Caroline Julia Dinenage, Baroness Lancaster of Kimbolton, (born 28 October 1971), also styled as Dame Caroline Dinenage, is a British
Conservative Party politician who has been the
Member of Parliament (MP) for
Gosport
Gosport ( ) is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hampshire, England. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 Census, the town had a population of 70,131 and the district had a pop ...
since
2010
The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...
.
Dinenage was appointed
Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...
(DBE) in the
2022 Political Honours.
Early life and career
Caroline Dinenage was born on 28 October 1971 in
Portsmouth
Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...
, the daughter of television presenter
Fred Dinenage
Frederick Edgar Dinenage ( ; born 8 June 1942) is a British author, broadcaster and television presenter. His television career has spanned nearly 60 years, including the long-running children's programme '' How'' and ITV's regional programmin ...
and Beverley Summers.
She attended
Wykeham House School, a
private school
A private school or independent school is a school not administered or funded by the government, unlike a State school, public school. Private schools are schools that are not dependent upon national or local government to finance their fina ...
for girls in
Fareham
Fareham ( ) is a market town at the north-west tip of Portsmouth Harbour, between the cities of Portsmouth and Southampton in south east Hampshire, England. It gives its name to the Borough of Fareham. It was historically an important manufac ...
, then
Oaklands RC Comprehensive School,
Waterlooville, before studying Politics and English at
Swansea University
Swansea University () is a public university, public research university located in Swansea, Wales, United Kingdom.
It was chartered as University College of Swansea in 1920, as the fourth college of the University of Wales. In 1996, it chang ...
.
Dinenage established her first manufacturing company at the age of 19, and was a director/
company secretary
A Company secretary is a senior position in the corporate governance of organizations, playing a crucial role in ensuring adherence to statutory and regulatory requirements. This position is integral to the efficient functioning of corporations, ...
of Dinenages Ltd for 20 years.
In May 1998 she was elected as the youngest member in
Winchester District Council.
Parliamentary career
Dinenage stood as the
Conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...
candidate in
Portsmouth South
Portsmouth South is a List of United Kingdom Parliament constituencies, constituency represented in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2017 United Kingdom general election, 2017 by Stephen Mor ...
at the
2005 general election, coming second with 33.5% of the vote behind the incumbent
Liberal Democrat MP
Mike Hancock.
1st term (2010–2015)
At the
2010 general election, Dinenage was elected to Parliament as MP for
Gosport
Gosport ( ) is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hampshire, England. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 Census, the town had a population of 70,131 and the district had a pop ...
with 51.8% of the vote and a majority of 14,413.
Dinenage worked with local partners to secure
Enterprise Zone
An urban enterprise zone is an area in which policies to encourage economic growth and development are implemented. Urban enterprise zone policies generally offer tax concessions, infrastructure incentives, and reduced regulations to attract invest ...
status for the Daedalus disused military airfield at
Lee-on-the-Solent in August 2011.
Dinenage sat on the
Business, Innovation and Skills Select Committee 2012–2015.
Dinenage successfully campaigned for a
medal
A medal or medallion is a small portable artistic object, a thin disc, normally of metal, carrying a design, usually on both sides. They typically have a commemorative purpose of some kind, and many are presented as awards. They may be in ...
for the veterans of the
Arctic convoys of World War II
The Arctic convoys of World War II were oceangoing convoys which sailed from the United Kingdom, Iceland, and North America to northern ports in the Soviet Union – primarily Arkhangelsk (Archangel) and Murmansk in Russia. There were 78 convoys ...
. She served as the vice-chair (Royal Navy) of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Armed Forces 2010–2014, and was a UK delegate to the
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...
Parliamentary Assembly and vice-chair of the NATO Science and Technology Sub-Committee.
Dinenage has campaigned for local road improvements in 2013, helping in May 2019 to secure £25.7m Government funding for the Stubbington Bypass, which has now been completed.
2nd term (2015–2017)
At the
2015 general election, Dinenage was re-elected as MP for Gosport with an increased vote share of 55.3% and an increased majority of 17,098.
In August 2016, Campaign group Action 4 Ashes praised Dinenage for her swift action as Justice Minister in introducing important changes to cremation regulation.
3rd term (2017–2019)
Dinenage was again re-elected at the snap
2017 general election with an increased vote share of 61.9% and an increased majority of 17,211.
In January 2018, Dinenage was appointed as Minister of State for Care at the Department for Health & Social Care. Dinenage was the first minister since
Alistair Burt
Alistair James Hendrie Burt (born 25 May 1955) is a Conservative British politician who served as Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for North East Bedfordshire from 2001 until 2019. He was previously MP for his nat ...
to hold the social care portfolio at Minister of State level, after Theresa May handed the portfolio to a Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State under
David Mowat and
Jackie Doyle-Price
Dame Jacqueline Doyle-Price (born 5 August 1969) is a British former Conservative Party politician and former civil servant who was Member of Parliament (MP) for Thurrock from 2010 to 2024. She was first elected as MP in the 2010 general el ...
. Dinenage's appointment was welcomed by
learning disabilities
Learning disability, learning disorder, or learning difficulty (British English) is a condition in the brain that causes difficulties comprehending or processing information and can be caused by several different factors. Given the "difficulty ...
charity
Hft, who had campaigned for the restoration of the Minister of State role.
In June 2018, Dinenage launched the Carers Action Plan to support unpaid carers in England.
Following her campaign against proposals which would have seen the closure of the Royal Navy School of Engineering at , in February 2019 the government indefinitely delayed the closure of the site.
In November 2019, she introduced plans for making learning disability and autism training mandatory for all Health and Social Care professionals.
4th term (2019–2024)
At the
2019 general election, Dinenage was again re-elected with an increased vote share of 66.5% and an increased majority of 23,278.
In August 2020, Dinenage launched a consultation on Changing Places toilets: the resulting building regulation changes would ensure larger accessible toilets were added to more than 150 major buildings a year.
Dinenage had ministerial responsibility for the
Online Safety Bill,
which was published in draft form in November 2021.
As Education Minister, in November 2021 she delivered the government's manifesto commitment of 30 hours' free childcare for 3- and 4-year-olds.
On 7 August 2023, the Guardian reported that Dinenage, chair of the select committee that scrutinises the British television industry, had recently hosted a drinks event in parliament for the news channel GB News.
On 20 September 2023, after allegations of sexual misconduct had been made against
Russell Brand, Dinenage wrote to the social media platform
Rumble on a House of Commons letterhead, expressing her committee's concern that "he
rand
The RAND Corporation, doing business as RAND, is an American nonprofit global policy think tank, research institute, and public sector consulting firm. RAND engages in research and development (R&D) in several fields and industries. Since the ...
may be able to profit from his content on the platform", and enquiring "whether Rumble intends to join YouTube in suspending Mr Brand's ability to earn money on the platform". Rumble issued a response on
X, expressing their support for "a free internet" and rejecting what they saw as "the UK Parliament's demands", adding that it was "deeply inappropriate and dangerous that the UK Parliament would attempt to control who is allowed to speak on our platform or to earn a living from doing so".
5th term (2024–)
Dinenage was again re-elected at the
2024 general election, with a decreased vote share of 40.3% and a decreased majority of 6,066. In November 2024, Dinenage voted for the
Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill.
Personal life
Dinenage had two children with her first husband Carlos Garreta, a
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
officer. In February 2014, she married
Mark Lancaster, Baron Lancaster of Kimbolton
Major General (United Kingdom), Major General John Mark Lancaster, Baron Lancaster of Kimbolton, (born 12 May 1970) is a British Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Party politician, a Member of the House of Lords and a British Army reserve o ...
, a former MP and now member of the House of Lords, giving Dinenage the title Lady Lancaster, although she does not use this professionally.
She has made a parachute jump and abseiled off Portsmouth's
Spinnaker Tower to raise funds for the
MS Society. A patron of Conservatives against Fox Hunting, she was named one of
Queen
Queen most commonly refers to:
* Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom
* Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king
* Queen (band), a British rock band
Queen or QUEEN may also refer to:
Monarchy
* Queen dowager, the widow of a king
* Q ...
guitarist and animal welfare campaigner
Brian May
Sir Brian Harold May (born 19 July 1947) is an English musician, songwriter, record producer, animal welfare activist and astrophysics, astrophysicist. He achieved global fame as the lead guitarist and backing vocalist of the rock band Queen ...
's Heroes of 2010.
References
External links
Caroline Dinenage websiteCaroline Dinenage profileat TheyWorkForYou.com
, -
, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dinenage, Caroline
1971 births
Living people
Alumni of Swansea University
Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies
UK MPs 2010–2015
UK MPs 2015–2017
UK MPs 2017–2019
UK MPs 2019–2024
UK MPs 2024–present
Female members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies
Councillors in Hampshire
Politicians from Portsmouth
People educated at Oaklands Catholic School
21st-century British women politicians
Lancaster of Kimbolton
Spouses of life peers
21st-century English women
21st-century English politicians
Women councillors in England
Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire
Women government ministers in the United Kingdom