Jane Bonham Carter, Baroness Bonham-Carter of Yarnbury (born 20 October 1957), is a British Liberal Democrat politician, and member of the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

Background

Family

Bonham Carter hails from the Bonham Carter family. Her great-grandfather was

H. H. Asquith Herbert Henry Asquith, 1st Earl of Oxford and Asquith (12 September 1852 – 15 February 1928) was a British statesman and Liberal Party (UK), Liberal politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1908 to 1916. He was the last ...

, the former

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

, and her grandparents were Maurice Bonham-Carter and Violet Bonham Carter. Her father, Mark Bonham Carter was a Liberal MP before becoming a Liberal Democrat life peer. Her aunt Laura Bonham-Carter married Jo Grimond, who was to become Leader of the Liberal Party. Her family is the only example so far where three generations have received

life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. Life peers are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister. With the exception of the D ...

ages under the

Life Peerages Act 1958 The Life Peerages Act 1958 ( 6 & 7 Eliz. 2. c. 21) established the modern standards for the creation of life peers by the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. Background This Act was passed during the Conservative governments of 1957–1964, when H ...

.The titles of the three judges Baron Russell of Killowen were created under the

Appellate Jurisdiction Act 1876 The Appellate Jurisdiction Act 1876 (39 & 40 Vict. c. 59) was an Act of Parliament, Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that altered the judicial functions of the House of Lords by allowing senior judges to sit in the House of Lords as ...

. Her maternal grandfather is the American publisher

Condé Nast Condé Nast () is a global mass media company founded in 1909 by Condé Nast (businessman), Condé Montrose Nast (1873–1942) and owned by Advance Publications. Its headquarters are located at One World Trade Center in the FiDi, Financial Dis ...

. In 2008 she was reported to be the partner of Lord Razzall. Bonham Carter has declared the relationship in the House of Lords Register of Interests. Her cousins include the actress

Helena Bonham Carter Helena Bonham Carter (born 26 May 1966) is an English actress. Known for her roles in Blockbuster (entertainment), blockbusters and independent films, particularly period dramas, List of awards and nominations received by Helena Bonham Carter ...

and fellow Liberal Democrat parliamentarian Raymond Asquith, 3rd Earl of Oxford and Asquith.

Education

Bonham-Carter was educated at St. Paul's Girls' School, an

independent school A private school or independent school is a school not administered or funded by the government, unlike a State school, public school. Private schools are schools that are not dependent upon national or local government to finance their fina ...

Brook Green Brook Green is an affluent sub-neighbourhood of Hammersmith in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. Located approximately west of Charing Cross, it is bordered by Kensington, Holland Park, Shepherd's Bush, Hammersmith and Brackenbury ...

Hammersmith Hammersmith is a district of West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, and identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. It ...

, west London, and at

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

Career

Bonham-Carter worked in television before being raised to the

peerage A peerage is a legal system historically comprising various hereditary titles (and sometimes Life peer, non-hereditary titles) in a number of countries, and composed of assorted Imperial, royal and noble ranks, noble ranks. Peerages include: A ...

, spending time at both the BBC and Channel 4, producing programmes such as ''Panorama'', ''Newsnight'' and ''A Week In Politics''. In 1996 she became the Liberal Democrats' Director of Communications, a role she held through the 1997 election before returning to a career in television as an independent producer at Brook Lapping Productions, where she produced a number of documentaries for

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

, the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

and ITV, including the award-winning series ''Maggie: the First Lady''. On 23 June 2004 she was created a

ess as Baroness Bonham-Carter of Yarnbury, of Yarnbury in the County of

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated to Wilts) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It borders Gloucestershire to the north, Oxfordshire to the north-east, Berkshire to the east, Hampshire to the south-east, Dorset to the south, and Somerset to ...

, and was appointed Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Broadcasting and the Arts. She has been a member of various House of Lords Select Committees, including the

BBC Charter The Royal Charter for the continuance of the British Broadcasting Corporation, short: BBC Charter, is a royal charter setting out the arrangements for the governance of the British Broadcasting Corporation. It, and an accompanying agreement rec ...

review set up in 2005, and the Parliamentary Communications Committee. After the formation of the coalition government in 2010, she was elected deputy convenor of Liberal Democrat Peers and was appointed co-chair of the Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Party Committee for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport, which includes the role of Liberal Democrat spokesperson on DCMS matters in the House of Lords. Bonham-Carter has served on the advisory committee of the thinktank ''Centre Forum'' since 2005, and ''RAPT'' (Rehabilitation for Addicted Prisoners Trust) since 1999. She was a board member of the National Campaign for the Arts from 2010 to 2012. She is a Vice-President of the ''Debating Group''. On 19 April 2015, it was announced that Bonham-Carter would be a patron of the Studio Theatre, Ashley Road, Salisbury.

Expenses

Bonham Carter attracted criticism in 2008 when it was revealed that she and her partner, Tim Razzall, had both claimed

expenses for a flat that they shared, although it was not claimed that a breach of the rules had occurred. The House of Lords expenses system was later changed to give peers a flat rate irrespective of their residence.

Arms

Notes

References

External links

''Debrett's People of Today''''Burke's Peerage & Baronetage''
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bonham Carter, Jane Baroness Bonham-Carter Of Yarnbury Bonham-Carter of Yarnbury Bonham-Carter of Yarnbury Bonham-Carter of Yarnbury Life peeresses created by Elizabeth II Life peers created by Elizabeth II Bonham-Carter of Yarnbury Asquith family Jane Alumni of University College London Razzall family Daughters of life peers Bonham Carter 3