This is an old revision of this page, as edited by BrownHairedGirl (talk | contribs) at 01:28, 8 June 2019 (update general election links). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.
Revision as of 01:28, 8 June 2019 by BrownHairedGirl (talk | contribs) (update general election links)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff) Not to be confused with Alan Haworth, Baron Haworth.| The Right HonourableThe Lord Howarth of NewportCBE PC | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Minister of State for the Arts | |
| In office 28 July 1998 – 7 June 2001 | |
| Prime Minister | Tony Blair |
| Preceded by | Mark Fisher |
| Succeeded by | The Baroness Blackstone |
| Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Employment and Equal Opportunities | |
| In office 5 May 1997 – 28 July 1998 | |
| Prime Minister | Tony Blair |
| Preceded by | Cheryl Gillan |
| Succeeded by | Margaret Hodge |
| Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education and Science | |
| In office 24 July 1989 – 28 November 1992 | |
| Prime Minister | Margaret Thatcher John Major |
| Preceded by | John Butcher |
| Succeeded by | Tim Boswell |
| Lord Commissioner of the Treasury | |
| In office 27 July 1988 – 24 July 1989 | |
| Prime Minister | Margaret Thatcher |
| Preceded by | Mark Lennox-Boyd |
| Succeeded by | David Heathcoat-Amory |
| Assistant Government Whip | |
| In office 18 June 1987 – 25 July 1988 | |
| Prime Minister | Margaret Thatcher |
| Member of Parliament for Newport East | |
| In office 1 May 1997 – 5 May 2005 | |
| Preceded by | Roy Hughes |
| Succeeded by | Jessica Morden |
| Member of Parliament for Stratford-on-Avon | |
| In office 9 June 1983 – 1 May 1997 | |
| Preceded by | Angus Maude |
| Succeeded by | John Maples |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1944-06-11) 11 June 1944 (age 80) Marylebone, England, UK |
| Political party | Labour (1995 - present) |
| Other political affiliations | Conservative (until 1995) |
| Spouse | Gillian Chance (divorced) |
| Alma mater | King's College, Cambridge |
Alan Thomas Howarth, Baron Howarth of Newport, CBE, PC, (born 11 June 1944) is a British Labour Party and formerly Conservative Party politician who was a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1983 until 2005.
Early life
He is the son of Major Thomas Howarth MC (Chief Master of King Edward's School, Birmingham, Second Master of Winchester College and High Master of St. Paul's School) and Margaret Teakle (who was a WREN in the Second World War). He was educated at Rugby School and gained a BA in History from King's College, Cambridge in 1965.
Howarth subsequently worked in the Conservative Party Chairman's office in Conservative Central Office under Willie Whitelaw and Peter Thorneycroft, before becoming director of the Conservative Research Department and party vice-chairman.
Parliamentary career
Having been awarded a CBE in the 1982 New Year's Honours for political service, Howarth was Conservative Party MP for Stratford-on-Avon, first elected in 1983. He was a founder member of the Thatcherite No Turning Back group. He served as a whip, and was subsequently Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education and Science from 1989 to 1992, becoming the architect of the polytechnics' transition to university status.
Defection
In 1995 he defected from the Conservative Party to the Labour Party, the first MP to defect directly from the Conservatives to Labour, and the first former Conservative MP to sit as a Labour MP since Sir Oswald Mosley. He wanted a new seat to contest as a Labour candidate and, after failing to win the seats of Wentworth and Wythenshawe and Sale East, he was selected for the safe Labour seat of Newport East in Wales. The miners' leader Arthur Scargill stood against him under the Socialist Labour Party banner, but he easily held the seat for Labour.
After the election victory of 1997 he was appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education and Employment, becoming Minister for the Arts at the Department of Culture, Media and Sport the following year. He is also a member of the Privy Council. He was dropped from the government after the 2001 general election. He stood down from the House of Commons at the 2005 general election. Jessica Morden was selected to replace him as candidate by the Constituency Labour Party.
On 13 May 2005 it was announced that he would be created a life peer, and on 15 June 2005 he was created a life peer as Baron Howarth of Newport, of Newport in the County of Gwent. In a House of Lords debate on the Outcome of the European Union Referendum on 5 July 2016 Lord Howarth announced his support for Britain's departure from the European Union.
Controversy
He was criticised in 2008 when it was claimed that he and his partner, Baroness Hollis, lived next door to each other but both claimed expenses from the House of Lords. He and Baroness Hollis were one of the few couples to both hold noble titles in his or her own right.
Personal life
He married Gillian Chance in 1967. They divorced in 1996 and they have two daughters (born 1974 and 1975) and two sons (born 1977 and April 1985).
Styles of address
- 1944–1982: Mr Alan Howarth
- 1982–1983: Mr Alan Howarth CBE
- 1983–2000: Mr Alan Howarth CBE MP
- 2000–2005: The Rt Hon. Alan Howarth CBE MP
- 2005: The Rt Hon. Alan Howarth CBE
- 2005–: The Rt Hon. The Lord Howarth of Newport CBE PC
References
- ^ Bevins, Anthony (8 October 1995). "Anthony Bevins: Tories rocked as senior MP Alan Howarth defects to Labour". theguardian.com. Retrieved 30 June 2017.
- "No. 48837". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 1981. p. 8.
- "No. 57678". The London Gazette. 20 June 2005. p. 7991.
- https://hansard.parliament.uk/Lords/2016-07-05/debates/FA935259-4199-4220-B9C3-6E93C4D17514/OutcomeOfTheEuropeanUnionReferendum#contribution-2C9D1A80-D04D-42DE-BF13-25970D23D6E9
- Mail on Sunday 21 December 2008
- http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1099159/Revealed-Perk-lets-Lords-couples-claim-living-allowance-twice-share-home.html
External links
- They Work For You
- Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Alan Howarth
- "Alan Thomas Howarth, Baron Howarth of Newport" at The Peerage
News items
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| New constituency | Member of Parliament for Stratford-on-Avon 1983–1997 |
Succeeded byJohn Maples |
| Preceded byRoy Hughes | Member of Parliament for Newport East 1997–2005 |
Succeeded byJessica Morden |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded byMark Fisher | Minister for the Arts 1998–2001 |
Succeeded byBaroness Blackstone |
Categories:
- Use dmy dates from June 2011
- Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies
- Politics of Newport, Wales
- Welsh Labour Party MPs
- Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies
- Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom
- 1944 births
- Living people
- People educated at Rugby School
- Alumni of King's College, Cambridge
- Labour Party (UK) life peers
- Commanders of the Order of the British Empire
- UK MPs 1983–1987
- UK MPs 1987–1992
- UK MPs 1992–1997
- UK MPs 1997–2001
- UK MPs 2001–2005