Ralph Howell
Encyclopedia
Sir Ralph Frederic Howell (25 May 1923 – 14 February 2008) was a British
farmer and Conservative Party
politician. He served as Member of Parliament
(MP) for North Norfolk
for 27 years.
in Norfolk
, the son of a farmer. He was educated at Diss
Grammar School
, Norfolk
. He joined the RAF in 1941, becoming a navigator
and bomb aimer. He was demobilised as a flight lieutenant
in 1946, and became an arable
farmer
, later chairing the local branch of the National Farmers Union.
He married Margaret Bone in 1950. His wife died in 2005. He was survived by their daughter and two sons.
Rural District Council from 1961. He stood for Parliament in North Norfolk
at the 1966 general election
, but could not displace the incumbent Labour
MP, Bert Hazell
. He won the seat at the 1970 general election
, and his assiduous constituency work enabled him to retain the seat for the next 27 years with increasing majorities.
His politics were considered to fall on the right wing of his party, supporting compulsory National Service
, reintroduction of the death penalty, tax cuts, reduction of the public sector
, stronger controls on immigration rules, and the introduction of identity cards. He was a proponent of the adoption of a "workfare
" system of unemployment benefit
s, to encourage unemployed people to find jobs. His book, Why Work?, was published in 1976, followed by Why Not Work? (1991) and Putting Britain Back to Work (1995). He served on several backbench committees, and on the executive of the 1922 Committee
from 1984 to 1990. In 1996, he introduced the Right to Work Bill, which proposed the state as the employer of last resort for the unemployed.
Howell was a nominated member of the European Parliament
from 1974 to 1979, and a delegate to the Council of Europe
and the Western European Union
from 1987 to 1997. He was knighted in 1993. His elder son, Paul Howell
, was elected as an MEP for Norfolk from 1979 to 1994.
He retired from the House of Commons at the 1997 general election
. His seat was retained by the Conservative David Prior
, the son of one of Howell's political opponents, "wet
" Conservative cabinet minister Jim Prior.
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...
farmer and Conservative Party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
politician. He served as 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 North Norfolk
North Norfolk (UK Parliament constituency)
North Norfolk 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 system of election....
for 27 years.
Early life
Howell was born in Great MoultonGreat Moulton
Great Moulton is a civil parish in the English county of Norfolk.It covers an area of and had a population of 699 in 289 households as of the 2001 census.For the purposes of local government, it falls within the district of South Norfolk....
in Norfolk
Norfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
, the son of a farmer. He was educated at Diss
Diss
Diss is a town in Norfolk, England close to the border with the neighbouring East Anglian county of Suffolk.The town lies in the valley of the River Waveney, around a mere that covers . The mere is up to deep, although there is another of mud, making it one of the deepest natural inland lakes...
Grammar School
Grammar school
A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and some other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching classical languages but more recently an academically-oriented secondary school.The original purpose of mediaeval...
, Norfolk
Norfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
. He joined the RAF in 1941, becoming a navigator
Navigator
A navigator is the person on board a ship or aircraft responsible for its navigation. The navigator's primary responsibility is to be aware of ship or aircraft position at all times. Responsibilities include planning the journey, advising the Captain or aircraft Commander of estimated timing to...
and bomb aimer. He was demobilised as a flight lieutenant
Flight Lieutenant
Flight lieutenant is a junior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many Commonwealth countries. It ranks above flying officer and immediately below squadron leader. The name of the rank is the complete phrase; it is never shortened to "lieutenant"...
in 1946, and became an arable
Agronomy
Agronomy is the science and technology of producing and using plants for food, fuel, feed, fiber, and reclamation. Agronomy encompasses work in the areas of plant genetics, plant physiology, meteorology, and soil science. Agronomy is the application of a combination of sciences like biology,...
farmer
Farmer
A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, who raises living organisms for food or raw materials, generally including livestock husbandry and growing crops, such as produce and grain...
, later chairing the local branch of the National Farmers Union.
He married Margaret Bone in 1950. His wife died in 2005. He was survived by their daughter and two sons.
Political career
He joined the Conservative Party, and was councillor for Mitford and LaunditchMitford and Launditch
Mitford and Launditch Hundred was an old grouping of parishes for administrative purposes in the County of Norfolk, England. It is located around East Dereham and is bordered by Walsingham Hundred, Aylsham Hundred, Horsham St...
Rural District Council from 1961. He stood for Parliament in North Norfolk
North Norfolk (UK Parliament constituency)
North Norfolk 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 system of election....
at the 1966 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1966
The 1966 United Kingdom general election on 31 March 1966 was called by sitting Labour Prime Minister Harold Wilson. Wilson's decision to call an election turned on the fact that his government, elected a mere 17 months previously in 1964 had an unworkably small majority of only 4 MPs...
, but could not displace the incumbent 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, Bert Hazell
Bert Hazell
Bertie Hazell, CBE , also known as Bert Hazell, was a British Labour Party politician and trade union activist....
. He won the seat at the 1970 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1970
The United Kingdom general election of 1970 was held on 18 June 1970, and resulted in a surprise victory for the Conservative Party under leader Edward Heath, who defeated the Labour Party under Harold Wilson. The election also saw the Liberal Party and its new leader Jeremy Thorpe lose half their...
, and his assiduous constituency work enabled him to retain the seat for the next 27 years with increasing majorities.
His politics were considered to fall on the right wing of his party, supporting compulsory National Service
National service
National service is a common name for mandatory government service programmes . The term became common British usage during and for some years following the Second World War. Many young people spent one or more years in such programmes...
, reintroduction of the death penalty, tax cuts, reduction of the public sector
Public sector
The public sector, sometimes referred to as the state sector, is a part of the state that deals with either the production, delivery and allocation of goods and services by and for the government or its citizens, whether national, regional or local/municipal.Examples of public sector activity range...
, stronger controls on immigration rules, and the introduction of identity cards. He was a proponent of the adoption of a "workfare
Workfare
Workfare is an alternative model to conventional social welfare systems. The term was first introduced by civil rights leader James Charles Evers in 1968; however, it was popularized by Richard Nixon in a televised speech August 1969...
" system of unemployment benefit
Unemployment benefit
Unemployment benefits are payments made by the state or other authorized bodies to unemployed people. Benefits may be based on a compulsory para-governmental insurance system...
s, to encourage unemployed people to find jobs. His book, Why Work?, was published in 1976, followed by Why Not Work? (1991) and Putting Britain Back to Work (1995). He served on several backbench committees, and on the executive of the 1922 Committee
1922 Committee
In British politics, the 1922 Committee is a committee of Conservative Members of Parliament. Voting membership is limited to backbench MPs although frontbench Conservative MPs have an open invitation to attend meetings. While the party was in opposition, frontbench MPs other than the party leader...
from 1984 to 1990. In 1996, he introduced the Right to Work Bill, which proposed the state as the employer of last resort for the unemployed.
Howell was a nominated member of the European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
from 1974 to 1979, and a delegate to the Council of Europe
Council of Europe
The Council of Europe is an international organisation promoting co-operation between all countries of Europe in the areas of legal standards, human rights, democratic development, the rule of law and cultural co-operation...
and the Western European Union
Western European Union
The Western European Union was an international organisation tasked with implementing the Modified Treaty of Brussels , an amended version of the original 1948 Treaty of Brussels...
from 1987 to 1997. He was knighted in 1993. His elder son, Paul Howell
Paul Howell
Paul Frederick Howell was a British politician who served as a Conservative Party Member of the European Parliament for Norfolk from 1979 to 1994.-Biography:...
, was elected as an MEP for Norfolk from 1979 to 1994.
He retired from the House of Commons at the 1997 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1997
The United Kingdom general election, 1997 was held on 1 May 1997, more than five years after the previous election on 9 April 1992, to elect 659 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party ended its 18 years in opposition under the leadership of Tony Blair, and won the general...
. His seat was retained by the Conservative David Prior
David Prior (UK politician)
David Gifford Leathes Prior is a former Conservative Party politician in the United Kingdom. He served as Member of Parliament for North Norfolk from 1997 until the 2001 general election, when he lost his seat to Norman Lamb of the Liberal Democrats by 483 votes.-Early life:He went to the...
, the son of one of Howell's political opponents, "wet
Wets
During the 1980s, members of the Conservative Party in the United Kingdom who opposed some of the more hard-line policies of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher were often referred to as "wets"...
" Conservative cabinet minister Jim Prior.