Tina Wendy Stowell, Baroness Stowell of Beeston, (born 2 July 1967) is a British

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

politician and

member of the House of Lords This is a list of current members of the House of Lords, the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Current sitting members Lords Spiritual Twenty-six bishops of the Church of England sit in the House of Lords: the Archbishops ...

. Baroness Stowell served as

Leader of the House of Lords The leader of the House of Lords is a member of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom who is responsible for arranging government business in the House of Lords. The post is also the leader of the governing party in the House of Lords who acts ...

and Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal under

David Cameron David William Donald Cameron, Baron Cameron of Chipping Norton (born 9 October 1966) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016. Until 2015, he led the first coalition government in the UK s ...

. She was succeeded by the Baroness Evans of Bowes Park on 14 July 2016.

Early life and education

Stowell grew up in

Beeston, Nottinghamshire Beeston () is a town in the Borough of Broxtowe, Nottinghamshire, England, it is 3 miles south-west of Nottingham. To its north-east is the University of Nottingham's main campus, Campuses of the University of Nottingham#University Park Campus, ...

. Her father was a painter/decorator and her mother worked in a local factory. She attended Chilwell Comprehensive School, where she gained five O-levels, followed by Broxtowe College in Beeston.

Career

After leaving college, Stowell worked at the

Ministry of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

between 1986 and 1988. She was then employed at the British Embassy in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

until 1991, before transferring to the No. 10 Press Office, where she served under the then-Prime Minister

John Major Sir John Major (born 29 March 1943) is a British retired politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990 to 1997. Following his defeat to Ton ...

. In recognition of her performance in this position, she was appointed a

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(MBE) in the 1996 Birthday Honours. Following the 1997 general election, Stowell worked at Conservative Party Headquarters during

William Hague William Jefferson Hague, Baron Hague of Richmond (born 26 March 1961) is a British politician and life peer who was Leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition from 1997 to 2001 and Deputy Leader from 2005 to 2010. He was th ...

's tenure as

party leader In a governmental system, a party leader acts as the official representative of their political party, either to a legislature or to the electorate. Depending on the country, the individual colloquially referred to as the "leader" of a politica ...

and was his Deputy Chief of Staff. In November 2001, Stowell joined 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 ...

as deputy secretary. She became Head of Communications for the BBC Trust in 2003, in which capacity she worked for three successive chairmen ( Gavyn Davies,

Michael Grade Michael Ian Grade, Baron Grade of Yarmouth (born 8 March 1943) is an English Media proprietor, television executive and businessman. He has held a number of senior roles in television, including controller of BBC1 (1984–1986), chief executive ...

, and Sir Michael Lyons). In September 2008 she became the BBC's Head of Corporate Affairs.

Peerage and Parliamentary career

In 2010, Stowell sought the Conservative nomination for the safe seat of

Bromsgrove Bromsgrove is a town in Worcestershire, England, about north-east of Worcester and south-west of Birmingham city centre. It had a population of 34,755 in at the 2021 census. It gives its name to the wider Bromsgrove District, of which it is ...

but lost to

Sajid Javid Sir Sajid Javid (; born 5 December 1969) is a British former politician who served as Secretary of State for Health and Social Care from June 2021 to July 2022, having previously served as Home Secretary from 2018 to 2019 and Chancellor of the ...

. Labour MPs called for her to resign her BBC post to avoid a conflict of interest. Stowell was created 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. Life peers are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister. With the exception of the D ...

as Baroness Stowell of Beeston, of Beeston in the County of Nottinghamshire, on 10 January 2011. She was introduced to 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 ...

, where she sits on the

benches, on 13 January 2011. On 18 September 2011, Baroness Stowell was appointed a Baroness-in-Waiting to the

Queen Queen most commonly refers to: * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen (band), a British rock band Queen or QUEEN may also refer to: Monarchy * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Q ...

, following the promotion of the former Lord-in-Waiting Lord Taylor of Holbeach (who became a junior minister at the

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for environmental quality, environmenta ...

). In 2013, Baroness Stowell was responsible for steering the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill for

England and Wales England and Wales () is one of the Law of the United Kingdom#Legal jurisdictions, three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. Th ...

through the House of Lords. She was subsequently, on 7 October 2013, promoted to the post of Parliamentary Under-Secretary at the

Department for Communities and Local Government The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) is a ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for housing, communities, and local government in England. It was established in May 200 ...

. On 2 April 2014, she defended overseas property investors in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

in a Parliamentary debate. In a cabinet reshuffle in July 2014, Baroness Stowell was appointed

and Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal. She also became a

Privy Counsellor The Privy Council, formally His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the sovereign of the United Kingdom. Its members, known as privy counsellors, are mainly senior politicians who are current or former ...

. In this capacity, though she was able to attend its meetings, she was not a full member of the Cabinet. Following the 2015 general election, Baroness Stowell remained in her role and became a full member of the Cabinet. She was succeeded by the Rt. Hon. Baroness Evans of Bowes Park on 14 July 2016. The

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) is a ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It holds the responsibility for culture and sport, and some aspects of the media throughout the UK, such as broadcasting. I ...

selected Stowell to be the new chair of the

Charity Commission for England and Wales The Charity Commission for England and Wales is a non-ministerial government department, non-ministerial department of Government of the United Kingdom, His Majesty's Government that regulates Charitable organization, registered charities in En ...

. However in 2018 the parliamentary

Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee The Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee, formerly the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee, is one of the Select committee (United Kingdom), select committees of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, es ...

at their interview of Stowell unanimously refused to endorse the appointment due to "a complete lack of experience" and a lack of "any real insight, knowledge or vision". In 2018, it was reported that the

, of which Stowell is Chair, would question The Transformation Trust, a charity which Stowell was a trustee of, over staff payments.

References

External links

Debrett's People of Today
, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Stowell, Tina 1967 births BBC executives Conservative Party (UK) Baronesses- and Lords-in-Waiting Conservative Party (UK) life peers Conservative Party (UK) officials Life peeresses created by Elizabeth II Life peers created by Elizabeth II Female members of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom Leaders of the House of Lords Living people Lords Privy Seal Members of the Order of the British Empire Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom People from Beeston, Nottinghamshire