Paul Howell (born 10 January 1960) is a British

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

politician serving as

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

Sedgefield Sedgefield is a market town and civil parish in County Durham, England. It had a population of 5,211 as at the 2011 census. It has the only operating racecourse in County Durham. History Roman A Roman 'ladder settlement' was discovered by C ...

since 2019. Prior to his political career, he was an accountant.

Early life and career

Howell was born in

Bishop Auckland Hospital Bishop Auckland Hospital is a small NHS district general hospital serving the western part of County Durham, with a primarily rural catchment area centred on the Wear Valley. The hospital is managed by the County Durham and Darlington NHS Foun ...

County Durham County Durham ( ), officially simply Durham,UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. is a ceremonial county in North East England.North East Assembly �About North East E ...

. He was raised in

Ferryhill Ferryhill is a town in County Durham, England, with an estimated population in 2018 of 9,362. The town grew in the 1900s around the coal mining industry. The last mine officially closed in 1968. It is located between the towns of Bishop Auckland ...

and

Newton Aycliffe Newton Aycliffe is a town in County Durham (district), County Durham, England. Founded in 1947 under the New Towns Act 1946, New Towns Act of 1946, the town sits about five miles to the north of Darlington and ten miles to the south of Durham, E ...

and attended Dean Bank and Sugar Hill primary schools and The Avenue Comprehensive School. His father was a divisional fire officer. After leaving school, he worked as a chartered accountant for firms such as Darchem,

Blue Circle Industries Blue Circle Industries was a British public company manufacturing cement. It was founded in 1900 as the Associated Portland Cement Manufacturers Ltd through the fusion of 24 cement works, mostly around on the Thames and Medway estuaries, toget ...

, and

Wilsonart Wilsonart is a global manufacturer and distributor of High Pressure Laminates and other engineered composite materials, used in furniture, office and retail space, countertops, worktops and other applications. Headquartered in Temple, Texas, Wilsona ...

Political career

Howell joined the Conservative Party in 2010. He was a councillor for Hummersknott ward on the Darlington Borough Council between 2019 and 2021. He was also a councillor for Aycliffe North and Middridge on the Durham County Council between 2017 and 2021. He was elected as MP for

at the 2019 general election with a majority of 4,513 (10.9%). The constituency had previously been represented by a Labour Party MP since the 1935 general election including former PM

Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He previously served as Leader of th ...

who represented the constituency between 1983 and 2007. He had previously contested Houghton and Sunderland South seat as the Conservative candidate in the 2017 general election. Howell has been a member of the

Transport Select Committee The Transport Select Committee is a select committee of the House of Commons in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The remit of the Committee is to examine the expenditure, administration and policy of the Department for Transport and its asso ...

since November 2022 and was a member of the

Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee The Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee is a select committee of the House of Commons in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The remit of the committee is to examine the expenditure, administration and policy of the Department for ...

between March 2020 and October 2022. On 14 June 2022, Howell became a

Parliamentary Private Secretary A Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) is a Member of Parliament (MP) in the United Kingdom who acts as an unpaid assistant to a minister or shadow minister. They are selected from backbench MPs as the 'eyes and ears' of the minister in the H ...

in the

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for environmental protection, food production and standards, agriculture, fisheries and rural communities in the United K ...

. On 15 November 2022, during an Opposition Day debate on ministerial severance pay, Howell accused Labour of scaremongering over the September 2022 mini-budget citing the greater economic impact of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

and the

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...

, and argued that it was the decision of individuals on whether to take their severance payments. After Shadow Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and Labour MP

Lisa Nandy Lisa Eva Nandy (born 9 August 1979) is a British politician serving as Shadow Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities since 2021. A member of the Labour Party, she has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Wigan since 2010. N ...

asked for his view on severance payments, Howell replied, "What do I think? I think it depends on the individual. The hon. Lady has chirped and talked... Do you want to hear, or do you want to shut up?", which left Nandy and fellow Labour MPs

Sarah Owen Sarah Mei Li Owen (; born 11 January 1983) is a British politician and trade unionist serving as Member of Parliament (MP) for Luton North since 2019. A member of the Labour Party, she has served Shadow Minister for Local Government and Faith ...

and

Paula Barker Paula Barker (born 9 May 1972) is a British politician who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Liverpool Wavertree since 2019. A member of the Labour Party, she has served as the Shadow Minister for Homelessness and Rough Sleeping sin ...

on the opposition frontbench shocked. He immediately apologised for his comments.

Personal life

Howell owns a property portfolio consisting of nine houses in

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. The River Skerne flows through the town; it is a tributary of the River Tees. The Tees itself flows south of the town. In the 19th century, Darlington underwen ...

, five houses in

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham *County Durham, an English county * Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States *Durham, North Carolina, a city in N ...

and two flats in

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Howell, Paul (politician) 1960 births Living people UK MPs 2019–present Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies People from Sedgefield