The Baroness Jowell | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Official portrait, 2007 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Minister for the Cabinet Office | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 5 June 2009 – 11 May 2010 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Prime Minister | Gordon Brown | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Liam Byrne | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Francis Maude | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 8 June 2001 – 27 June 2007 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Prime Minister | Tony Blair | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Chris Smith | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | James Purnell | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Personal details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | Tessa Jane Helen Douglas Palmer (1947-09-17)17 September 1947[1] Marylebone, London, England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 12 May 2018(2018-05-12) (aged 70) Darlingscott, Warwickshire, England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Political party | Labour | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Spouses | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Children | 2, includingJess Mills | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Relatives | Ella Woodward(daughter-in-law) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Alma mater | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Signature |  | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Tessa Jane Helen Douglas Jowell, Baroness Jowell,DBE, PC (née Palmer; 17 September 1947 – 12 May 2018) was aBritish Labour Party politician andlife peer who served as theMember of Parliament (MP) forDulwich and West Norwood, previouslyDulwich, from1992 to2015.
Jowell held a number of major government ministerial positions, as well as opposition appointments, during this period. She served asSecretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport from 2001 to 2007 andMinister for the Cabinet Office from 2009 to 2010. A member of both theBlair andBrown Cabinets, she was alsoMinister for the Olympics (2005–10) andShadow Minister for the Olympics andShadow Minister for London until September 2012, resigning after the London Olympic Games.
APrivy Counsellor from 1998,[2] she was appointed Dame Commander of theOrder of the British Empire (DBE) in 2012.[3] She stood down from theHouse of Commons at the2015 general election.
She was nominated for alife peerage in the2015 Dissolution Honours and was raised to the peerage as Baroness Jowell, ofBrixton in the London Borough ofLambeth, on 27 October 2015. In September 2015, she was unsuccessful in seeking to be selected as the Labour Party's official candidate in the2016 London mayoral election, coming second toSadiq Khan in the contest of six candidates.
Tessa Jane Helen Douglas Palmer was born atMiddlesex Hospital[4][5] inMarylebone, London, to Kenneth Nelson Veysey Palmer,[6] a physician, and his wife, Rosemary (née Douglas),[7][8] aradiographer.[9]
She was educated at the independentSt Margaret's School for Girls in Aberdeen, theUniversity of Aberdeen (where she studied arts, psychology and sociology) and theUniversity of Edinburgh (where she studied for anMA in Social Administration). She became a social worker, initially working in theCraigmillar area of Edinburgh and as a childcare officer inLambeth, before training atGoldsmiths College as a psychiatric social worker. She subsequently worked at theMaudsley Hospital, and later became assistant director of the mental health charityMind.[5]
During this time, Jowell took her first steps into electoral politics, being elected to representSwiss Cottage onCamden London Borough Council in the early 1970s, and becoming Chair of the Camden Borough Council's Social Services Committee at the age of 25.[5] In 1978, she was the Labour Party candidate ina by-election inIlford North but lost Labour's majority to theConservatives. She stood again in Ilford North at the1979 general election, also unsuccessfully.[10]
Elected as MP forDulwich at the1992 general election,[11] Jowell was successively appointed as an Opposition Spokesperson on Health, an OppositionWhip and Spokesperson on Women,[12][13] before returning to the Shadow Health team in 1996.[14] following boundary changes, she was the MP forDulwich and West Norwood from 1997.
Jowell was appointed asMinister of State in theDepartment of Health following the1997 Labour electoral landslide.[15] As the first Minister for Public Health she championed cross-sectoral action to improve health and reduce inequalities, initially set out in hergreen paper "Our Healthier Nation".[16] She moved, again as Minister of State, to theDepartment for Education and Employment in 1999.[17]
She was appointedSecretary of State at theDepartment for Culture, Media and Sport following the2001 election, replacing the sackedChris Smith.[18] One of her main concerns asCulture Secretary was television broadcasting. She blocked theBBC's plans for the digital channelBBC Three, on the grounds that they were insufficiently different from commercial offerings, and imposed extra conditions[19] onBBC News 24 after it was criticized on the same grounds by the Lambert Report.[20] She was responsible for theCommunications Act 2003 which established a new media regulator,Ofcom.[21][22] It also relaxed regulations on ownership of British television stations, though, following a rebellion in theHouse of Lords, a 'public interest' test was introduced as a compromise.[23]
In July 2003, she launched an overhaul of theNational Lottery.[24] She dealt with complaints that the lottery had been directed to fund programmes that should have been covered by mainstream taxation. In 2001Arts Council England announced changes to how funding would be distributed and she supported this.[25] She oversaw the restructuring of the Arts funding system but lost out in the 2004/5 spending round, when there was a cut in her departmental budget.[26] In 2004 a tax loophole was closed around film production in Britain.[27]
In 2004, Jowell faced resistance to proposals for a series of so-called "super casinos", to be sanctioned as part of theGambling Act 2005 which liberalised Britain'sgaming laws. Although some argued thatproblem gambling had ruined the lives of many ordinary people,[28] in the run up to the Bill, Jowell dismissed much of the criticism as being elitist, commenting that "opponents of the Government's gambling reforms aresnobs who want to deny ordinary people the right to bet". Former Labour Welfare MinisterFrank Field said her comments were crass, declaring, "I think this wholeNew Labour line that you insult people rather than engage in argument is deeply disturbing".[29]
In March 2005, Jowell announced a new governance system for the BBC: the BBC Trust, to replace the long-established Board of Governors.[30] The trust was introduced in 2007 but in 2012 was shown to be 'not fit for purpose', leading to the resignation of the Director General.[31]
InGordon Brown'sreshuffle in June 2007, following his succession as Labour leader andPrime Minister, Jowell was demoted from her position asSecretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport. She retained her Olympics portfolio, however, and was also appointedPaymaster General andMinister for London, being allowed to attend Cabinet, although not as a full member.[32] She was further demoted on 3 October 2008, losing her Minister for London role toTony McNulty, and being allowed to attend cabinet only when her area of responsibility was on the agenda.[33] In his 2009 reshuffle, Brown reappointed her to the Cabinet asMinister for the Cabinet Office.[34]
In the 2012 Birthday Honours, Jowell was appointedDame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) for "political and charitable services", in particular for her contribution to delivering the London 2012 Olympics.[35][36]
Jowell was a zealous supporter of the then Prime MinisterTony Blair, reportedly saying on one occasion that she would "jump under a bus" for him.[37][38] She was very supportive ofNew Labour and was fully loyal to its agenda, earning herself a strong reputation as aBlairite. In 2007, she supportedHazel Blears for the deputy leadership of the Labour Party.[39] In 2009, she was mentioned as a possible Cabinet minister who might resign over the leadership ofGordon Brown in order to trigger a leadership contest – a suggestion which proved unfounded. In opposition, Jowell supportedDavid Miliband's campaign to become Leader of the Labour Party,[40] but served inEd Miliband's Shadow Cabinet when he became Leader of HM Opposition.[41] In 2010 she briefly appeared as a landmark onGoogle Maps, as a result of a prank.[42]
She was involved in theBlue Labour movement in theLabour Party, and was a contributor toThe Purple Book, drawing on her background on the Right of the Labour Party.[43] Jowell set up theSure Start programme, Jowell said, "I am very proud of setting up Sure Start [the national nurture and childcare programme], because the first three years of a child's life are absolutely critical in determining the chances they have subsequently."[44]
Jowell was in charge of London's successful bid to host the2012 Olympics. She came up with the idea in 2002, during her time as Culture Secretary, when she said there was very little support from within the Cabinet, with many colleagues thinking that Paris' bid would win. Jowell convinced the Government to support the bid, however, and went ahead with it.[45][46] In 2004, she launched the bid and, when the Games were awarded to London, she was appointed Olympics Minister (in addition to her responsibilities as Culture Secretary), and held full ministerial responsibility for the bid from 2006. Despite being moved from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport in 2007, she retained her position as Olympics Minister throughout Labour's time in office.[32][47]
Following the general election of May 2010, at which Labour lost power, she became Shadow Olympics Minister. She remained on the 2012 Olympics Organising Committee, withLord Coe andJeremy Hunt. She was appointedDeputy mayor of theOlympic Village,[48] being responsible for making the Olympics take place. She resigned her role as Shadow Minister for the Olympics in September 2012, and returned to theHouse of Commonsbackbenches.[49]
In November 2013, Jowell announced that she would not contest thenext general election.[50]
In May 2015, she launched her campaign to be selected as the Labour Party's official candidate in the2016 London mayoral election.[51] Six candidates stood for selection and in September the process concluded with her coming second toSadiq Khan.[52]
She was nominated forlife peerage in the2015 Dissolution Honours by the Labour leader.[53] She was raised to the peerage asBaroness Jowell, ofBrixton in theLondon Borough of Lambeth, on 27 October 2015.[54]
In January 2018, Jowell got a standing ovation in the House of Lords for a speech. She began by speaking of how she came to be diagnosed with an extremely lethal form ofbrain cancer calledglioblastoma multiforme. She went on to advocate making more cancer treatments available in theNHS. She said, "In the end, what gives a life meaning is not only how it is lived, but how it draws to a close. I hope that this debate will give hope to other cancer patients, like me, so that we can live well together with cancer, not just dying of it. All of us, for longer."[55]
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Jowell's husbandDavid Mills was an international corporate lawyer who has acted forSilvio Berlusconi, then theItalian Prime Minister. Mills was investigated in Italy formoney laundering and allegedtax fraud.[56][57]
Jowell was investigated by theCabinet SecretaryGus O'Donnell over the allegations surrounding her husband, because of a possible conflict of interest between her personal life and ministerial duties. O'Donnell stated that, "it is the Prime Minister, not me, who, constitutionally, is the right and proper person to take a view on matters arising based on theMinisterial Code" in his letter,[58] andTony Blair decided that she was "not in breach" of the ministers' code of conduct.[59] On 4 March 2006, it was announced that Jowell and Mills had separated, after the allegations had begun to damage her political standing. Jowell said "although we are separated I have never doubted his innocence".[60] Scepticism that Jowell was unaware of the details of her husband's dealings with Berlusconi led to aPrivate Eye front cover of her with a speech bubble saying: "I have never met my husband".[61] Mills allegedly admitted to being "an idiot", and has expressed his remorse about the impact of his dealings upon his wife. The separation had effectively ended by September 2012.[62]
On 17 February 2009, an Italian court sentenced Mills to four years and six months in jail after finding him guilty of accepting a bribe from Berlusconi to give false evidence on his behalf during corruption trials which had taken place in 1997 and 1998. His defence counsel said that the sentence went "against the logic and dynamic of the evidence presented". The judgment was appealed by Mills. On 27 October 2009, the Italian Appeal Court upheld his conviction and prison sentence. Mills confirmed that he would initiate a second and final appeal to the Cassation Court.[63] On 25 February 2010, the Italian Cassation Court (the second and lastcourt of appeal under Italian law) dissolved the case because of thestatute of limitations.[64][65] For this type of crime, in Italian law, a case expires after 10 years. Mills argued that he received the money in 1999, and not 2000 as Prosecutors had previously argued, thus taking advantage of the statute of limitations.[66]
In 2001, Jowell was widely criticised for 'interfering' inIndependent Television Commission (ITC) rulings on complaints regardingBrass Eye.The Guardian newspaper suggested that "for the Culture Secretary to speak directly to the head of a TV network about a specific programme smacks of the Soviet commissar and the state broadcaster".[67][68][69] The ITC reminded Jowell that she should not be interfering in their processes, resulting in a Channel Four interviewer suggesting Jowell and her colleagues "must feel like idiots".[70]
In 2006, Jowell was criticised[71] for projected cost over-runs on the London2012 Summer Olympics project, which came under the supervision of her former department.[72]
She was among a number of ministers accused of hypocrisy[73] for opposing post office closures in their own constituencies while supporting the government's closure strategy at the national level.[74]
Jowell was Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport during theNews of the World newspaper phone-hacking scandal (pre-2007).[75] In January 2007,Clive Goodman, theNews of the World's 'royal editor', was jailed for four months, andGlenn Mulcaire, a private investigator employed by theNews of the World, was jailed for six months.[76] She is played byLucy Russell in the 2025 ITV drama about the hacking scandal,The Hack.[77]
In May 2014 a temporary personal assistant toRichard Scudamore, chief executive of England'sPremier League, read private emails between Scudamore and colleagues and friends. These included comments about women's football, which the assistant felt to be inappropriate. She passed them on to a national newspaper, theDaily Mirror. Jowell defended the reading and passing-on of the emails, declaring that, "in the world of social media and email, there is no public and private".[78]
Jowell served as a Richard L. and Ronay A. Menschel Senior Leadership Fellow atHarvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in 2016. In this role, she taught a course in the Department of Health Policy and Management called, "Health Policy and Leadership: Why do we know so much and do so little?"[79] Jowell also actively served on the Advisory Board of the Ministerial Leadership in Health Program, a joint initiative of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and theJohn F. Kennedy School of Government.[80]
Jowell's first marriage was to fellowCamden CouncillorRoger Jowell in 1970; this was dissolved in 1976, but she continued to use his surname.[81]
She marriedDavid Mills on 17 March 1979. They separated in March 2006, following the controversy over Mills's links to Silvio Berlusconi.[82] Jowell said onRadio 4'sWoman's Hour programme in September 2012 that she was seeing Mills regularly, saying that they had "reached a state of stability which I never thought possible".[62] She had a son and daughter, as well as three stepchildren (including journalistEleanor Mills) from her husband's first marriage.[citation needed] In April 2016, her son Matthew Mills married food writerElla Woodward, who is also his business partner.[83][84] Her daughterJess Mills is a singer.[85]
In January 2011, during theNews of the World phone hacking affair, it was revealed that Jowell had contacted lawyers as she attempted to find out who hacked into her voicemails on 28 separate occasions during 2006. Jowell contacted police in late January 2011 to inform them that there had recently been an unsuccessful attempt to listen to voicemail messages on her phone.[86]
On 17 September 2017, her family made public the news that she had been suffering from a brain tumour since May of that year. On her Twitter account, she stated "Thank you for so much love and support on my birthday. More people living longer better lives with cancer is my birthday pledge".[87] Jowell wanted more treatment for cancer patients, knowledge about cancer treatment shared more effectively, speedier diagnosis, greater access to experimental treatments, and improved survival rates.[88] After Jowell's death, Downing Street announced that in tribute to her, brain cancer government funding would be doubled and the so-called "gold standard dye" tumour diagnosis tests would be extended to all NHS hospitals.[89] In 2020 the Tessa Jowell Brain Cancer Mission (TJBCM) was created in her honour.[90][91]
On 11 May 2018, Jowell suffered a brain haemorrhage and fell into a coma at her home inDarlingscott, nearShipston-on-Stour, Warwickshire; she died the following day at the age of 70.[92][93]
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The culture secretary and her husband are to separate after the 'strains' of allegations about their finances.
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forDulwich 1992–1997 | Constituency abolished |
| New constituency | Member of Parliament forDulwich and West Norwood 1997–2015 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Shadow Minister for Women 1995–1996 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport 2001–2007 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister for Women 2005–2006 | Succeeded by |
| New office | Minister for the Olympics 2005–2010 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister for London 2007–2008 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Paymaster General 2007–2010 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister for the Cabinet Office 2009–2010 | |
| Preceded by | Minister for London 2009–2010 | Vacant Title next held by Gavin Barwell |
| Preceded by | Shadow Minister for the Cabinet Office 2010 | Succeeded by |
| New office | Shadow Minister for the Olympics 2010–2012 | Position abolished |
| Shadow Minister for London 2010–2013 | Succeeded by | |
| Preceded by | Shadow Minister for the Cabinet Office 2011 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Academics | |
| People | |
| Other | |
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