Contact details
Westminster
House of Lords, London, SW1A 0PW
Tel: 020 7219 5077
howartha@parliament.uk
Biography
Electoral history
MP for Stratford-on-Avon 1983-97 (Conservative June 1983-October 1995, Labour October 1995-May 1997), and for Newport East 1997-2005
Parliamentary career
PPS to Sir Rhodes Boyson as Minister of State, Northern Ireland Office and Department of Environment 1985-87;
Assistant Government Whip, 1987-88;
Government Whip 1988-89;
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Education and Science 1989-92,
Minister for Schools 1989-90,
Minister for Higher Education and Science 1990-92;
Resigned from Conservative Party and joined Labour Party, October 1995;
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State:
Department for Education and Employment, Employment Minister and Minister for Disabled People 1997-98,
Department for Culture, Media and Sport (Minister for the Arts) 1998-2001;
Member, Intelligence and Security Committee 2001-05
Party groups
Vice-chair, Conservative Party 1980-81
Councils, public bodies
Vice-President, Local Government Association 2001-10
International bodies
Leader, UK Parliamentary Trade Delegation to Washington 2003
Political interests
Economic policy, education, disability, charities, voluntary sector, social security, arts, heritage, constituencies
Countries of interest
Brazil, Vietnam, South Africa, Uganda
Name, style and title
Raised to the peerage as Baron Howarth of Newport, of Newport in the County of Gwent 2005
Register of Interests
7: Overseas visits
Visit to Vietnam, 17-24 September 2011, with All Party Parliamentary Group on Vietnam, using funds from sponsors previously declared (including University of Central Lancashire and Premier Oil), as guest of Government of Vietnam; other funding was provided by Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and certain ground travel and hospitality was provided by British Embassy in Hanoi and Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City
10: Non-financial interests (c)
Trustee, Poetry Archive
10: Non-financial interests (d)
Chair, Working Group on UK Literary Heritage
Vice President, Victorian Society
10: Non-financial interests (e)
Board Member, Norwich Heritage Economic and Regeneration Trust