[9] Dodds later studied for a master's degree in Social Policy at the University of Edinburgh, and a PhD in government at the London School of Economics, where she completed a thesis on liberalisation in higher education in France and the UK in 2006.

[16] In 2018, the second edition of her book, Comparative Public Policy, was published by Red Globe Press, an imprint of Palgrave Macmillan.

Dodds also stood unsuccessfully in the 2010 general election in Reading East, finishing third with 25.5% of the vote behind the incumbent Conservative MP Rob Wilson and the Liberal Democrat candidate.

[31] On 5 April 2020, Dodds was appointed Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer by the newly elected Labour leader Keir Starmer, becoming the first woman to hold this position.

[32] Some commentators argued that she struggled to make an impact on the political discussion in the context of generous government spending during the COVID-19 pandemic.

[35] Two months later, after a set of relatively poor results for Labour at the 2021 local elections she was removed from her position in a shadow cabinet reshuffle and replaced with Rachel Reeves.

[36] Dodds became Shadow Secretary of State for Women and Equalities in September 2021, following the resignation of previous office holder Marsha de Cordova.

[39] LabourList has described Dodds as a "unity candidate", explaining that although she is not a Corbynite, she was supported by her predecessor as Shadow Chancellor, John McDonnell,[40] and the Financial Times has said that she is on the "soft left" of the party.

[43] In terms of criminal justice, she said that helping drug addicts end their dependency, and prosecuting drug dealers whose customers end up dying was important; and in terms of education, she maintained it was important to "better join up children's services across the fields of education, child care, health care and social services".

[43] In September 2019, she wrote on her website that she had taken part in climate marches, and explained her interest in ideas to promote increasing cycling and public transport in Oxford, and how "we simply cannot return to business as usual in the next parliamentary session".

[45] During the 2019 general election campaign, she argued in support of Labour's plans to increase corporation tax because she believes "those with the broadest shoulders" should contribute more.

[46] After being appointed Shadow Chancellor in early 2020, she stated that she remained committed to "co-operative and mutual ownership", as was supported under Corbyn's leadership of the party,[41] and opposed the introduction of a universal basic income.

"[47] This has prompted criticism from PinkNews as "sitting on the fence" and Spiked magazine for sacrificing "sex-based rights at the altar of gender ideology".