Olivia Bloomfield

Olivia Caroline (nee Provis ) Bloomfield, Baroness Bloomfield of Hinton Waldrist (born 30 June 1960) is a British life peer and member of the House of Lords.

Early life and education Born in Barry, Vale of Glamorgan and later brought up in Bonvilston (also in the Vale of Glamorgan), she was educated at United World College of the Atlantic and read Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE) at St Hugh's College, Oxford, graduating in 1979. Her late father was a steel worker in the steel works in Cardiff.

Career Bloomfield was a governor at The Cheltenham Ladies' College from 2003 to 2009. She has worked for Bank of America, and then as a headhunter with a company known as Russell Reynolds Associates.

Bloomfield has held a post as a magistrate. She was also, for a time, a partner at the Atlantic Superconnection Corporation, a fund which plans to build an electric cable between Iceland and the UK.

Conservative Party

She was recruited by David Cameron and billionaire Michael Spencer - the Conservative treasurer from 2007 - 2010 - to work for the Conservative party at Conservative Campaign Headquarters from approximately 2007 to 2010, where she reported to both men. Her role was varied, but she was hired to help raise funds for the 2010 general election, which also meant dealing - and later clearing - with the party's then £8.5million deficit.

In January 2018, British Investigative magazine Private Eye reported Bloomfield had been forced to admit she had overlooked a personal connection when she had praised the "high standards of reporting and transparency" of financial services offered in the Cayman Islands. According to the magazine, she was later forced to admit that "a close family member is a director of a financial services company domiciled in the Cayman Islands".

After eliminating the Conservative Party's deficit, she was nominated for a life peerage as part of David Cameron's Resignation Honours and was created Baroness Bloomfield of Hinton Waldrist, of Hinton Waldrist in the County of Oxfordshire, on 5 September 2016. During her maiden speech, she told the House of Lords that she was learning the Welsh language.

In June 2023, she resigned from the Sunak ministry as a Lords Whip (Baroness in Waiting), following the bereavement of a family member.

In November 2024, Kemi Badenoch appointed her as Shadow Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales, succeeding John Lamont MP.

Personal life

Bloomfield divides her time between Oxfordshire, London and Pembrokeshire.