David Howarth
Encyclopedia
David Ross Howarth is a British
Liberal Democrat
politician who was Member of Parliament
(MP) for Cambridge
from 2005 to 2010.
, a council estate in Bloxwich
in Staffordshire
, going to Queen Mary's Grammar School, Walsall. Attending Clare College, Cambridge
, he was President of Union of Clare Students
, and was on the committee of Cambridge University Liberal Club. He gained a BA
in Law in 1981. He then won a scholarship to Yale Law School
, gaining an LLM
in 1983. In 1985, he gained an MPhil
from Yale University
in Sociology. While at Yale, he was involved in Jesse Jackson
's 1984 presidential campaign.
He was a lecturer in Land Economy
, Law
and Economics
at the University of Cambridge
between 1988 and 2005, where he has been a Fellow of Clare College since 1985. He specialised in constitutional law
and tort law. He stood for the Cambridgeshire seat of Peterborough
in 1997, and had stood for the Cambridge seat in 1992 and 2001, before finally winning it in 2005.
from 1987 to 2004, becoming leader of the Lib Dem group in 1990, and then becoming leader of the council when the Liberal Democrats took control in 2000. In the 2005 general election
he was elected Member of Parliament
for Cambridge
, defeating Labour
MP Anne Campbell
with a majority of 4,339 votes (and winning 44% of the votes cast). He was the first Liberal or Liberal Democrat to win Cambridge since the 1906 general election
.
Howarth served on the Liberal Democrats' Federal Executive and Federal Policy Committees during the 1990s. He was a leading opponent within the Lib Dems of closer links to the Labour Party after the 1997 General Election, bringing him into conflict with Paddy Ashdown
.
In the Liberal Democrat
leadership election
following Charles Kennedy
's resignation in early 2006, Howarth was active in supporting Chris Huhne
's campaign.
His performances in the British parliament
were recognised in 2006 when he was shortlisted for The House Magazine
's 'Backbencher
of the Year award'. The citation read "Brought MPs’ attention to the ‘hidden’ effects of the Legislative and Regulatory Reform Bill". This was after he highlighted the side-effects of the original bill, which as originally drafted, would "give ministers power to alter any law passed by Parliament". Since "the Bill, bizarrely, even applies to itself, so that ministers could propose orders to remove the limitations" that were in the original bill, it would have effectively given unlimited power to ministers, and made parliament redundant. Howarth described the original bill as an "Abolition of Parliament Bill", and successfully lobbied for significant changes before it was passed into law. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/guest_contributors/article733022.ece
After his election, he became a Liberal Democrat spokesperson on local government and then energy, before specialising in shadowing the Ministry of Justice, as the Liberal Democrat Shadow Solicitor General
between 2007 and 2009. Between January 2009 and May 2010, he was the Liberal Democrat Shadow Secretary of State for Justice.
He was one of the relatively few MPs not implicated in the 2009 expenses scandal
, being singled out by The Guardian as one of the "Angels" for having " not claimed a penny in second home allowances" and commuting the 60 miles from Cambridge to Westminster.
On 5 November 2009, he announced that he would be standing down as MP for Cambridge at the next election, citing a desire to return to academia.
and Amnesty International
. In 1995 he won the Butterworth's Prize for best new legal textbook.
for a speeding offence.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Liberal Democrat
Liberal Democrats
The Liberal Democrats are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which supports constitutional and electoral reform, progressive taxation, wealth taxation, human rights laws, cultural liberalism, banking reform and civil liberties .The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the...
politician who was Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
(MP) for Cambridge
Cambridge (UK Parliament constituency)
Cambridge is a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first-past-the-post voting system....
from 2005 to 2010.
Education and academic career
David Howarth grew up on Mossley EstateMossley Estate, Walsall
The Mossley Estate is a housing estate located in Bloxwich, a town in the West Midlands of England. The vast majority of homes in the area are council properties built by the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall during the 1950s....
, a council estate in Bloxwich
Bloxwich
Bloxwich is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall, West Midlands, England, with a population of around 40,000 people.-Early history:Bloxwich has its origins at least as early as the Anglo-Saxon period, when the place name evidence suggests it was a small Mercian settlement named after the...
in Staffordshire
Staffordshire
Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
, going to Queen Mary's Grammar School, Walsall. Attending Clare College, Cambridge
Clare College, Cambridge
Clare College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England.The college was founded in 1326, making it the second-oldest surviving college of the University after Peterhouse. Clare is famous for its chapel choir and for its gardens on "the Backs"...
, he was President of Union of Clare Students
Common Room (university)
In some universities in the United Kingdom — particularly collegiate universities such as Oxford, Cambridge and Durham — students and the academic body are organised into common rooms...
, and was on the committee of Cambridge University Liberal Club. He gained a BA
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
in Law in 1981. He then won a scholarship to Yale Law School
Yale Law School
Yale Law School, or YLS, is the law school of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Established in 1824, it offers the J.D., LL.M., J.S.D. and M.S.L. degrees in law. It also hosts visiting scholars, visiting researchers and a number of legal research centers...
, gaining an LLM
Master of Laws
The Master of Laws is an advanced academic degree, pursued by those holding a professional law degree, and is commonly abbreviated LL.M. from its Latin name, Legum Magister. The University of Oxford names its taught masters of laws B.C.L...
in 1983. In 1985, he gained an MPhil
Master of Philosophy
The Master of Philosophy is a postgraduate research degree.An M.Phil. is a lesser degree than a Doctor of Philosophy , but in many cases it is considered to be a more senior degree than a taught Master's degree, as it is often a thesis-only degree. In some instances, an M.Phil...
from Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
in Sociology. While at Yale, he was involved in Jesse Jackson
Jesse Jackson
Jesse Louis Jackson, Sr. is an African-American civil rights activist and Baptist minister. He was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1984 and 1988 and served as shadow senator for the District of Columbia from 1991 to 1997. He was the founder of both entities that merged to...
's 1984 presidential campaign.
He was a lecturer in Land Economy
Land economy
Land economy is the study of law, economics, and the environment. The University of Cambridge and Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology are currently the only universities in the world offering such a degree at undergraduate level....
, Law
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
and Economics
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
at the University of Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
between 1988 and 2005, where he has been a Fellow of Clare College since 1985. He specialised in constitutional law
Constitutional law
Constitutional law is the body of law which defines the relationship of different entities within a state, namely, the executive, the legislature and the judiciary....
and tort law. He stood for the Cambridgeshire seat of Peterborough
Peterborough (UK Parliament constituency)
Peterborough is a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, formally styled The Honourable the Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in Parliament assembled. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past...
in 1997, and had stood for the Cambridge seat in 1992 and 2001, before finally winning it in 2005.
Political career
Howarth was a member of Cambridge City CouncilCambridge City Council
Cambridge City Council may refer to:* Cambridge City Council, England* Cambridge City Council, Massachusetts, USA* Cambridge, Ontario City Council, Canada...
from 1987 to 2004, becoming leader of the Lib Dem group in 1990, and then becoming leader of the council when the Liberal Democrats took control in 2000. In the 2005 general election
United Kingdom general election, 2005
The United Kingdom general election of 2005 was held on Thursday, 5 May 2005 to elect 646 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party under Tony Blair won its third consecutive victory, but with a majority of 66, reduced from 160....
he was elected Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for Cambridge
Cambridge (UK Parliament constituency)
Cambridge is a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first-past-the-post voting system....
, defeating Labour
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
MP Anne Campbell
Anne Campbell
Anne Campbell is an English Labour Party politician. She was the Member of Parliament for Cambridge from 1992 to 2005.-Early life:She went to Newnham College, Cambridge, taking the Maths Tripos, and gaining an MA in 1965....
with a majority of 4,339 votes (and winning 44% of the votes cast). He was the first Liberal or Liberal Democrat to win Cambridge since the 1906 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1906
-Seats summary:-See also:*MPs elected in the United Kingdom general election, 1906*The Parliamentary Franchise in the United Kingdom 1885-1918-External links:***-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987**...
.
Howarth served on the Liberal Democrats' Federal Executive and Federal Policy Committees during the 1990s. He was a leading opponent within the Lib Dems of closer links to the Labour Party after the 1997 General Election, bringing him into conflict with Paddy Ashdown
Paddy Ashdown
Jeremy John Durham Ashdown, Baron Ashdown of Norton-sub-Hamdon, GCMG, KBE, PC , usually known as Paddy Ashdown, is a British politician and diplomat....
.
In the Liberal Democrat
Liberal Democrats
The Liberal Democrats are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which supports constitutional and electoral reform, progressive taxation, wealth taxation, human rights laws, cultural liberalism, banking reform and civil liberties .The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the...
leadership election
Liberal Democrats leadership election, 2006
In the 2006 Liberal Democrats leadership election, Sir Menzies Campbell was elected to succeed Charles Kennedy as Leader of the Liberal Democrats, the third-largest political party in the United Kingdom....
following Charles Kennedy
Charles Kennedy
Charles Peter Kennedy is a British Liberal Democrat politician, who led the Liberal Democrats from 9 August 1999 until 7 January 2006 and is currently a Member of Parliament for the Ross, Skye and Lochaber constituency....
's resignation in early 2006, Howarth was active in supporting Chris Huhne
Chris Huhne
Christopher Murray Paul-Huhne, generally known as Chris Huhne is a British politician and cabinet minister, who is the current Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament for the Eastleigh constituency in Hampshire...
's campaign.
His performances in the British parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
were recognised in 2006 when he was shortlisted for The House Magazine
The House Magazine
The House Magazine is a weekly British political magazine relating to the British House of Commons. It is managed by a cross-party editorial team of MPs and overseen by a panel of senior parliamentarians....
's 'Backbencher
Backbencher
In Westminster parliamentary systems, a backbencher is a Member of Parliament or a legislator who does not hold governmental office and is not a Front Bench spokesperson in the Opposition...
of the Year award'. The citation read "Brought MPs’ attention to the ‘hidden’ effects of the Legislative and Regulatory Reform Bill". This was after he highlighted the side-effects of the original bill, which as originally drafted, would "give ministers power to alter any law passed by Parliament". Since "the Bill, bizarrely, even applies to itself, so that ministers could propose orders to remove the limitations" that were in the original bill, it would have effectively given unlimited power to ministers, and made parliament redundant. Howarth described the original bill as an "Abolition of Parliament Bill", and successfully lobbied for significant changes before it was passed into law. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/guest_contributors/article733022.ece
After his election, he became a Liberal Democrat spokesperson on local government and then energy, before specialising in shadowing the Ministry of Justice, as the Liberal Democrat Shadow Solicitor General
Solicitor General for England and Wales
Her Majesty's Solicitor General for England and Wales, often known as the Solicitor General, is one of the Law Officers of the Crown, and the deputy of the Attorney General, whose duty is to advise the Crown and Cabinet on the law...
between 2007 and 2009. Between January 2009 and May 2010, he was the Liberal Democrat Shadow Secretary of State for Justice.
He was one of the relatively few MPs not implicated in the 2009 expenses scandal
United Kingdom Parliamentary expenses scandal
The United Kingdom parliamentary expenses scandal was a major political scandal triggered by the leak and subsequent publication by the Telegraph Group in 2009 of expense claims made by members of the United Kingdom Parliament over several years...
, being singled out by The Guardian as one of the "Angels" for having " not claimed a penny in second home allowances" and commuting the 60 miles from Cambridge to Westminster.
On 5 November 2009, he announced that he would be standing down as MP for Cambridge at the next election, citing a desire to return to academia.
Interests and membership
Howarth is a member of Friends of the EarthFriends of the Earth
Friends of the Earth International is an international network of environmental organizations in 76 countries.FOEI is assisted by a small secretariat which provides support for the network and its agreed major campaigns...
and Amnesty International
Amnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
. In 1995 he won the Butterworth's Prize for best new legal textbook.
Personal life
David Howarth has two children and is married to Edna Howarth. Edna Howarth is a magistrate in Cambridge Magistrates' Court who was notably involved in the sentencing of Stephen FryStephen Fry
Stephen John Fry is an English actor, screenwriter, author, playwright, journalist, poet, comedian, television presenter and film director, and a director of Norwich City Football Club. He first came to attention in the 1981 Cambridge Footlights Revue presentation "The Cellar Tapes", which also...
for a speeding offence.
External links
- David Howarth MP official site
- David Howarth MP official Liberal Democrats profile