Letwin was first elected as a member of the Conservative Party. Later, he became an independent MP in September 2019. He held important roles like Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer and Shadow Home Secretary. He also served as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster from 2014 to 2016.

After the 2015 general election, Letwin was in charge of the Cabinet Office. He became a full member of the Cabinet in the Conservative government. Before that, he was the Minister of State for Government Policy starting in 2010.

In 2019, Letwin worked with other MPs to hold "indicative votes" on different Brexit options. This was to see if any option had enough support in Parliament. He also worked to extend Article 50 through the Cooper–Letwin Act. He announced he would step down from Parliament in August 2019.

Early Life and Education
Political Journey
- MP for West Dorset (1997–2019)
Public Spending Views
Personal Life
Honours and Titles

Early Life and Education

Oliver Letwin was born in London on May 19, 1956. His father, William Letwin, was a professor at the London School of Economics. His mother, Shirley Robin Letwin, was also an academic. His parents were Jewish-American thinkers from Chicago.

He went to The Hall School, Hampstead and Eton College. Then, he studied history at Trinity College, Cambridge, where he earned top grades. From 1980 to 1982, he was a research fellow at Darwin College, Cambridge. He earned his PhD in 1982 with a thesis called Emotion and Emotions. He also studied at the London Business School.

Political Journey

Letwin worked for Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in her Policy Unit from 1983 to 1986.

In 1985, Letwin suggested that a new tax, the "Poll tax," be tried in Scotland first. This tax later became very controversial across the UK.

Another memo from 1985 showed Letwin's thoughts on the Broadwater Farm riot. He later apologized for parts of this memo, saying they were "badly worded and wrong."

In 1988, Letwin co-wrote a paper about the National Health Service (NHS). It suggested that the NHS should work more closely with private companies. This idea influenced later changes to the NHS.

Letwin ran for Parliament twice before winning. He lost in 1987 in Hackney North and Stoke Newington and in 1992 in Hampstead and Highgate.

MP for West Dorset (1997–2019)

Letwin won the seat for West Dorset in the 1997 general election. This area was usually a safe seat for the Conservative Party. He won by 1,840 votes.

Shadow Cabinet Roles (2000–2010)

In September 2000, William Hague, who was the leader of the Conservative Party, made Letwin a member of his Shadow Cabinet. Letwin became the Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury.

He had previously been a spokesperson for Constitutional Affairs, Scotland, and Wales since 1998. In 1999, he was promoted to Shadow Financial Secretary to the Treasury.

During the 2001 general election, Letwin suggested cutting public spending by £20 billion each year. This idea was not popular, and he kept a low profile for the rest of the campaign. His majority in West Dorset was reduced to 1,414 votes.

In September 2001, Iain Duncan Smith, the new Conservative leader, appointed Letwin as Shadow Home Secretary. In this role, he supported "neighbourhood policing" and helped stop a law about religious hatred.

In late 2003, Michael Howard made Letwin the Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer. In this role, he focused on reducing waste in government spending.

In the 2005 general election, the Conservative Party claimed they could save £35 billion. These savings would be used for public services and tax cuts. Letwin's majority in his seat increased to 2,461 votes. After the election, he became Shadow Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

After the 2005 election, Letwin supported David Cameron to become the new leader of the Conservative Party.

Before the 2010 general election, Letwin played a key role in creating Conservative Party policies. He was seen as a very important figure in this process. In the 2010 election, his majority increased to 3,923 votes.

Cameron's Government (2010–2016)

In May 2010, Prime Minister David Cameron appointed Letwin to a new role: Minister of State for Government Policy. He helped develop government policies and put them into action. He also attended Cabinet meetings.

On July 14, 2014, Letwin became Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. He continued as Minister for Policy until the 2015 general election, when that role was ended.

In the 2015 general election, Letwin was re-elected with a much larger majority of 16,130 votes. After this election, he remained Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. Cameron also made him a full member of the Cabinet, overseeing the Cabinet Office.

After the 2016 vote on leaving the European Union, Cameron appointed Letwin "Minister for Brexit." Letwin later faced questions about the government's lack of planning for a "leave" vote. When Cameron resigned, Letwin said he was "holding the baby" (meaning the Brexit process) and wanted it to succeed.

Letwin received a knighthood from David Cameron in 2016. This gave him the title "Sir" for life.

May's Government (2016–2019)

When Theresa May became Prime Minister, she ended Letwin's role as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. She also split the "Minister for Brexit" job into a new role, Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union.

In 2018, Letwin led a review about building new homes on large development sites.

In 2019, during Theresa May's time as Prime Minister, Letwin worked with other MPs to propose "indicative votes" on Brexit options. This allowed MPs to vote on different ideas to see if any had enough support. No option received a majority, but the "People's Vote" idea was the most popular.

Leaving the Conservative Party

In August 2019, Letwin announced he would not run in the next general election. On September 3, 2019, he proposed the Letwin motion. He and 20 other Conservative MPs voted against the government led by Boris Johnson. Their vote aimed to take control of Parliament's business to introduce a bill. This bill would stop the UK from leaving the EU without a deal on October 31. The bill later became the European Union (Withdrawal) (No. 2) Act 2019.

Because they voted against the government, Letwin and the other 20 MPs lost the Conservative whip. This meant they were no longer officially Conservative MPs and had to sit as independents. Since Letwin had already decided not to run again, this change did not affect his future election plans.

As an Independent MP

After leaving the Conservative Party, Letwin sat as an independent MP. On October 19, 2019, he proposed an important amendment to the government's plans for a special Saturday session of Parliament. His amendment passed with 322 votes to 306. This caused the government to delay a vote on the Brexit deal.

Letwin did not stand in the 2019 general election. Chris Loder became the new Conservative candidate for West Dorset and was elected as the MP for the area.

Public Spending Views

In June 2017, Letwin said that people might be willing to pay a little more tax. He believed this would help pay for better public services. He also thought it was important to reduce the national debt. This would help protect Britain during future economic challenges.

Personal Life

Oliver Letwin married Isabel Davidson, a government lawyer, in 1984. They have two children.

In 2003, Letwin made a strong statement about his children's education. He said he would go to great lengths to ensure they attended private schools rather than local state schools.

Honours and Titles

He became a member of Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council in 2002. This gave him the title "The Right Honourable" for life.
He received a knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II in 2016. This gave him the title "Sir" for life.
He was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. This means he can use the letters "FRSA" after his name.

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