Jim Dowd was appointed as an opposition whip in 1994, before becoming the spokesman on Northern Ireland in 1995. Following the election of the Labour government at the 1997 General Election he was given a place in the Blair government as a whip. He was unexpectedly sacked after the 2001 general election, since when he was a member of the Health Select Committee and maintained a voting record strongly in line with government policies. In June 2012, Dowd joined the Science and Technology Select Committee.