Alan Thomas Howarth, Baron Howarth of Newport, Commander of the Order of the British Empire, Personal Computer, is a British Labour Party politician who was a Member of Parliament from 1983 until 2005.
Background
He is the son of Major Thomas Howarth Military Cross (Chief Master of King Edward"s School, Birmingham, Second Master of Winchester College and High Master of Street Paul"s School) and Margaret Teakle (who was a WREN in the Second World War).
Education
He was educated at Rugby School and gained a Bachelor in History from King"s College, Cambridge in 1965.
Career
Having been awarded a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 1982 New Year"s Honours for political service, Howarth was Conservative Party Member of Parliament for Stratford-on-Avon, first elected in 1983. He served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education and Science from 1989 to 1992. Defection
In 1995 he defected from the Conservative Party to the Labour Party, the first Member of Parliament to defect directly from the Conservatives to Labour, and the first former Conservative Member of Parliament to sit as a Labour Member of Parliament since Sir Oswald Mosley.
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 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.
He was criticised when it was claimed that he and his partner, Baroness Hollis, live next door to each other but both claim expenses from the House of Lords.He and Baroness Hollis are one of the few couples to both hold noble titles in his or her own right.
Richard Branson in October 2000
Selling burgers in Royal Parks in May 2000.
Politics
The miners" leader Arthur Scargill stood against him under the Socialist Labour Party banner, but he easily held the seat for Labour.
Membership
49th United Kingdom Parliament. 50th United Kingdom Parliament. 51st United Kingdom Parliament.
52nd United Kingdom Parliament.
53rd United Kingdom Parliament]
He is also a member of the Privy Council.