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Richard Edward Geoffrey Howe, Baron Howe of Aberavon, (20 December 1926 – 9 October 2015) was a British
Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...
politician who served as
Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom The deputy prime minister of the United Kingdom is a minister of the Crown and a member of the British Cabinet. The office is not always in use, and prime ministers may use other offices, such as First Secretary of State, to indicate the se ...
from 1989 to 1990. Howe was
Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. She was the first female British prime ...
's longest-serving
Cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filin ...
minister, successively holding the posts of
Chancellor of the Exchequer The chancellor of the Exchequer, often abbreviated to chancellor, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom, and head of HM Treasury, His Majesty's Treasury. As one of the four Great Offices of State, the Ch ...
,
Foreign Secretary The secretary of state for foreign, Commonwealth and development affairs, known as the foreign secretary, is a Secretary of State (United Kingdom), minister of the Crown of the Government of the United Kingdom and head of the Foreign, Commonwe ...
, and finally
Leader of the House of Commons The leader of the House of Commons is a minister of the Crown of the Government of the United Kingdom whose main role is organising government business in the House of Commons. The leader is generally a member or attendee of the cabinet of t ...
, deputy prime minister and
Lord President of the Council The lord president of the Council is the presiding officer of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom and the fourth of the Great Officers of State, ranking below the Lord High Treasurer but above the Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal. The Lord ...
. His resignation on 1 November 1990 is widely considered to have precipitated the leadership challenge that led to Thatcher's resignation three weeks later.


Early life

Geoffrey Howe was born in 1926 at
Port Talbot Port Talbot (, ) is a town and community in the county borough of Neath Port Talbot, Wales, situated on the east side of Swansea Bay, approximately from Swansea. The Port Talbot Steelworks covers a large area of land which dominates the south ...
, Wales, to Benjamin Edward Howe, a solicitor and coroner, and Eliza Florence (née Thomson) Howe. He was to describe himself as a quarter Scottish, a quarter Cornish and half
Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peopl ...
. He was educated at three
independent school An independent school is independent in its finances and governance. Also known as private schools, non-governmental, privately funded, or non-state schools, they are not administered by local, state or national governments. In British En ...
s: at
Bridgend Bridgend (; cy, Pen-y-bont ar Ogwr or just , meaning "the end of the bridge on the Ogmore") is a town in Bridgend County Borough in Wales, west of Cardiff and east of Swansea. The town is named after the medieval bridge over the River Og ...
Preparatory School in Bryntirion, followed by
Abberley Hall School Abberley Hall School is a coeducational preparatory day and boarding school with about 160 pupils. It is located between Worcester and Tenbury, near the village of Abberley, Worcestershire, England. History The school began in 1878 as the Dame ...
in
Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a county in the West Midlands of England. The area that is now Worcestershire was absorbed into the unified Kingdom of England in 927, at which time it was constituted as a county (see H ...
and by winning an
exhibition An exhibition, in the most general sense, is an organized presentation and display of a selection of items. In practice, exhibitions usually occur within a cultural or educational setting such as a museum, art gallery, park, library, exhibitio ...
to
Winchester College Winchester College is a public school (fee-charging independent day and boarding school) in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It was founded by William of Wykeham in 1382 and has existed in its present location ever since. It is the oldest of ...
in
Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English cities on its south coast, Southampton and Portsmouth, Hampshire ...
. Howe was not sporty, joining instead the debating society. It was during wartime, so he was active in the
Home Guard Home guard is a title given to various military organizations at various times, with the implication of an emergency or reserve force raised for local defense. The term "home guard" was first officially used in the American Civil War, starting w ...
at the school, and set up a National Savings group. He was also a keen photographer, and film buff. A gifted classicist, Howe was offered an exhibition to
Trinity Hall, Cambridge Trinity Hall (formally The College or Hall of the Holy Trinity in the University of Cambridge) is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. It is the fifth-oldest surviving college of the university, having been founded in 1350 by ...
in 1945, but first decided to join the army. He did a six-month course in maths and physics. Then he did
National Service National service is the system of voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939. The ...
as a
lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...
with the
Royal Corps of Signals The Royal Corps of Signals (often simply known as the Royal Signals – abbreviated to R SIGNALS or R SIGS) is one of the combat support arms of the British Army. Signals units are among the first into action, providing the battlefield commun ...
in East Africa, by his own account giving political lectures in Swahili about how Africans should avoid communism and remain loyal to "
Bwana This is a list of English language words that come from the Niger-Congo languages. It excludes placenames except where they have become common words. Bantu origin *banjo – probably Bantu ''mbanza'' *basenji – breed of dog from the Congo * ...
Kingy George"; and also climbed
Mount Kilimanjaro Mount Kilimanjaro () is a dormant volcano in Tanzania. It has three volcanic cones: Kibo, Mawenzi, and Shira. It is the highest mountain in Africa and the highest free-standing mountain above sea level in the world: above sea level and a ...
. Having declined an offer to remain in the army as a
captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
, he matriculated at Trinity Hall in 1948, where he read Law and was chairman of the
Cambridge University Conservative Association The Cambridge University Conservative Association, or CUCA, is a long-established student political society founded 1921, as a Conservative Association for students at Cambridge University, although it has earlier roots in the late nineteenth ce ...
, and on the committee of the
Cambridge Union Society The Cambridge Union Society, also known as the Cambridge Union, is a debating and free speech society in Cambridge, England, and the largest society in the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1815, it is the oldest continuously running debati ...
. He was
called to the bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...
by the
Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's I ...
in 1952 and practised in Wales. On 28 August 1953, Howe married Elspeth, daughter of P. Morton Shand. They had a son and two daughters. At first his legal practice struggled to pay, surviving thanks to £1,200 gift from his father and a judicious marriage. He served on the Council of the Bar from 1957 to 1962, and was a council member of the pressure group
JUSTICE Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...
. A high-earning barrister, he was made a QC in 1965. Choosing a parallel career in politics, Howe stood as the Conservative Party candidate in his native
Aberavon Aberavon ( cy, Aberafan) is a town and community in Neath Port Talbot county borough, Wales. The town derived its name from being near the mouth of the river Afan, which also gave its name to a medieval lordship. Today it is essentially a di ...
at the 1955 and 1959 general elections, losing in what was a very safe Labour Party seat. He helped to found the Bow Group, an internal Conservative think tank of "young modernisers" in the 1950s; he was one of its first chairmen in 1955–1956 and edited its magazine ''Crossbow'' from 1960 to 1962. In 1958, he co-authored the report ''A Giant's Strength'' published by the
Inns of Court The Inns of Court in London are the professional associations for barristers in England and Wales. There are four Inns of Court – Gray's Inn, Lincoln's Inn, Inner Temple and Middle Temple. All barristers must belong to one of them. They have ...
Conservative Association. The report argued that the unions had become too powerful and that their legal privileges ought to be curtailed.
Iain Macleod Iain Norman Macleod (11 November 1913 – 20 July 1970) was a British Conservative Party politician and government minister. A playboy and professional bridge player in his twenties, after war service Macleod worked for the Conservative Researc ...
discouraged the authors from publicising the report.
Harold Macmillan Maurice Harold Macmillan, 1st Earl of Stockton, (10 February 1894 – 29 December 1986) was a British Conservative statesman and politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1957 to 1963. Caricatured as " Supermac", ...
believed that trade union votes had contributed towards the 1951 and 1955 election victories and thought that it "would be inexpedient to adopt any policy involving legislation which would alienate this support". Through a series of Bow Group publications, Howe advanced free market ideas, largely inspired by the thinking of
Enoch Powell John Enoch Powell, (16 June 1912 – 8 February 1998) was a British politician, classical scholar, author, linguist, soldier, philologist, and poet. He served as a Conservative Member of Parliament (1950–1974) and was Minister of Health (1 ...
, which was later to be known as
Thatcherism Thatcherism is a form of British conservative ideology named after Conservative Party leader Margaret Thatcher that relates to not just her political platform and particular policies but also her personal character and general style of manag ...
.


Early political career


Backbencher

Howe represented
Bebington Bebington () is a town and unparished area within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, in Merseyside, England. Historically part of Cheshire, it lies south of Liverpool, close to the River Mersey on the eastern side of the Wirral Peninsul ...
in the
House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...
from 1964 to 1966 with a much reduced majority. He became a chairman of the backbench committee on social services, being quickly recognised for promotion to the front bench, as HM Opposition spokesman on welfare and labour policy. He was defeated at the 1966 general election. Howe returned to the bar. He participated in the 1966
Aberfan Disaster Tribunal The Tribunal of Inquiry into the Aberfan Disaster (the Aberfan Disaster Tribunal), chaired by Lord Justice Edmund Davies, was established in 1966 to inquire into the causes of and circumstances of the Aberfan disaster. The report of the tribunal ...
, representing the colliery managers. He sat as deputy chairman of Glamorgan
quarter sessions The courts of quarter sessions or quarter sessions were local courts traditionally held at four set times each year in the Kingdom of England from 1388 (extending also to Wales following the Laws in Wales Act 1535). They were also established in ...
. More politically significant was work on the Latey Committee tasked with recommending a reduction in the voting age. In 1969, he chaired the committee of inquiry into investigate alleged abuse at Ely Mental Hospital, Cardiff. On Howe's insistence, the inquiry's remit was expanded to cover the treatment of patients with
intellectual disabilities Intellectual disability (ID), also known as general learning disability in the United Kingdom and formerly mental retardation,Rosa's Law, Pub. L. 111-256124 Stat. 2643(2010). is a generalized neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by signifi ...
within the National Health Service. The report had a wide impact on mental health provision in the UK, beginning a process that led to the widespread closure of large mental hospitals. But of more legislative importance were the Street Committee on racial discrimination, and Cripps Committee on discrimination against women, the reports of which helped the Labour government to change the law. He returned to the House of Commons as the MP for
Reigate Reigate ( ) is a town in Surrey, England, around south of central London. The settlement is recorded in Domesday Book in 1086 as ''Cherchefelle'' and first appears with its modern name in the 1190s. The earliest archaeological evidence for huma ...
from 1970 to 1974, and
East Surrey East Surrey is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2019 by Claire Coutinho, a Conservative. The seat covers an affluent area in the English county of Surrey. Since its creation in 1918, East Surrey h ...
from 1974 to 1992. In 1970, he was appointed Solicitor General in
Edward Heath Sir Edward Richard George Heath (9 July 191617 July 2005), often known as Ted Heath, was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1970 to 1974 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1965 to 1975. Heath a ...
's government and was
knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the G ...
. He was responsible for the
Industrial Relations Act The Industrial Relations Act 1971 (c.72) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, since repealed. It was based on proposals outlined in the governing Conservative Party's manifesto for the 1970 general election. The goal was to stabi ...
that caused immediate retaliatory union strikes. He was promoted in 1972 to Minister of State at the Department of Trade and Industry, with a seat in the
Cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filin ...
and
Privy Council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mo ...
membership, a post he held until Labour were returned to government in March 1974.


Shadow Cabinet

In 1974, the Reigate boundary changes redrew the seat as East Surrey, and Heath appointed him as spokesman for social services. Howe contested the second ballot of the 1975 Conservative leadership election, in which
Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. She was the first female British prime ...
was elected as party leader. She saw him as a like-minded right-winger and he was appointed
Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer The Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer in the British Parliamentary system is the member of the Shadow Cabinet who is responsible for shadowing the Chancellor of the Exchequer. The title is given at the gift of the Leader of the Opposition and ...
. He masterminded the development of new economic policies embodied in an Opposition mini-manifesto ''The Right Approach to the Economy''. At the same time, in response to the
1976 sterling crisis The 1976 sterling crisis was a currency crisis in the United Kingdom. Inflation (at close to 25% in 1975, causing high bond yields and borrowing costs), a balance of payments deficit, a public spending deficit, and the 1973 oil crisis were co ...
, Labour Chancellor of the Exchequer
Denis Healey Denis Winston Healey, Baron Healey, (30 August 1917 – 3 October 2015) was a British Labour politician who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1974 to 1979 and as Secretary of State for Defence from 1964 to 1970; he remains the longe ...
had requested a loan of $3.9 billion from the
International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution, headquartered in Washington, D.C., consisting of 190 countries. Its stated mission is "working to foster glo ...
(IMF); at the time, it was the largest loan request the IMF had ever received. In 1978, Healey said Howe's criticism was "like being savaged by a dead sheep". Nevertheless, when Healey was featured on ''
This Is Your Life This Is Your Life may refer to: Television * ''This Is Your Life'' (American franchise), an American radio and television documentary biography series hosted by Ralph Edwards * ''This Is Your Life'' (Australian TV series), the Australian versio ...
'' in 1989, Howe appeared and paid warm tribute.


Thatcher government


Chancellor of the Exchequer

With the Conservative victory in the 1979 general election, Howe became
Chancellor of the Exchequer The chancellor of the Exchequer, often abbreviated to chancellor, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom, and head of HM Treasury, His Majesty's Treasury. As one of the four Great Offices of State, the Ch ...
. His tenure was characterised by an ambitious programme of radical policies intended to restore the public finances, reduce
inflation In economics, inflation is an increase in the general price level of goods and services in an economy. When the general price level rises, each unit of currency buys fewer goods and services; consequently, inflation corresponds to a reduct ...
and liberalise the economy. The shift from direct to indirect taxation, the development of a medium-term financial strategy, the abolition of
exchange controls Foreign exchange controls are various forms of controls imposed by a government on the purchase/sale of foreign currencies by residents, on the purchase/sale of local currency by nonresidents, or the transfers of any currency across national bor ...
and the creation of tax-free enterprise zones were among the most important decisions of his Chancellorship. The first of five budgets, in 1979, promised to honour Professor Hugh Clegg's report that recommended a return to pre-1975 pay levels in real terms, conceding Howe's point about "concerted action". Rampant inflation had however eroded competitiveness, devalued pensions, investments, and wages. Thatcher reminded him: "On your own head be it, Geoffrey, if anything goes wrong," commencing an often tense and querulous working relationship. Thatcher's point was that the vast increase in (indirect) taxation and government spending (notably in public sector pay) in 1979 would lead to terrible consequences – which it did, as unemployment doubled. The financial policy tightened money supply, restricted public sector pay, with the ultimate effect of driving up inflation, at least in the short-term, and unemployment in the medium-term. During Thatcher's first term the government's poll ratings plummeted, until the ' Falklands Factor'. Howe's 1981 Budget defied conventional economic wisdom at the time by slowing the rate of inflation at a time of recession. At the time, his decision was fiercely criticised by 364 academic economists in a letter to ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' ( ...
'', who contended that there was no place for de-stimulatory policies in the economic climate of the time, remarking the Budget had "no basis in economic theory or supporting evidence". Many signatories were prominent members of the academic sphere, including Mervyn King who later became the
Governor of the Bank of England The governor of the Bank of England is the most senior position in the Bank of England. It is nominally a civil service post, but the appointment tends to be from within the bank, with the incumbent grooming their successor. The governor of the Ba ...
. The logic in his proposals was that by reducing the deficit which at the time was £9.3 billion (3.6% GDP), and controlling inflation, long-term interest rates would be able to decline, thus re-stimulating the economy. The budget did reduce inflation from 11.9% in early 1981 to 3.8% in February 1983. Long-term interest rates also declined from 14% in 1981 to 10% in 1983. The economy slowly climbed out of recession. However, unemployment, already extremely high, was pushed to a 50-year high of 12% by 1984, narrowly avoiding the figure reached during the
Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
of 13.5%. Some have argued that the budget, although ultimately successful, was nevertheless over the top. Specialist opinions on the question, expressed with 25 years' hindsight, are collected in an
Institute of Economic Affairs The Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) is a right-wing pressure group and think tank registered as a UK charity Associated with the New Right, the IEA describes itself as an "educational research institute", and says that it seeks to "further ...
report. Unlike
Reaganomics Reaganomics (; a portmanteau of ''Reagan'' and ''economics'' attributed to Paul Harvey), or Reaganism, refers to the neoliberal economic policies promoted by U.S. President Ronald Reagan during the 1980s. These policies are commonly associat ...
, his macro-economic policy emphasised the need to narrow the budget deficit rather than engage in unilateral tax cuts – 'I never succumbed... to the mistaken interpretations of Lafferism, which have led some US policymakers so far astray'; despite these measures the budget deficit remained on average 3% of GDP during Howe's tenure. His macro-economic policy was designed to liberalise the economy and promote supply-side reform. This combination of policies became one of the defining features of Thatcherism in power. However, by the time of his last budget shortly before a general election there were early signs of a recovery, which Howe used to justify a cut in taxes. Documents released under the British government's 30-year rule in 2011 revealed that in the wake of the Toxteth riots in Liverpool in 1981 Howe had warned Thatcher "not to overcommit scarce resources to Liverpool", writing that "It would be even more regrettable if some of the brighter ideas for renewing economic activity were to be sown only on relatively stony ground on the banks of the Mersey. I cannot help feeling that the option of managed decline is one which we should not forget altogether. We must not expend all our limited resources in trying to make water flow uphill". Howe later stated that he had not advocated the "managed decline" policy and that he had merely been warning of the danger of concentrating excessive resources on one area of need.


Foreign Secretary

After the 1983 general election Thatcher reluctantly appointed Howe Foreign Secretary, a post he held for six years, the longest tenure since Sir Edward Grey in 1905–1916. With "the quiet determination" applied in the Treasury he set off on a tour of Warsaw Pact countries, interviewing communist leaders and sounding out opponents. The trip opened the way to further discussions with Mikhail Gorbachev, with whom he believed Thatcher shared "extraordinary chemistry." He later looked back on this period (1983–1985) as his happiest, and most fruitful and productive, engaging with world leaders across the summit table, sharing decisions with Thatcher, including a notable encounter with
Caspar Weinberger Caspar Willard Weinberger (August 18, 1917 – March 28, 2006) was an American statesman and businessman. As a prominent Republican, he served in a variety of state and federal positions for three decades, including chairman of the Californ ...
on 6 September 1982. Success with the Americans proved decisive in bringing about the end of Communism in Europe. Howe was closely involved in the negotiations leading up to the 1984
Sino-British Joint Declaration The Sino-British Joint Declaration is a treaty between the governments of the United Kingdom and China signed in 1984 setting the conditions in which Hong Kong was transferred to Chinese control and for the governance of the territory after ...
on the future of
Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a List of cities in China, city and Special administrative regions of China, special ...
, and developed a good working relationship with the
United States Secretary of State The United States secretary of state is a member of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States and the head of the U.S. Department of State. The office holder is one of the highest ranking members of the president's Ca ...
,
George Shultz George Pratt Shultz (; December 13, 1920February 6, 2021) was an American economist, businessman, diplomat and statesman. He served in various positions under two different Republican presidents and is one of the only two persons to have held fo ...
, mirroring the close connection between Thatcher and President
Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...
. However, Howe's tenure was made difficult by growing behind-the-scenes tensions with the Prime Minister on a number of issues, first on South Africa, next on Britain's relations with the
European Community The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organization created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957,Today the largely rewritten treaty continues in force as the ''Treaty on the functioning of the European Union'', as renamed by the Lis ...
, and then in 1985 the Anglo-Irish Agreement. For his staff, Howe was a respected boss; mild-mannered, polite and courteous, he was assiduous in his attention to detail. However the human rights questions over South African sanctions and trade embargo coupled to his deep concern over Thatcher's strident style in Europe, increasingly drove a stressful wedge between Nos 10 and 11. On policy objectives they began to drift apart with fatal consequences for the Prime Minister's ambitions. Thatcher's dominant style contrasted with his emollience, patience and capacity for negotiation. Their differences were dated to the Westland Affair in 1986, when senior ministers almost forced her to resign, according to
Douglas Hurd Douglas Richard Hurd, Baron Hurd of Westwell, (born 8 March 1930) is a British Conservative Party politician who served in the governments of Margaret Thatcher and John Major from 1979 to 1995. A career diplomat and political secretary to P ...
's memoirs. In June 1989, Howe and his successor as chancellor,
Nigel Lawson Nigel Lawson, Baron Lawson of Blaby, (born 11 March 1932) is a British Conservative Party politician and journalist. He was a Member of Parliament representing the constituency of Blaby from 1974 to 1992, and served in the cabinet of Margar ...
, both secretly threatened to resign over Thatcher's opposition to British proposed membership of the exchange rate mechanism of the European Monetary System. Howe supported the ERM both because of his general support of European integration and because he had become convinced as Chancellor of the need for more exchange rate stability. She turned increasingly for advice to her No.10 private secretary Charles Powell, a career diplomat who contrasted to Howe's mandarin-style. Howe remarked: "She was often exasperated by my tenaciously quiet brand of advocacy." His friends often wondered why he put up with her style for so long; but many considered him to be her successor. One historian has suggested that the government would have survived even the ructions over Europe had Howe remained her ally.


Deputy prime minister

In the following month of July 1989, the then little-known
John Major Sir John Major (born 29 March 1943) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990 to 1997, and as Member of Parliament (MP) for Huntingdon, formerly Hunting ...
was unexpectedly appointed to replace Howe as Foreign Secretary, and the latter became
Leader of the House of Commons The leader of the House of Commons is a minister of the Crown of the Government of the United Kingdom whose main role is organising government business in the House of Commons. The leader is generally a member or attendee of the cabinet of t ...
,
Lord President of the Council The lord president of the Council is the presiding officer of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom and the fourth of the Great Officers of State, ranking below the Lord High Treasurer but above the Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal. The Lord ...
and
Deputy Prime Minister A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to that of a vice president, ...
. In the reshuffle, Howe was also offered, but turned down, the post of Home Secretary. Although attempts were made to belittle this aspect, Howe's move back to domestic politics was generally seen as a demotion, especially after Thatcher's press secretary Bernard Ingham belittled the significance of the deputy prime minister appointment, saying that the title had no constitutional significance, at his lobby briefing the following morning. Howe then had to give up the Foreign Secretary's country residence Chevening. The sceptical attitude towards Howe in Number 10 weakened him politically – even if it might have been driven to some degree by fear of him as a possible successor, a problem compounded by the resignation from the Treasury of his principal ally Nigel Lawson later in the same year. During his time as deputy prime minister, Howe made a series of coded calls on Thatcher to realign her administration, which was suffering rising unpopularity following its introduction of the
poll tax A poll tax, also known as head tax or capitation, is a tax levied as a fixed sum on every liable individual (typically every adult), without reference to income or resources. Head taxes were important sources of revenue for many governments f ...
, as a 'listening government'.


Relationship with Thatcher

Tensions began to emerge in 1982 during the
Falklands War The Falklands War ( es, link=no, Guerra de las Malvinas) was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and its territorial ...
when Thatcher, on the advice of Harold Macmillan (who warned against including the Treasury), refused to appoint him to the
war cabinet A war cabinet is a committee formed by a government in a time of war to efficiently and effectively conduct that war. It is usually a subset of the full executive cabinet of ministers, although it is quite common for a war cabinet to have senio ...
. During his first budget, Thatcher wrote to
Adam Ridley Sir Adam Nicholas Ridley (born 14 May 1942) is a British economist, civil servant, and banker. After working at the Foreign Office and the Department of Economic Affairs, he was Director of the Conservative Research Department. With Chris Patten ...
: "The trouble with people like Geoffrey – lawyers – they are too timid." On the occasion of the general election victory of 1983 there were heated exchanges of views in No. 10 on her decision to move him to the Foreign Office. Howe was one of those who persuaded
Michael Heseltine Michael Ray Dibdin Heseltine, Baron Heseltine, (; born 21 March 1933) is a British politician and businessman. Having begun his career as a property developer, he became one of the founders of the publishing house Haymarket. Heseltine served ...
that on balance it was probably better that he, rather than she, resign during the Westland Affair in 1986. At the Scottish Party Conference in
Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...
in 1987, Howe spelled out his position for the European single market and the proposed Delors Plan (Thatcher having accepted the
Single European Act The Single European Act (SEA) was the first major revision of the 1957 Treaty of Rome. The Act set the European Community an objective of establishing a single market by 31 December 1992, and a forerunner of the European Union's Common Fore ...
in 1986). In the following year, Thatcher made her speech at Bruges declining the offer to deepen the bureaucratic state towards a " Federalist Superstate". At the Madrid inter-governmental conference the tensions were ratcheted higher as Thatcher emphatically renounced any advance in British policy over the European agenda for " ever closer union" of political and economic forces. Howe forced her to give conditions for entering the proposal for entry to the ERM in June 1989. Howe and Nigel Lawson threatened to resign; but she called his bluff by appointing John Major over his head. Howe resented having to give up the state residence of Chevening, in Kent on being effectively demoted to Lord President of the Council. He deeply resented leaving the Foreign and Commonwealth Office which was a job he had always coveted. When Lawson resigned it looked like a natural reshuffle, but Howe was frozen out of the inner circle. When Howe attended a meeting with the Queen he found to his surprise that Britain had joined the ERM before he had been informed about it – the ERM had been Howe's policy. The pound sterling was thus pegged to the
Deutsche Mark The Deutsche Mark (; English: ''German mark''), abbreviated "DM" or "D-Mark" (), was the official currency of West Germany from 1948 until 1990 and later the unified Germany from 1990 until the adoption of the euro in 2002. In English, it was ...
, instead of the US dollar and the consequence was that Britain's currency was pummelled into devaluation by a much stronger German economy. The option to leave cost Britain billions in 1992. But at the Rome Summit in October 1990, Thatcher was said to have exclaimed, in a fit of pique, "no, no, no" to the
Delors Plan Jacques Lucien Jean Delors (born 20 July 1925) is a French politician who served as the 8th President of the European Commission from 1985 to 1995. He served as Minister of Finance of France from 1981 to 1984. He was a Member of the European P ...
, and repeated the government's policy at Paris summit on 18–20 November. She also repeated the "no, no, no" message in the House of Commons on her return to Westminster. Howe had told Brian Walden (a former Labour MP) on ITV's '' Weekend World'', that the "government did not oppose the principle of a single currency", which was factually inaccurate.


Resignation

Howe tendered his resignation on 1 November 1990. Sometimes mocked as "
Mogadon Nitrazepam, sold under the brand name Mogadon among others, is a hypnotic drug of the benzodiazepine class used for short-term relief from severe, disabling anxiety and insomnia. It also has sedative (calming) properties, as well as amnestic (in ...
man" – Mogadon being a well-known sleeping medication – Howe delivered a blow to Thatcher's government in full view of
Prime Minister's Questions Prime Minister's Questions (PMQs, officially known as Questions to the Prime Minister, while colloquially known as Prime Minister's Question Time) is a constitutional convention in the United Kingdom, currently held as a single session every W ...
and a packed House of Commons on 13 November. Howe later contended that the
Community Charge The Community Charge, commonly known as the poll tax, was a system of taxation introduced by Margaret Thatcher's government in replacement of domestic rates in Scotland from 1989, prior to its introduction in England and Wales from 1990. It pr ...
was incompetently implemented, but it was the direction of European policy rather than domestic rioting that tipped the balance. His dispute with Thatcher was over matters of substance more than ones of style; he advocated a move back towards a more centrist position on constitutional and administrative issues, such as taxation and European integration. Howe represented a kind of moderate whiggery in the party, being educated, lawyerly, and diligent; while direct, he was conciliatory and collegial in style. Howe wrote a cautiously worded letter of resignation in which he criticised the Prime Minister's overall handling of UK relations with the European Community. After largely successful attempts by
10 Downing Street 10 Downing Street in London, also known colloquially in the United Kingdom as Number 10, is the official residence and executive office of the first lord of the treasury, usually, by convention, the prime minister of the United Kingdom. Along w ...
to claim that there were differences only of style, rather than substance, in Howe's disagreement with Thatcher on Europe, Howe chose to send a powerful message of dissent. In his resignation speech in the Commons on 13 November 1990, he attacked Thatcher for running increasingly serious risks for the future of the country and criticised her for undermining the policies on EMU proposed by her own chancellor and governor of the Bank of England. He offered a
cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by st ...
simile for British negotiations on EMU in Europe: He ended his speech with an appeal to cabinet colleagues: A few days later, Cledwyn Hughes, the Labour leader in the Lords, said Although Howe subsequently wrote in his memoir that his intention was only to constrain any shift in European policy by the Cabinet under the existing prime minister, his speech is widely seen as the key catalyst for the leadership challenge mounted by Michael Heseltine a few days later. Although Thatcher won the most votes in the
leadership election A leadership election is a political contest held in various countries by which the members of a political party determine who will be the leader of their party. Generally, any political party can determine its own rules governing how and when a l ...
, she did not win by a large enough margin to win outright and subsequently withdrew from the contest on 22 November. Five days later, Chancellor of the Exchequer John Major was elected party leader and thus became prime minister. The change proved to be a positive one for the Tories, who had trailed Labour in most opinion polls by a double-digit margin throughout 1990 but soon returned to the top of the polls and won the general election in April 1992.


Retirement

Howe retired from the House of Commons in 1992 and 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 ...
on 30 June 1992 as Baron Howe of
Aberavon Aberavon ( cy, Aberafan) is a town and community in Neath Port Talbot county borough, Wales. The town derived its name from being near the mouth of the river Afan, which also gave its name to a medieval lordship. Today it is essentially a di ...
, of
Tandridge Tandridge is a village and civil parish in the Tandridge District, in the county of Surrey, England. Its nucleus is on a rise of the Greensand Ridge between Oxted and Godstone. It includes, towards its middle one named sub-locality (hamlet), ...
in the County of
Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant ur ...
. He published his memoirs (1994) soon after. In the Lords, Howe continued to speak on a wide range of foreign-policy and European issues, and led opposition to the Labour government's plans from 1997 to convert the second chamber into a largely elected body – a position reiterated in the face of Coalition proposals in 2012. He retired from the House of Lords on 19 May 2015. Following his retirement from the Commons, Howe took on a number of non-executive directorships in business and advisory posts in law and academia, including as international political adviser to the US law firm
Jones Day Jones Day is an American multinational law firm. As of 2021, it was the eighth largest law firm in the U.S. and the 13th highest grossing law firm in the world. Originally headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, Jones Day ranks first in both M&A le ...
, a director of
GlaxoSmithKline GSK plc, formerly GlaxoSmithKline plc, is a British multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company with global headquarters in London, England. Established in 2000 by a merger of Glaxo Wellcome and SmithKline Beecham. GSK is the tent ...
and
J. P. Morgan John Pierpont Morgan Sr. (April 17, 1837 – March 31, 1913) was an American financier and investment banker who dominated corporate finance on Wall Street throughout the Gilded Age. As the head of the banking firm that ultimately became known ...
, and
visitor A visitor, in English and Welsh law and history, is an overseer of an autonomous ecclesiastical or eleemosynary institution, often a charitable institution set up for the perpetual distribution of the founder's alms and bounty, who can inter ...
at the
School of Oriental and African Studies SOAS University of London (; the School of Oriental and African Studies) is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the federal University of London. Founded in 1916, SOAS is located in the Bloomsbury ...
(SOAS), University of London. His wife, Elspeth, a former chairman of the Broadcasting Standards Commission, was made a life peer in 2001. The Baroness Howe of Idlicote and her husband were one of the few couples who both held titles in their own right. Lord Howe was a patron of the
UK Metric Association The UK Metric Association, or UKMA, is an advocacy group in the United Kingdom that argues for metrication in the United Kingdom and advocates the use of the metric system among the general public in the UK. UKMA argues that the continued use of ...
and the Conservative Foreign and Commonwealth Council. Howe was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Companions of Honour (CH) in the 1996
Birthday Honours The Birthday Honours, in some Commonwealth realms, mark the reigning British monarch's official birthday by granting various individuals appointment into national or dynastic orders or the award of decorations and medals. The honours are prese ...
. He was an honorary fellow of SOAS. From 1996 to 2006 he was president of the Academy of Experts and in November 2014 was made an honorary fellow of the organisation in recognition of his contribution to the development of methods of dispute resolution. Howe was a close personal friend of
Ian Gow Ian Reginald Edward Gow (; 11 February 1937 – 30 July 1990) was a British politician and solicitor. As a member of the Conservative Party, he served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Eastbourne from 1974 until his assassination by the P ...
, the former MP, parliamentary private secretary, and personal confidant of Margaret Thatcher. He delivered the principal appreciation of Gow at the latter's memorial service after Gow was murdered by the IRA in July 1990. Obituarists noted how Howe was "warm and well liked by colleagues", with Nigel Lawson writing that he would be remembered by those who knew him "as one of the kindest and nicest men in politics" who, according to
Andrew Rawnsley Andrew Nicholas James Rawnsley (born 5 January 1962) is a British political journalist and broadcaster. A columnist and chief political commentator for ''The Observer'', he has written two books on New Labour. Early life Rawnsley was born in Le ...
of ''
The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the ...
'', was frequently spoken of by fellow politicians "as one of the most honest and decent practitioners of their profession." Howe's dramatic resignation speech in the House of Commons formed the basis of Jonathan Maitland's 2015 play ''Dead Sheep''. Howe was interviewed in 2012 as part of
the History of Parliament The History of Parliament is a project to write a complete history of the United Kingdom Parliament and its predecessors, the Parliament of Great Britain and the Parliament of England. The history will principally consist of a prosopography, in w ...
's oral history project. Howe died at the age of 88 on 9 October 2015 following a suspected heart attack.


Arms


Notes


References


Works cited

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Further reading

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External links

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Obituary, ''Financial Times'', 11 October 2015

Obituary, ''The Guardian'', 10 October 2015





Obituary, ''The Times'', 11 October 2015
{{DEFAULTSORT:Howe, Geoffrey 1926 births 2015 deaths Alumni of Trinity Hall, Cambridge British barristers British memoirists British people of Cornish descent British King's Counsel British Secretaries of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Chancellors of the Exchequer of the United Kingdom Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Conservative Party (UK) life peers Deputy Prime Ministers of the United Kingdom Knights Bachelor Leaders of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom Lord Presidents of the Council Members of the Bow Group Members of the Order of the Companions of Honour Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom People educated at Winchester College People from Port Talbot Permanent Representatives of the United Kingdom to the United Nations 20th-century King's Counsel Royal Corps of Signals officers Solicitors General for England and Wales Welsh people of Scottish descent UK MPs 1964–1966 UK MPs 1970–1974 UK MPs 1974 UK MPs 1974–1979 UK MPs 1979–1983 UK MPs 1983–1987 UK MPs 1987–1992 Politicians awarded knighthoods Spouses of life peers British Home Guard soldiers 20th-century British Army personnel People from Chevening, Kent Shadow Chancellors of the Exchequer Member of the Mont Pelerin Society