The Lord Howarth of Newport | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2018 | |
| Parliamentary Under-Secretary 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 Education | |
| In office 5 May 1997 – 28 July 1998 | |
| Prime Minister | Tony Blair |
| Preceded by | Jim Paice |
| Succeeded by | Margaret Hodge |
| 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 |
| |
| In office 15 June 2005 – 10 September 2025 | |
| Member of Parliament forNewport East | |
| In office 1 May 1997 – 11 April 2005 | |
| Preceded by | Roy Hughes |
| Succeeded by | Jessica Morden |
| Member of Parliament forStratford-on-Avon | |
| In office 9 June 1983 – 8 April 1997 | |
| Preceded by | Angus Maude |
| Succeeded by | John Maples |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Alan Thomas Howarth (1944-06-11)11 June 1944 Marylebone, London, England |
| Died | 10 September 2025(2025-09-10) (aged 81) |
| Political party | Labour (1995–2025) |
| Other political affiliations | Conservative (until 1995) |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 4 |
| Alma mater | King's College, Cambridge |
Alan Thomas Howarth, Baron Howarth of Newport,CBE, PC (11 June 1944 – 10 September 2025) was a BritishLabour Party politician andlife peer, who was amember of Parliament (MP) from 1983 to 2005. First elected as aConservative before defecting to Labour in 1995, he was one of few politicians in recent years[when?] to have served as a minister in both Labour and Conservative governments. He sat in theHouse of Lords as a Labourlife peer.
Alan Howarth was the son of Major Thomas Howarth MC (Chief Master ofKing Edward's School, Birmingham, Second Master ofWinchester College and High Master ofSt. Paul's School) and Margaret Teakle (who was aWren in theSecond World War). He was educated atRugby School and gained aBA in History fromKing's College, Cambridge in 1965.
Howarth subsequently worked in theConservative Party Chairman's office inConservative Central Office underWillie Whitelaw andPeter Thorneycroft, before becoming director of theConservative Research Department and party vice-chairman.[1]
Having been appointed aCommander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the1982 New Year Honours[2] for political service, Howarth wasConservative Party MP forStratford-on-Avon, first elected in 1983. He was a founder member of the ThatcheriteNo Turning Back group. He served as awhip, and was subsequently Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State forEducation and Science from 1989 to 1992, becoming the architect of thepolytechnics' transition touniversity status.[1]
On 7 October 1995, Howarth announced his resignation from the Conservative Party and defected to theLabour Party, the first MP to defect directly from the Conservatives to Labour, and the first former Conservative MP to sit as a Labour MP sinceSir Oswald Mosley. The timing of the defection was crucial, as it immediately preceded theConservative Party conference, the first since Prime MinisterJohn Major had beenchallenged for the party leadership earlier in the year. He wanted a new seat to contest as a Labour candidate and, after failing to win the seats ofWentworth andWythenshawe and Sale East, he was selected for the safe Labour seat ofNewport East in Wales. TheNational Union of Mineworkers leaderArthur Scargill stood against him under theSocialist Labour Party banner, but he easily held the seat for Labour.
After theelection victory of 1997, he was appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education and Employment, becoming Minister for the Arts at theDepartment of Culture, Media and Sport the following year. He was also a member of thePrivy Council. He was dropped from the government after the2001 general election, and stood down from the House of Commons at the2005 general election.Jessica Morden was selected to replace him as candidate by theConstituency Labour Party. By the time he stood down, he had spent only 18 months of his 22-year career as an MP on the opposition benches (October 1995 to May 1997).
On 15 June 2005, he was created alife peer asBaron Howarth of Newport, ofNewport in theCounty of Gwent.[3] In a House of Lords debate on theoutcome of the European Union Referendum on 5 July 2016, Lord Howarth announced his support forBritain's departure from the European Union.[4]
Howarth married Gillian Chance in 1967. They had two daughters (born 1974 and 1975) and two sons (born 1977 and April 1985). They divorced in 1996. He was later the partner of Labour peerPatricia Hollis[5] who died in 2018. Howarth died from cancer on 10 September 2025, at the age of 81.[6][7]
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| New constituency | Member of Parliament forStratford-on-Avon 1983–1997 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forNewport East 1997–2005 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Minister for the Arts 1998–2001 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
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| National | |
| Artists | |
| People | |
