Denis Herbert Howell, Baron Howell (4 September 1923 – 19 April 1998) was a British
Labour Party politician. He was a
councillor
A councillor is an elected representative for a local government council in some countries.
Canada
Due to the control that the provinces have over their municipal governments, terms that councillors serve vary from province to province. Unl ...
on
Birmingham City Council
Birmingham City Council is the local government 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 council area in the United Kingdom (e ...
between 1946 and 1956. He was the
Member of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...
for
Birmingham All Saints from 1955 to 1959, and MP for
Birmingham Small Heath from 1961 to 1992. In 1992, he was made a
life peer
In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. In modern times, life peerages, always created at the rank of baron, are created under the Life Peerages ...
and became a Member of the
House of Lords
The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...
.
Early life
Denis Howell was born in
Lozells,
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
, on 4 September 1923, the son of a gasfitter and storekeeper. He was educated at Gower Street School and
Handsworth Grammar School
King Edward VI Handsworth Grammar School for Boys, formerly and commonly Handsworth Grammar School, is a grammar school that admits boys from the age of eleven (as well as girls in the sixth form, since September 1997). The school was founded i ...
, Birmingham, and became a clerk of the
Clerical and Administrative Workers Union
The Association of Professional, Executive, Clerical and Computer Staff (APEX) was a British trade union which represented clerical and administrative employees.
History
The Clerks Union was formed in 1890 and later was renamed as the Nationa ...
, rising to the position of President of its expanded successor, the
(APEX) from 1971 to 1989.
In 1951 he graduated as a linesman in the
Football League
The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...
, and was a
Football Association
The Football Association (also known as The FA) is the governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the oldest football association in the world an ...
referee from 1956 until 1966. In addition to being a lifelong
Aston Villa
Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...
fan, he was a keen cricketer.
Political career
Howell claimed that his first memory was of sitting on his father's knee at a general strike meeting in 1926.
He joined the
Labour Party in 1942, serving as a councillor on
Birmingham City Council
Birmingham City Council is the local government 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 council area in the United Kingdom (e ...
1946–56 and as Labour Group secretary from 1950.
He contested
Birmingham King's Norton in 1951. He was
Member of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...
(MP) for
Birmingham All Saints from 1955 to 1959, and for
Birmingham Small Heath from
the 1961 by-election until his retirement in 1992. Under the
Wilson and
Callaghan governments, he held the role of
Minister for Sport
A Ministry of Sports or Ministry of Youth and Sports is a kind of government ministry found in certain countries with responsibility for the regulation of sports, particularly those participated in by young people.
The Ministry of Youth and Spo ...
at the
Department of Education and Science
An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...
(1964–1969),
Ministry of Housing and Local Government
The Ministry of Housing and Local Government was a United Kingdom government department formed following the Second World War, covering the areas of housing and local government.
It was formed, as the Ministry of Local Government and Planning, ...
(1969–1970) and
Department for the Environment (1974–1979), as well as a series of Environment roles (1976–1979).
On 28 October 1974, his wife and son escaped unharmed when an
IRA
Ira or IRA may refer to:
*Ira (name), a Hebrew, Sanskrit, Russian or Finnish language personal name
*Ira (surname), a rare Estonian and some other language family name
*Iran, UNDP code IRA
Law
*Indian Reorganization Act of 1934, US, on status of ...
bomb exploded in their
Ford Cortina
The Ford Cortina is a medium-sized family car that was built initially by Ford of Britain, and then Ford of Europe in various guises from 1962 to 1982, and was the United Kingdom's best-selling car of the 1970s.
The Cortina was produced in fi ...
on the driveway of the family home in Birmingham.
In the last week of August 1976, during
Britain's driest summer in over 200 years, he was made Minister for Drought (but nicknamed 'Minister for Rain'). Howell was charged by the Prime Minister with the task of persuading the nation to use less water, and was even ordered by No.10 to do a rain dance on behalf of the nation.
Howell responded by inviting reporters to his home in
Moseley
Moseley is a suburb of south Birmingham, England, south of the city centre. The area is a popular cosmopolitan residential location and leisure destination, with a number of bars and restaurants. The area also has a number of boutiques and ot ...
, where he revealed he was doing his bit to help water rationing by sharing baths with his wife, Brenda.
Days later, heavy rainfall caused widespread flooding, and he became known as "Minister for Floods". Then, during the harsh winter of 1978–1979 he was appointed Minister for Snow.
Along with
Shirley Williams
Shirley Vivian Teresa Brittain Williams, Baroness Williams of Crosby, (' Catlin; 27 July 1930 – 12 April 2021) was a British politician and academic. Originally a Labour Party Member of Parliament (MP), she served in the Labour cabinet from ...
, he caused controversy in 1977 by appearing on the picket line during the
Grunwick dispute
The Grunwick dispute was a British industrial dispute involving trade union recognition at the Grunwick Film Processing Laboratories in Chapter Road, Dollis Hill in the London suburb of Willesden, that led to a two-year strike between 1976 and 197 ...
in North London, the scene of violent trade union protests about factory working conditions.
Later life
He published his memoirs, ''Made in Birmingham'', in 1990, and on 1 July 1992 he was made a
life peer
In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. In modern times, life peerages, always created at the rank of baron, are created under the Life Peerages ...
as Baron Howell, of
Aston Manor
Aston Manor was a local government district of Warwickshire in what is now northern Birmingham, from the 19th century to 1911, when it was added to Birmingham.
The Aston Manor Local Board of Health was formed in 1869, from part of the ancient par ...
in the City of
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
.
Howell underwent major heart surgery in 1989, but recovered sufficiently to pursue an active political career and often made his point known in the House of Lords.
He died in Solihull Hospital, after suffering a heart attack at a charity fund-raising dinner at the
National Motorcycle Museum in
Bickenhill, West Midlands, on 19 April 1998, aged 74.
Legacy
The
CRUK
Cancer Research UK (CRUK) is the world's largest independent cancer research organization. It is registered as a charity in the United Kingdom and Isle of Man, and was formed on 4 February 2002 by the merger of The Cancer Research Campaign and t ...
Institute for Cancer Studies at the
University of Birmingham
, mottoeng = Through efforts to heights
, established = 1825 – Birmingham School of Medicine and Surgery1836 – Birmingham Royal School of Medicine and Surgery1843 – Queen's College1875 – Mason Science College1898 – Mason Univers ...
is named after Howell.
Family
His son, Andrew Howell, was elected to Birmingham City Council for
Moseley and Kings Heath Ward
Moseley and Kings Heath is a ward within the constituency of Hall Green, covering the greater part of the Moseley and Kings Heath areas of Birmingham, England.
Politics
The ''Moseley and Kings Heath Ward Committee'' is part of the official stru ...
serving as Chair of the Education Committee and as Deputy Leader. Another son, Michael, worked as a procurement manager for
Highways England
National Highways, formerly the Highways Agency and later Highways England, is a government-owned company charged with operating, maintaining and improving motorways and major A roads in England. It also sets highways standards used by all fo ...
. His youngest son, David, was killed in a car accident on 22 May 1986 in what he described in his memoirs as the "most devastating day" in his family's lives.
References
Sources
*''The Times Guide to the House of Commons'',
Times Newspapers Ltd
News Corp UK & Ireland Limited (trading as News UK, formerly News International and NI Group) is a British newspaper publisher, and a wholly owned subsidiary of the American mass media conglomerate News Corp. It is the current publisher of ...
, 1951, 1966 & 1987
Obituary in ''The Daily Telegraph''*
*
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Howell, Denis Howell, Baron
1923 births
1998 deaths
Association of Professional, Executive, Clerical and Computer Staff-sponsored MPs
Councillors in Birmingham, West Midlands
English Football League referees
English football referees
English memoirists
Government ministers of the United Kingdom
Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies
Labour Party (UK) life peers
Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom
Ministers in the Wilson governments, 1964–1970
People educated at Handsworth Grammar School
People from Solihull
UK MPs 1955–1959
UK MPs 1959–1964
UK MPs 1964–1966
UK MPs 1966–1970
UK MPs 1970–1974
UK MPs 1974
UK MPs 1974–1979
UK MPs 1979–1983
UK MPs 1983–1987
UK MPs 1987–1992