Denis Howell
Encyclopedia
Denis Herbert Howell, Baron Howell (4 September 1923 – 19 April 1998) was a British
Labour Party
politician.
Born in Birmingham
, Howell was educated at Handsworth Grammar School
, Birmingham
and became a clerk and chairman of the Clerical and Administrative Workers Union standing orders committee. He was a Football League referee and keen cricketer. He served as a councillor on Birmingham City Council
1946-56 and was Labour Group secretary from 1950.
Howell contested Birmingham King's Norton
in 1951.
He was Member of Parliament
(MP) for Birmingham All Saints
from 1955 to 1959, and for Birmingham Small Heath
from the 1961 by-election
until his retirement in 1992. He held several ministerial
posts under the Wilson
and Callaghan
governments, including Sport (1964—70), Education and Science (1964—1969), Housing and Local Government
(1969—1970), the Environment (1974—1979) and for Sport and Recreation (1974—1979).
On 28 October 1974, his wife and son escaped unharmed when an IRA
bomb exploded in their Ford Cortina
on the driveway of the family home in Birmingham.http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/october/28/newsid_2477000/2477645.stm
He was made Minister for Drought in 1976 (but nicknamed 'Minister for Rain'), which had the driest summer in over 200 years, but days later heavy rainfall caused widespread flooding, and he was made Minister of Floods. Additionally, during the harsh winter of 1978-79 he was appointed Minister for Snow.
He published his memoirs, Made in Birmingham, in 1990, and in 1992 he was made a life peer
as Baron Howell, of Aston Manor in the City of Birmingham
. He died in Solihull
, aged 74.
His son, Andrew Howell, would be elected to Birmingham City Council for Moseley and Kings Heath Ward serving as Chair of the Education Committee and also Deputy Leader.
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...
Labour Party
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...
politician.
Born in Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, Howell was educated at Handsworth Grammar School
Handsworth Grammar School
Handsworth Grammar School is voluntary aided grammar school that admits boys from the age of eleven and boys . The school was founded in 1862 and is located in Handsworth, Birmingham, England. it is situated just off the A41, near the junction with the A4040...
, Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
and became a clerk and chairman of the Clerical and Administrative Workers Union standing orders committee. He was a Football League referee and keen cricketer. He served as a councillor on Birmingham City Council
Birmingham City Council
The Birmingham City Council is the body responsible for the governance of the City of Birmingham in England, which has been a metropolitan district since 1974. It is the most populated local authority in the United Kingdom with, following a reorganisation of boundaries in June 2004, 120 Birmingham...
1946-56 and was Labour Group secretary from 1950.
Howell contested Birmingham King's Norton
Birmingham King's Norton (UK Parliament constituency)
Birmingham King's Norton was a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1918 to 1955. It elected one Member of Parliament by the first-past-the-post system of election.- Boundaries :...
in 1951.
He 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 Birmingham All Saints
Birmingham All Saints (UK Parliament constituency)
Birmingham All Saints was a parliamentary constituency in the city of Birmingham, which returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom...
from 1955 to 1959, and for Birmingham Small Heath
Birmingham Small Heath (UK Parliament constituency)
Birmingham Small Heath was a parliamentary constituency centred on the Small Heath area of Birmingham. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom....
from the 1961 by-election
By-election
A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....
until his retirement in 1992. He held several ministerial
Minister (government)
A minister is a politician who holds significant public office in a national or regional government. Senior ministers are members of the cabinet....
posts under the Wilson
Harold Wilson
James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, KG, OBE, FRS, FSS, PC was a British Labour Member of Parliament, Leader of the Labour Party. He was twice Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during the 1960s and 1970s, winning four general elections, including a minority government after the...
and Callaghan
James Callaghan
Leonard James Callaghan, Baron Callaghan of Cardiff, KG, PC , was a British Labour politician, who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1976 to 1979 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1976 to 1980...
governments, including Sport (1964—70), Education and Science (1964—1969), Housing and Local Government
Local government
Local government refers collectively to administrative authorities over areas that are smaller than a state.The term is used to contrast with offices at nation-state level, which are referred to as the central government, national government, or federal government...
(1969—1970), the Environment (1974—1979) and for Sport and Recreation (1974—1979).
On 28 October 1974, his wife and son escaped unharmed when an IRA
Irish Republican Army
The Irish Republican Army was an Irish republican revolutionary military organisation. It was descended from the Irish Volunteers, an organisation established on 25 November 1913 that staged the Easter Rising in April 1916...
bomb exploded in their Ford Cortina
Ford Cortina
As the 1960s dawned, BMC were revelling in the success of their new Mini – the first successful true minicar to be built in Britain in the postwar era...
on the driveway of the family home in Birmingham.http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/october/28/newsid_2477000/2477645.stm
He was made Minister for Drought in 1976 (but nicknamed 'Minister for Rain'), which had the driest summer in over 200 years, but days later heavy rainfall caused widespread flooding, and he was made Minister of Floods. Additionally, during the harsh winter of 1978-79 he was appointed Minister for Snow.
He published his memoirs, Made in Birmingham, in 1990, and in 1992 he was made a life peer
Life peer
In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the Peerage whose titles cannot be inherited. Nowadays life peerages, always of baronial rank, are created under the Life Peerages Act 1958 and entitle the holders to seats in the House of Lords, presuming they meet qualifications such as...
as Baron Howell, of Aston Manor in the City of Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
. He died in Solihull
Solihull
Solihull is a town in the West Midlands of England with a population of 94,753. It is a part of the West Midlands conurbation and is located 9 miles southeast of Birmingham city centre...
, aged 74.
His son, Andrew Howell, would be elected to Birmingham City Council for Moseley and Kings Heath Ward serving as Chair of the Education Committee and also Deputy Leader.
Sources
- The Times Guide to the House of Commons, Times Newspapers LtdThe TimesThe Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
, 1951, 1966 & 1987 - Obituary in The Daily Telegraph