Tina Wendy Stowell, Baroness Stowell of Beeston,MBE PC (born 2 July 1967) is a BritishConservative politician and member of theHouse of Lords.[1]
Baroness Stowell served asLeader of the House of Lords andLord Keeper of the Privy Seal underDavid Cameron. She was succeeded by theBaroness Evans of Bowes Park on 14 July 2016.
Stowell grew up inBeeston, Nottinghamshire. Her father was a painter/decorator and her mother worked in a local factory. She attendedChilwell Comprehensive School, where she gained fiveO-levels, followed byBroxtowe College in Beeston.[citation needed]
After leaving college, Stowell worked at theMinistry of Defence between 1986 and 1988. She was then employed at theBritish Embassy in theUnited States until 1991, before transferring to theNo. 10 Press Office, where she served under the then-Prime MinisterJohn Major. In recognition of her performance in this position, she was appointed aMember of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the1996 Birthday Honours.[2]
Following the1997 general election, Stowell worked atConservative Party Headquarters duringWilliam Hague's tenure asparty leader and was his Deputy Chief of Staff.[3][4]
In November 2001, Stowell joined theBBC as deputy secretary. She became Head of Communications for theBBC Trust in 2003, in which capacity she worked for three successive chairmen (Gavyn Davies,Michael Grade, andSir Michael Lyons). In September 2008 she became the BBC's Head of Corporate Affairs.[5]
In 2010, Stowell sought the Conservative nomination for the safe seat ofBromsgrove[6] but lost toSajid Javid. Labour MPs called for her to resign her BBC post to avoid a conflict of interest.[7]
Stowell was created aLife Peer asBaroness Stowell of Beeston, ofBeeston in theCounty of Nottinghamshire, on 10 January 2011. She wasintroduced to theHouse of Lords, where she sits on theConservative benches, on 13 January 2011.[8][9]
On 18 September 2011, Baroness Stowell was appointed aBaroness-in-Waiting to theQueen, following the promotion of the former Lord-in-WaitingLord Taylor of Holbeach (who became a junior minister at theDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs).[10]
In 2013, Baroness Stowell was responsible for steering theMarriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill forEngland and Wales through the House of Lords. She was subsequently, on 7 October 2013, promoted to the post ofParliamentary Under-Secretary at theDepartment for Communities and Local Government.[11]
On 2 April 2014, she defended overseas property investors inLondon in a Parliamentary debate.[12]
In acabinet reshuffle in July 2014, Baroness Stowell was appointedLeader of the House of Lords andLord Keeper of the Privy Seal. She also became aPrivy Counsellor. In this capacity, though she was able to attend its meetings, she was not a full member of theCabinet.
Following the2015 general election, Baroness Stowell remained in her role and became a full member of the Cabinet.[13] She was succeeded by the Rt. Hon.Baroness Evans of Bowes Park on 14 July 2016.[14]
TheDepartment for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport selected Stowell to be the new chair of theCharity Commission for England and Wales. However in 2018 the parliamentaryDigital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee at their interview of Stowell unanimously refused to endorse the appointment due to "a complete lack of experience" and a lack of "any real insight, knowledge or vision".[15]
In 2018, it was reported that theCharity Commission for England and Wales, of which Stowell is Chair, would question The Transformation Trust, a charity which Stowell was a trustee of, over staff payments.[16]
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Leader of the House of Lords 2014–2016 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Lord Privy Seal 2014–2016 | |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Leader of the Conservative Party in the House of Lords 2014–2016 | Succeeded by |
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