Oliver Henley is a longstanding member of the House of Lords. He is currently a member of the Joint Committee on Human Rights.  He previously served as a Minister under four Prime Ministers, from Margaret Thatcher to Theresa May, in a range of departments including Social Security, Defence, and DEFRA and as a Minister of State at the Department of Education and the Home Office.  His most recent ministerial position, from 2017 to 2019 was at the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy where, among other responsibilities, he covered regulatory reform and the Life Sciences Industrial Strategy.

Between 1997 and 2010 he served as Opposition Chief Whip in the Lords, and subsequently as opposition spokesman for Home Affairs and Justice.

Oliver was called to the Bar in 1977.  He was an elected member of the County Council in his native Cumbria from 1986 to 1989, resigning on his appointment to the Government.  He was appointed to the Privy Council in 2013.