Caroline Dinenage

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 since 2010.

Dinenage was appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in the 2022 Political Honours.

Early life and career
Caroline Dinenage was born on 28 October 1971 in Portsmouth, the daughter of television presenter Fred Dinenage and Beverley Summers.

She attended Wykeham House School, a private school for girls in Fareham, then Oaklands RC Comprehensive School, Waterlooville, before studying Politics and English at Swansea University.

Dinenage established her first manufacturing company at the age of 19, and was a director/company secretary 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 candidate in Portsmouth South at the 2005 general election, coming second with 33.5% of the vote behind the incumbent Liberal Democrat MP Mike Hancock.

At the 2010 general election, Dinenage was elected to Parliament as MP for Gosport with 51.8% of the vote and a majority of 14,413.

Dinenage worked with local partners to secure Enterprise Zone 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 for the veterans of the Arctic convoys of World War II. 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 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.

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.

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 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. Dinenage's appointment was welcomed by learning disabilities 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 HMS Sultan (shore establishment), 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.

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 [Brand] 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".

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.

Personal life
Dinenage has two children with her first husband Carlos Garreta, a Royal Navy officer. In February 2014, she married Mark Lancaster, Baron Lancaster of Kimbolton, 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 guitarist and animal welfare campaigner Brian May's Heroes of 2010.