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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 profile
at 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