, including his predecessor's controversial Bill of Rights bill.
Many workers in the criminal justice system breathe a sigh of relief at the appointment of Mr. Chalk to succeed Mr. Raab.
He was previously Solicitor General until his resignation when Boris Johnson's government collapsed last July. Subsequently, Mr. Chalk endorsed Rishi Sunak's leadership campaign.
He is not believed to be a big supporter of his predecessor's Bill of Rights, and his appointment could spell the end of the controversial law.
In his July resignation letter, Chalk spoke about his work on new domestic violence laws and providing legal advice, praising the "talented officials" he worked with at the Justice Department and the District Attorney's office. General.
Mr. Chalk is a lawyer and was in practice as recently as last year, and his chamber profile says that he "has prosecuted and defended in the most serious cases, including terrorist bombing plots, international fraud, rape cases and multi-handed murder." .
The Labor Party's shadow justice secretary Steve Reed praised Chalk, but stressed that he was the 11th Tory to hold the post in 13 "chaotic years".
The Prison Reform Trust charity said Chalk's appointment was an "opportunity to reset" the "harmful" changes Raab made to the probation system. "The vital and complex work of the Department of Justice has been undermined by Dominic Raab's reckless interference and his inability to interact professionally with his senior officials," said Chief Executive Officer Pia Sinha.
The Law Society has urged Mr Chalk to urgently "manage" the "broken justice system".
The reshuffle comes hours after Raab resigned from Rishi Sunak's cabinet following an investigation into the intimidation allegations against him.
Elsewhere, James Cartlidge took over Chalk's previous post at the Ministry of Defence, while Gareth Davies was appointed Treasury Secretary.
Raab's resignation also came as Science Minister Michelle Donelan was due to begin her maternity leave. She will be succeeded by Assistant Secretary Chloe Smith, who was secretary of labor and pensions under Liz Truss.
The shakeup will also see John Whittingdale return to government as minister in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, as well as the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.
AFP/Getty
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