116-523: Michael Howard, Baron Howard of Lympne CH PC KC (born Michael Hecht ; 7 July 1941) is a British politician who was Leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition from November 2003 to December 2005. He previously held cabinet positions in the governments of Margaret Thatcher and John Major , including Secretary of State for Employment , Secretary of State for
232-616: A " meaningful vote " on any Brexit deal Britain agrees with the European Union. Clarke endorsed Rory Stewart during the 2019 Conservative leadership election . In September 2019, after Conservative Prime Minister Boris Johnson lost a number of key votes in the House of Commons, Clarke stated that it would be "not inconceivable" for him to become Prime Minister leading a government of national unity in order to revoke Article 50 and prevent Brexit. Other politicians who were suggested for such
348-588: A 17 year old and a 15 year old. In 2011 and 2012, Clarke faced criticism for his Justice and Security Bill, in particular those aspects of it that allow secret trials when "national security" is at stake. The Economist stated: "the origins of the proposed legislation lie in civil cases brought by former Guantánamo detainees, the best-known of whom was Binyam Mohamed , alleging that government intelligence and security agencies (MI6 and MI5) were complicit in their rendition and torture". Prominent civil liberties and human rights campaigners argued: "the worst excesses of
464-455: A 2:2 in 1962. Howard was one of a cluster of Conservative students at Cambridge University around this time, sometimes referred to as the " Cambridge Mafia ", many of whom held high government office under Margaret Thatcher and John Major (see: Cambridge University Conservative Association ). According to Kenneth Clarke , Howard briefly defected to the Labour Party in 1961 in protest against
580-712: A Party renowned for its tough stance on law and order. He signalled that fathers who fail to pay child maintenance, disqualified drivers and criminals fighting asylum refusals could be among the first to benefit and should not be sent to prison. Clarke announced in February 2011 that the Government intended to scrutinise the relationship between the European Court of Human Rights and national parliaments. In May 2011, controversy related to Clarke's reported views on sentencing for those convicted of rape resurfaced after an interview on
696-416: A Special Advisor when the latter was Home Secretary) to run for the Conservative Party leadership. The reforms to the party's election process took several months and Howard remained in his position for six months following the election. During that period, he enjoyed a fairly pressure-free time, often making joking comparisons between himself and Tony Blair , both of whom had declared they would not stand at
812-661: A backbench MP. Following the Conservative defeat at the 2001 general election , Howard was recalled to frontline politics when the Conservative Party's new leader, Iain Duncan Smith , appointed him Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer. His performances in the post won him much praise; indeed, under his guidance, the Conservatives decided to debate the economy on an 'Opposition Day' for the first time in several years. After Duncan Smith
928-599: A budget surplus for the following four years. Interest rates, inflation and unemployment all fell during Clarke's tenure at HM Treasury . Clarke's success was such that Brown felt he had to pledge to keep to Clarke's spending plans and these limits remained in place for the first two years of the Labour Government that was elected in 1997. The matter of a referendum on Britain joining the planned euro – first raised by Margaret Thatcher in 1990 – was, after much press speculation, raised again at Cabinet by Douglas Hogg in
1044-625: A decade later. In the 1970s, Howard was a leading advocate of British membership of the Common Market (EEC) and served on the board of the cross-party Britain in Europe group. In 1975, Howard married Sandra Paul . They have a son, born in 1976, and a daughter, born in 1977. At the 1966 and 1970 general elections , Howard unsuccessfully contested the safe Labour seat of Liverpool Edge Hill , reinforcing his strong support for Liverpool F.C. which he has held since childhood. In June 1982, Howard
1160-560: A device. In December 1996, after Foreign Secretary Malcolm Rifkind had commented that it was unlikely that the government would join the euro, Clarke and Heseltine took to the airwaves – in apparent unison – to insist that the government retained a free choice as to whether or not to join, angering Eurosceptics. When Tory Party Chairman, Brian Mawhinney , was understood to have briefed against him, Clarke declared: "tell your kids to get their scooters off my lawn" – an allusion to Harold Wilson 's rebuke of Trades Union leader Hugh Scanlon in
1276-421: A favour by getting rid of Boris. The idea of Boris as prime minister is ridiculous." In February 2017, following the death of Sir Gerald Kaufman , Clarke became Father of the House . He was re-elected as an MP in the 2017 general election . In December 2017, he voted along with fellow Conservative Dominic Grieve and nine other Conservative MPs against the government, and in favour of guaranteeing Parliament
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#17328584866361392-508: A lot of rich doctors". In her memoirs Thatcher claimed that Clarke, although "a firm believer in state provision", was "an extremely effective Health minister – tough in dealing with vested interests and trade unions, direct and persuasive in his exposition of government policy". In January 1989, Clarke's White Paper Working for Patients appeared; this advocated giving hospitals the right to become self-governing NHS Trusts , taxpayer-funded but with control over their budgets and independent of
1508-578: A minister is the fifth-longest in the modern era. He has spent over 20 years serving under Prime Ministers Edward Heath , Margaret Thatcher, John Major and David Cameron. He was one of only five ministers ( Tony Newton , Malcolm Rifkind , Patrick Mayhew and Lynda Chalker are the others) to serve throughout the whole 18 years of the Thatcher–Major governments, which represents the longest uninterrupted ministerial service in Britain since Lord Palmerston in
1624-477: A petition bearing nearly 280,000 signatures to Howard, in a bid to increase the time spent by both boys in custody. This campaign was successful, and the boys were kept in custody for a minimum of fifteen years, meaning that they would not be considered for release until February 2008, by which time they would be 25 years of age. A former Master of the Rolls , Lord Donaldson , criticised Howard's intervention, describing
1740-624: A position which he enjoyed. In the 2014 Cabinet reshuffle, after more than 20 years serving as a Minister, it was announced that Clarke had stepped down from government, to return to the backbenches. Clarke was honoured with appointment as a Member of the Order of the Companions of Honour , upon the Prime Minister's recommendation, in July 2014. His total time as a government minister is the fifth-longest in
1856-450: A role at the time included Harriet Harman , his female counterpart as Mother of the House of Commons. Lib Dem leader Jo Swinson supported the proposal, though Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn , the Leader of the Opposition , both dismissed the suggestion. As it turned out, a vote of no-confidence was not in fact tabled against Boris Johnson's government and no such government of national unity
1972-402: A second ballot; she referred to him in her memoirs as a candid friend : "his manner was robust in the brutalist style he has cultivated: the candid friend". Clarke came to work with John Major very closely, and quickly emerged as a central figure in his government. After continuing as Education Secretary (1990–92), where he introduced a number of reforms, he was appointed as Home Secretary in
2088-505: A second time in 2001 . Despite opinion polls again showing he was the most popular Conservative politician with the British public, he lost in a final round among the rank-and-file membership, a new procedure introduced by Hague, to a much less experienced, but strongly Eurosceptic rival, Iain Duncan Smith . This loss, by a margin of 62% to 38%, was attributed to the former Chancellor's strong pro-European views being increasingly out-of-step with
2204-402: A series of 'tough' measures, such as reducing the right to silence of defendants in their police interviews and at their trials as part of 1994's Criminal Justice and Public Order Act . Howard voted for the reintroduction of the death penalty for the killing of police officers on duty and for murders carried out with firearms in 1983 and 1990. In 1993, he changed his mind and became opposed to
2320-502: A small minority in Cabinet, Major once again deferred a decision. Major, Heseltine and Clarke eventually reached agreement in April 1996, in what Clarke describes as "a tense meeting ... rather like a treaty session", that there would be a commitment to a referendum before joining the euro, but that the pledge would be valid for one Parliament only (i.e. until the general election after next), with
2436-519: A third term in government, Howard described the election as "the beginning of a recovery" for the Conservative Party following Labour's landslide victories in 1997 and 2001. Howard's own constituency of Folkestone and Hythe had been heavily targeted by the Liberal Democrats as the most sought after prize of their failed "decapitation" strategy of seeking to gain seats from prominent Conservatives. Yet Howard almost doubled his majority to 11,680, while
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#17328584866362552-467: A top civil servant if he had the power to overrule Lewis. Shortly after the 1997 Newsnight interview, Ann Widdecombe , his former minister of state at the Home Office, made a statement in the House of Commons about the dismissal of Derek Lewis and remarked of Howard that there is "something of the night" about him. This much quoted comment is thought to have contributed to the failure of his 1997 bid for
2668-412: Is you I'm holding responsible if my NHS reforms don't work". By 1994 almost all hospitals had opted to become trusts but GP fundholding was much less popular. There were allegations that fundholders received more funding than non-fundholders, creating a two-tier system. GP fundholding was abolished by Labour in 1997 and replaced by Primary Care Groups. According to John Campbell , by "the mid-1990s
2784-459: Is an enemy of mine." In the party leadership contest of 1995, when John Major beat John Redwood , Clarke kept faith in Major and commented: "I don't think the Conservative Party could win an election in 1,000 years on this ultra right-wing programme". Clarke enjoyed an increasingly successful record as Chancellor, as the economy recovered from the recession of the early 1990s and a new monetary policy
2900-497: Is the responsibility of the trial judge, with the benefit of all the evidence and argument from both prosecution and defence counsel, to determine the minimum term in individual criminal cases. Howard's reputation was damaged on 13 May 1997 when a critical inquiry into a series of prison escapes was published. Howard denied responsibility for the Prison Service 's operations and laid the blame with Director General Derek Lewis , who
3016-616: The 2010 Dissolution Honours with the title of Baron Howard of Lympne , of Lympne in the County of Kent. On 20 July 2010, he was formally introduced into the House of Lords by past colleague Norman Lamont , and attended Questions and debate later that day. In 2010, David Cameron wanted Howard to join his Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition , possibly as Lord Chancellor , via the House of Lords as part of David Cameron's appeal to rightwing Tories. However, it did not happen, Howard having criticised
3132-421: The 2010 general election . On 13 July 2006 the Conservatives selected Damian Collins to stand in his place at that election. On 19 June 2006 it was reported that Howard would become chairman of Diligence Europe, a private intelligence and risk assessment company founded by former CIA and MI5 members. On 23 October 2006, Howard said that he had voluntarily been questioned as a potential witness as part of
3248-459: The Big Bang introduction of new technology in 1986. Following the 1987 general election , he became Minister for Local Government. Following a proposal from backbench MP David Wilshire , he accepted the amendment which would become Section 28 (prohibiting local governments from the "promotion" of homosexuality) and defended its inclusion. Howard guided the 1988 Local Government Finance Act through
3364-551: The Great Offices of State as Home Secretary and Chancellor of the Exchequer . He contested the Conservative Party leadership three times—in 1997 , 2001 and 2005 —being defeated each time. Opinion polls indicated he was more popular with the general public than with his party, whose generally Eurosceptic stance did not chime with his pro-European views. Under the coalition government of David Cameron , he returned to
3480-401: The contaminated blood scandal . It was the largest loss-of-life disaster in Britain since the 1950s and claimed the lives of thousands of haemophiliacs . Theresa May ordered a public inquiry into the contaminated blood scandal in July 2017. In July 2021, Clarke gave oral evidence to the inquiry with his demeanour being widely branded "arrogant, pompous and contemptuous" by the press. It
3596-417: The regional health authorities . It also proposed that doctors be given the option to become " GP fundholders ". This would grant doctors control of their own budgets in the belief that they would purchase the most effective services for their patients. Instead of doctors automatically sending patients to the nearest hospital, they would be able to choose where they were treated. In this way, money would follow
Michael Howard - Misplaced Pages Continue
3712-466: The 2005 general election, Howard's Conservative Party suffered a third consecutive defeat, although the Conservatives gained 33 seats (including five from the Liberal Democrats ) and Labour's majority shrank from 167 to 66. The Conservatives were left with 198 seats to Labour's 355. The Conservative share of the national vote increased by 0.6% from 2001 and 1.6% from 1997. The party ended with 32.4% of
3828-598: The Bar). In the late 1960s Howard gained promotion within the Bow Group , becoming Chairman in April 1970. At the Conservative Party conference in October 1970, he made a notable speech commending the government for attempting to curb trade union power and also called for state aid to strikers' families to be reduced or stopped altogether, a policy which the Thatcher government pursued over
3944-611: The Cabinet as Justice Secretary and Lord Chancellor from 2010 to 2012 and Minister without Portfolio from 2012 to 2014. He was also the United Kingdom Anti-Corruption Champion from 2010 to 2014. The Conservative whip was withdrawn from him in September 2019 because he and 20 other MPs voted with the Opposition on a motion; for the remainder of his time in Parliament he sat as an independent , though still on
4060-628: The Cabinet as Paymaster General and Employment Minister (1985–87) (his Secretary of State, Lord Young of Graffham , sat in the Lords), and served as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister of the DTI (1987–88) with responsibility for Inner Cities. While in that position, Clarke announced the sale to British Aerospace of the Rover Group , a new name for British Leyland , which had been nationalised in 1975 by
4176-519: The Cambridge Union as a young man, and he displayed amusement at hearing his then-stereotypical upper class accent. Clarke is deemed one of the Cambridge Mafia , a group of prominent Conservative politicians who were educated at Cambridge in the 1960s. After leaving Cambridge, Clarke was called to the bar in 1963 at Gray's Inn , and was made Queen's Counsel in 1980. Clarke sought election to
4292-707: The Conservative Party and was succeeded by David Cameron . Howard did not contest his seat of Folkestone and Hythe in the 2010 general election and entered the House of Lords as Baron Howard of Lympne. Prior to Brexit , he was supportive of the Eurosceptic pressure group Leave Means Leave . Howard was born Michael Hecht in Gorseinon, Swansea, son of Bernat Hecht (died 1966), who was born in Romania and came to Britain in 1939, and Hilda ( née Kershion ), who had lived in Wales from
4408-475: The Conservative Party leadership, including by Howard and Widdecombe and led to him being caricatured as a vampire, in part due to his Romanian ancestry. Such characterisations caused discontent among some members of Britain's Jewish community. In 1996 Howard, as Home Secretary, ordered the release of John Haase and Paul Bennett with royal pardons after 10 months of their 18-year prison sentences for heroin smuggling, after they had provided information leading to
4524-453: The Conservative Party. The complaint argued that the Newsnight team spoke only to people who held opinions against either Michael Howard or the Conservatives and that Paxman's style was bullying and unnecessarily aggressive. In this programme, Paxman also returned to his question from 1997 . Howard returned briefly to Newsnight on Jeremy Paxman's final episode on 18 June 2014 for a cameo. At
4640-745: The Environment and Home Secretary . Howard was born in Swansea to a Jewish family, his father from Romania and his mother from Wales . He studied at Peterhouse, Cambridge , following which he joined the Young Conservatives . In 1964, he was called to the Bar and became a Queen's Counsel in 1982. He first became a Member of Parliament at the 1983 general election , representing the constituency of Folkestone and Hythe . This quickly led to his promotion and Howard became Minister for Local Government in 1987. Under
4756-473: The Exchequer (2001–2003). In November 2003, following the Conservative Party's vote of no confidence in Iain Duncan Smith , Howard was elected to the leadership unopposed. At the 2005 general election , the Conservatives gained 33 new seats in Parliament, including five from the Liberal Democrats; but this still gave them only 198 seats to Labour's 355. Following the election, Howard resigned as Leader of
Michael Howard - Misplaced Pages Continue
4872-465: The Government of Harold Wilson . Clarke was appointed the first Secretary of State for Health when the department was created out of the former Department of Health and Social Security in July 1988. Clarke, with backing from John Major, persuaded Thatcher to accept the controversial " internal market " concept to the NHS . Clarke claimed that he had persuaded Thatcher to introduce internal competition in
4988-482: The Government's long-term options remaining completely open; Clarke threatened to resign if this formula were departed from. Clarke, writing in 2016 after the Brexit Referendum , comments that he and Heseltine later agreed that they had separately decided to give way because of the pressure Major was under, and that the referendum pledge "was the biggest single mistake" of their careers, giving "legitimacy" to such
5104-538: The House of Commons between 2017 and 2019. The President of the Tory Reform Group since 1997, he is a one-nation conservative who identifies with economically and socially liberal views. Clarke served in the Cabinets of Margaret Thatcher and John Major as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster from 1987 to 1988, Health Secretary from 1988 to 1990, and Education Secretary from 1990 to 1992. He held two of
5220-615: The House of Commons almost immediately after leaving university. His political career began by contesting the Labour stronghold of Mansfield at the 1964 and 1966 elections. In June 1970 , just before his 30th birthday, he won the East Midlands constituency of Rushcliffe in Nottinghamshire, south of Nottingham , from Labour MP Tony Gardner . Clarke was soon appointed a Government whip , and served as such from 1972 to 1974; he, with
5336-646: The House of Commons. The act brought in Margaret Thatcher's new system of local taxation, officially known as the Community Charge but almost universally nicknamed the "poll tax". Howard personally supported the tax and won Thatcher's respect for minimising the rebellion against it within the Conservative Party. After a period as Minister for Water and Planning in 1988–89, during which he was responsible for implementing water privatisation in England and Wales, Howard
5452-450: The Liberal Democrats saw their vote fall. During the 2005 general election campaign, Howard was criticised by some commentators for conducting a campaign which addressed the issues of immigration , asylum seekers , and travellers . Others noted that the continued media coverage of such issues created most of the controversy and that Howard merely defended his views when questioned at unrelated policy launches. Some evidence suggested that
5568-461: The NHS as an alternative to her preference for introducing a system of compulsory health insurance, which he opposed. He told his biographer Malcolm Balen: " John Moore was pursuing a line which Margaret [Thatcher] was very keen on, which made everything compulsory medical insurance. I was bitterly opposed to that...The American system is...the world's worst health service – expensive, inadequate and with
5684-455: The NHS was not safe in Conservative hands. Clarke later claimed that the BMA was "the most unscrupulous trade union I have ever dealt with and I've dealt with every trade union across the board". Although Thatcher tried to halt the reforms just before they were introduced, Clarke successfully argued that they were necessary to demonstrate the government's commitment to the NHS. Thatcher told Clarke: "It
5800-416: The NHS was treating more patients, more efficiently than in the 1980s...the system was arguably better managed and more accountable than before". Studies suggest that while the competition introduced in the "internal market" system resulted in shorter waiting times it also caused a reduction in the quality of care for patients. Clarke has been the subject of criticism over the decades for his involvement in
5916-474: The Order of the Companions of Honour, and a maximum of 65 members. Additionally, foreigners or Commonwealth citizens from outside the Commonwealth realms may be added as honorary members. Members are organised into a single class and are appointed by the monarch of the Commonwealth realms in their capacity as sovereign of the order. While membership of the order confers no title or precedence , those inducted into
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#17328584866366032-556: The Parliamentary authorities that his main home was in the Rushcliffe constituency, enabling him to claim a second-home allowance on his London residence, leaving the taxpayer to foot the bill for Council Tax due on that property. However, he told Rushcliffe Borough Council in Nottinghamshire that he spent so little time at his constituency address that his wife Gillian should qualify for a 25% Council Tax (single person's) discount, saving
6148-608: The Tories' official Eurosceptic line". On 12 May 2010, Clarke's appointment as Secretary of State for Justice and Lord Chancellor was announced by Prime Minister David Cameron in the Coalition Government formed between the Conservative and Liberal Democrat parties. James Macintyre, political editor of Prospect , argued that in this ministerial role he had instigated a process of radical reform. In June 2010, Clarke signalled an end to short prison sentences after warning it
6264-593: The age of six months where her father was a draper in Llanelli . She was a cousin of the Landy family who had helped Bernat Hecht come to Britain. Both of Howard's parents were from Jewish families. Howard's grandmother was murdered at Auschwitz . Bernat Hecht was a synagogue cantor who worked for his wife's family drapery business, later establishing himself as a prominent local businessman, owning three shops in Llanelli. When Howard
6380-402: The allocation of this award to that country's citizens in preference to other Australian honours. The last Australian member, Doug Anthony , former Deputy Prime Minister of Australia, died on 20 December 2020. Companions from other Commonwealth realms continue to be appointed, Dame Kiri Te Kanawa , a New Zealand soprano, was given the award in 2018 and Canadian author Margaret Atwood was given
6496-561: The assistance of Labour rebels, helped ensure Edward Heath's government won key votes on British entry into the European Communities (which later evolved into the European Union ). Even though Clarke opposed the election of Margaret Thatcher as Conservative Party Leader in 1975, he was appointed as her Industry Spokesman from 1976 to 1979, and then occupied a range of ministerial positions during her premiership. From 2017 to 2019 he
6612-519: The award in 2019. Sebastian Coe , Baron Coe CH represented the Order at the 2023 Coronation . The insignia of the order is in the form of an oval medallion, surmounted by a royal crown (but, until recently, surmounted by an imperial crown ), and with a rectangular panel within, depicting on it an oak tree, a shield with the Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom hanging from one branch, and, on
6728-523: The classification of merit. It is now described as being "awarded for having a major contribution to the arts, science, medicine, or government lasting over a long period of time". The first recipients of the order were all decorated for "services in connection with the war " and were listed in The London Gazette . The order consists of the monarch of the Commonwealth realms, who is the Sovereign of
6844-453: The contest. However, Thatcher endorsed Clarke's rival William Hague , who proceeded to win the election comfortably. The contest was criticised for not involving the rank-and-file members of the Party, where surveys showed Clarke to be more popular. Clarke rejected the offer from Hague of a Shadow Cabinet role, opting instead to return to the backbenches . Clarke contested the party leadership for
6960-570: The early 19th century. Clarke was born in Langley Mill , Nottinghamshire, and was christened with the same name as his father, Kenneth Clarke, a Nottinghamshire mining electrician and later a watchmaker and jeweller. The younger Clarke won a scholarship to attend the independent Nottingham High School before going to read for a law degree at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge , where he graduated with an upper second honours degree . Clarke initially held Labour sympathies, and his grandfather
7076-501: The election. In February 2004, Howard called on then-Prime Minister Tony Blair to resign over the Iraq War, for failing to ask "basic questions" regarding WMD claims and misleading Parliament. In July, the Conservative leader stated that he would not have voted for the motion that authorised the Iraq War had he known the quality of intelligence information on which the WMD claims were based. At
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#17328584866367192-436: The former Chancellor around £650 per year. Land Registry records showed that Clarke no longer had a mortgage on his Nottinghamshire home where he has lived since 1987. Instead he held a mortgage on his London property, which was being charged to the taxpayer at £480 per month. In 2009, Clarke became Shadow Business Secretary in opposition to the then- Business Secretary , Lord Mandelson . David Cameron described Clarke as about
7308-511: The former's invitation to Oswald Mosley to speak to the CUCA. He had rejoined the Conservatives by the next year. Howard was called to the Bar at the Inner Temple in 1964 and specialised in employment and planning law. He continued his career at the Bar, becoming a practising Queen's Counsel in 1982 (unlike some barrister-MPs who were awarded the title as an honorific despite no longer practising at
7424-531: The government benches. He stood down as an MP at the 2019 general election and was thereafter made a Conservative life peer in the House of Lords in 2020. Clarke is President of the Conservative Europe Group , Co-President of the pro-EU body British Influence and Vice-President of the European Movement UK . Described by the press as a 'Big Beast' of British politics, his total time as
7540-459: The government's proposal for a 'rehabilitation revolution'. In February 2011 there was increased speculation that Cameron would reshuffle his cabinet, with Lord Howard brought in to replace Kenneth Clarke as Secretary of State for Justice . Instead, Chris Grayling was appointed. Howard was appointed a Member of the Order of the Companions of Honour in the 2011 Birthday Honours for public and political services. A few days after Article 50
7656-550: The increased tariff as "institutionalised vengeance ... [by] a politician playing to the gallery". The increased minimum term was overturned in 1997 by the House of Lords , which ruled it was substantively ultra vires , and therefore "unlawful", for the Home Secretary to decide on minimum sentences for young offenders. The High Court and European Court of Human Rights have since ruled that, though Parliament may set minimum and maximum terms for individual categories of crime, it
7772-469: The investigation into the Cash-for-Honours scandal relating to fundraising for the 2005 election campaign. He was not suspected of any criminal activity, was not accused of any criminal activity, and gave evidence purely as a witness in an investigation focusing primarily on the Labour Government's use of the peerages system and their party fundraising. Howard was appointed a Conservative life peer in
7888-417: The late 1960s. After the Conservatives entered opposition in 1997, Clarke contested the leadership of the Party for the first time. In 1997 , the electorate being solely Tory Members of Parliament, he topped the poll in the first and second rounds. In the third and final round he formed an alliance with Eurosceptic John Redwood, who would have become Shadow Chancellor and Clarke's deputy, were he to have won
8004-413: The left shoulder. Kenneth Clarke Kenneth Harry Clarke, Baron Clarke of Nottingham , CH , PC , KC (born 2 July 1940) is a British politician who served as Home Secretary from 1992 to 1993 and Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1993 to 1997. A member of the Conservative Party , he was Member of Parliament (MP) for Rushcliffe from 1970 to 2019 and was Father of
8120-514: The left, a mounted knight in armour. The insignia's blue border bears in gold letters the motto IN ACTION FAITHFUL AND IN HONOUR CLEAR , Alexander Pope 's description (in iambic pentameter ) in his Epistle to Mr Addison of James Craggs the Younger , later used on Craggs's monument in Westminster Abbey . Men wear the badge on a neck ribbon (red with golden border threads) and women on a bow at
8236-448: The modern era after Winston Churchill , Arthur Balfour , Rab Butler , and The Duke of Devonshire . Clarke was opposed to Brexit during the 2016 referendum on the United Kingdom's continued membership of the European Union , and opposed the holding of the referendum in the first place. He was the sole Conservative MP to vote against the triggering of Article 50 . During the 2016 Conservative Party leadership election Clarke
8352-517: The next general election. He also oversaw Blair's first parliamentary defeat, when the Conservative Party, the Liberal Democrats and sufficient Labour Party rebels voted against government proposals to extend to 90 days the period that terror suspects could be held for without charge . Howard stood down as Leader in December 2005 and was replaced by David Cameron. Howard announced on 17 March 2006 that he would stand down as MP for Folkestone and Hythe at
8468-525: The only one able to challenge Mandelson and Brown's economic credibility. Two days later it was revealed that Clarke had warned in a speech a month earlier that President Barack Obama could see David Cameron as a "right-wing nationalist" if the Conservatives maintained Eurosceptic policies and that Obama would "start looking at whoever is in Germany or France if we start being isolationist ". The Financial Times said "Clarke has in effect agreed to disagree with
8584-560: The order are entitled to use the post-nominal letters CH . Appointments to the order are generally made on the advice of prime ministers of the Commonwealth realms. For Canadians, the advice to the Sovereign can come from a variety of officials. Originally, the order was limited to 50 ordinary members, but in 1943 it was enlarged to 65, with a quota of 45 members for the United Kingdom , seven for Australia , two each for New Zealand and South Africa , and nine for India , Burma , and
8700-531: The other British colonies . The quota numbers were altered in 1970 to 47 for the United Kingdom, seven for Australia, two for New Zealand, and nine for other Commonwealth realms. The quota was adjusted again in 1975 by adding two places to the New Zealand quota and reducing the nine for the other countries to seven. Whilst still able to nominate candidates to the order, the Cabinet of Australia has effectively stopped
8816-410: The party members' Euroscepticism . His campaign was managed by Andrew Tyrie . Clarke opposed the 2003 invasion of Iraq . After choosing not to stand for the leadership after Duncan Smith departed in 2003 in the interests of party unity, he returned to fight the 2005 leadership election. He still retained huge popularity among voters, with 40% of the public believing he would be the best leader. He
8932-472: The party whip from Ann Winterton after she joked about 23 Chinese migrants' deaths. In the lead up to the 2005 election campaign, Howard continued to impose strong party discipline, controversially forcing the deselection of at least four candidates. Danny Kruger was made to resign in Sedgefield after he said that the Conservatives "plan to introduce a period of creative destruction in the public services". He
9048-502: The patient and the most efficient hospitals would receive the greatest funding. This was not well received by doctors and their trade union, the British Medical Association , launched a poster campaign against Clarke's reforms, claiming that the NHS was "underfunded, undermined and under threat". They also called the new GP contracts "Stalinist". A March 1990 opinion poll commissioned by the BMA showed that 73% believed that
9164-521: The people of Gibraltar" as Margaret Thatcher had done in the South Atlantic. Leading figures from the other parties rejected this viewpoint. A spokesman for Number 10 said such a conflict "isn't going to happen". In June 2022, Howard called on Boris Johnson to resign as Prime Minister. Companion of Honour The Order of the Companions of Honour is an order of the Commonwealth realms . It
9280-403: The premiership of John Major, he served as Secretary of State for Employment (1990–1992), Secretary of State for the Environment (1992–1993) and Home Secretary (1993–1997). Following the Conservative Party's landslide defeat at the 1997 general election , he unsuccessfully contested the leadership, and subsequently held the posts of Shadow Foreign Secretary (1997–1999) and Shadow Chancellor of
9396-655: The presidency of the Cambridge Union , but Clarke became President of the Cambridge Union a year later, being elected on 6 March 1963 by a majority of 56 votes. Clarke opposed the admission of women to the Union, and is quoted as saying upon his election, "The fact that Oxford has admitted them does not impress me at all. Cambridge should wait a year to see what happens before any decision is taken on admitting them." In an early-1990s documentary, journalist Michael Cockerell played to Clarke some tape recordings of Clarke speaking at
9512-444: The prison population rose from 42,000 to nearly 85,000. Ken Clarke disagreed, pointing to a 60% recidivism rate amongst newly released prisoners and hinting that factors such as better household and vehicle security and better policing could be influencing crime rates, not just the incapacitation effect of removing offenders to prison. Howard repeatedly clashed with judges and prison reformers as he sought to clamp down on crime through
9628-542: The public generally supported policies proposed by the Conservative Party when they were not told which party had proposed them, indicating that the party still had an image problem. Conservative John Major's 30% lead in 1992 amongst the sought after ABC1 voters (professionals) had all but disappeared by 2005. The campaign focus on immigration may have been influenced by Howard's election adviser Lynton Crosby , who had run similar tactics in Australian elections earlier. Crosby
9744-429: The question "Did you threaten to overrule him?" twelve times. Howard repeatedly said that he "did not instruct him", ignoring the "threaten" part of the question. Paxman asked him again in another interview in 2004. Howard responded: "Oh come on, Jeremy, are you really going back over that again? As it happens, I didn't. Are you satisfied now?" Secret Home Office papers partially vindicated Howard, but show that Howard asked
9860-422: The radio station BBC 5 Live , where he discussed a proposal to increase the reduction of sentences for criminals, including rapists, who pleaded guilty pre-trial, from a third to a half. In the interview he incorrectly asserted that the reason for the low average sentence of those convicted of rape was that legal definition of "rape" in England and Wales included such less serious offences as consensual sex between
9976-568: The reform of the House of Lords and party funding. Clarke is President of the Tory Reform Group , a liberal, pro-European ginger group within the Conservative Party. Clarke became known as "an economic and social liberal , an internationalist and a strong supporter of the European idea". In 2006, he described Cameron's plans for a British Bill of Rights as " xenophobic and legal nonsense". On 12 May 2009, The Daily Telegraph reported that Clarke had "flipped" his Council Tax . He had told
10092-517: The reintroduction of the death penalty and voted against it again in February 1994. In 1993, following the murder of James Bulger , two eleven-year-old boys were convicted of his murder and sentenced to be detained at Her Majesty's pleasure , with a recommended a minimum term of eight years. Lord Taylor of Gosforth , the Lord Chief Justice , ordered that the two boys should serve a minimum of ten years. The editors of The Sun newspaper handed
10208-583: The same time, he said he still believed in the Iraq invasion was right because "the prize of a stable Iraq was worth striving for". However, Howard's criticism of Blair was not received favourably in Washington, D.C., where President of the United States George W. Bush refused to meet him. Bush's advisor Karl Rove reportedly told Howard, "you can forget about meeting the president. Don't bother coming." Howard
10324-455: The seizure of firearms. In 2008 Haase and Bennett were convicted of having set up the weapons finds to earn them their release, and sentenced to 20 and 22 years in prison respectively. Following the 1997 resignation of John Major, Howard and William Hague ran on the same ticket, with Howard as leader and Hague as Deputy Leader and Party Chairman. The day after they agreed this, Hague decided to run on his own. Howard also stood but his campaign
10440-520: The spring of 1996, very likely (in Clarke's view) with Major's approval; Clarke records that Heseltine spoke "with passionate intensity" at Cabinet against a referendum, believing both that referendums were pernicious and that no concession would be enough to please the Eurosceptics. Clarke, who had already threatened resignation over the issue, also opposed the measure and, although Clarke and Heseltine were in
10556-555: The subjugation of Britain's Protestant ethos to Roman Catholic social, political and religious teaching". Most prominently, incumbent MP and then- Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party Howard Flight was deselected in Arundel and South Downs , for a speech at a Conservative Way Forward meeting that suggested that the Conservatives would make much greater spending cuts than they promised in their manifesto, if they won
10672-488: The total votes cast, which was within 3% of Labour on 35.2%. The day after the election, Howard stated in a speech in the newly gained Conservative seat in Putney that he would not lead the party into the next general election as, already aged 63, he would be "too old" by that stage, and that he would stand down "sooner rather than later", following a revision of the Conservative leadership electoral process. Despite Labour winning
10788-459: The wake of the Conservatives' victory at the 1992 general election . In May 1993, seven months after the impact of " Black Wednesday " had damaged Norman Lamont 's credibility as Chancellor of the Exchequer , Major sacked Lamont and appointed Clarke in his place. At first, Clarke was seen as the dominant figure in Cabinet, and at the October 1993 Conservative Party Conference he defended Major from his critics by pronouncing "any enemy of John Major
10904-515: The war on terror have been revealed by open courts and a free media. Yet the Justice and Security Green Paper seeks to place Government above the law and would undermine such crucial scrutiny." Following the 2012 Cabinet reshuffle, Clarke was moved from Justice Secretary to Minister without Portfolio . It was also announced that he would assume the role of roving Trade Envoy with responsibility for promoting British business and trade interests abroad,
11020-584: Was Father of the House . Following his expulsion from the Conservative Party in September 2019, he became the first Independent MP to hold the position of Father of the House since Clement Tudway , who died in office as MP for Wells in 1815. Clarke is the subject of a portrait in oil commissioned by Parliament. Clarke first served in the government of Margaret Thatcher as Parliamentary Secretary for Transport (1979–81) and Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (1981–82), and then Minister of State for Health (1982–85). Clarke joined
11136-424: Was "virtually impossible" to rehabilitate any inmate in less than 12 months. In his first major speech after taking office, Clarke indicated a major shift in penal policy by saying prison was not effective in many cases. This could result in more offenders being handed community sentences. Clarke, who described the current prison population of 85,000 as "astonishing", received immediate criticism from some colleagues in
11252-526: Was a Communist , but while at Cambridge he joined the Conservative Party . As Chairman of the Cambridge University Conservative Association (CUCA), Clarke invited former British Fascist leader Sir Oswald Mosley to speak for two years in succession, prompting some Jewish students (including his future successor at the Home Office, Michael Howard ) to resign from CUCA in protest. Howard then defeated Clarke in one election for
11368-449: Was accused by Norman Tebbit of being "lazy" whilst leadership rival Sir Malcolm Rifkind suggested that Clarke's pro-European views could have divided the Conservative Party had Clarke won. In the event, Clarke was eliminated in the first round of voting by Conservative MPs. Eventual winner David Cameron appointed Clarke to head a Democracy Task Force as part of his extensive 18-month policy review in December 2005, exploring issues such as
11484-422: Was appointed Home Secretary in a 1993 reshuffle precipitated by the sacking of Norman Lamont as Chancellor. As Home Secretary he pursued a tough approach to crime, summed up in his sound bite, "prison works". During his tenure as Home Secretary, recorded crime fell by 16.8%. In 2010 Howard claimed a 45% decrease in crime since a 1993 study by Home Office criminologist Roger Tarling proved that prison worked though
11600-472: Was appointed Secretary of State for Education and Science in the final weeks of Thatcher's Government, following Norman Tebbit 's unwillingness to return to Cabinet following the resignation of Sir Geoffrey Howe . Clarke was the first Cabinet Minister to advise Thatcher to resign after her victory in the first round of the November 1990 leadership contest was less than the 15% winning margin required to prevent
11716-600: Was better placed to defeat Michael Heseltine . He retained his Cabinet post under John Major and campaigned against trade union power during the 1992 general election campaign. His work in the campaign led to his appointment as Secretary of State for the Environment in the reshuffle following the election. In this capacity he encouraged the United States to participate in the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, but shortly afterwards he
11832-511: Was founded on 4 June 1917 by King George V as a reward for outstanding achievements. It was founded on the same date as the Order of the British Empire . The order was originally intended to be conferred upon a limited number of persons for whom this special distinction seemed to be the most appropriate form of recognition, constituting an honour dissociated from either the acceptance of title or
11948-482: Was interviewed by Sky News on 5 July 2016 and made negative comments to Sir Malcolm Rifkind, about the "fiasco" (leadership contest) and about three of the candidates. In a widely circulated video clip, he referred to Theresa May as a "bloody difficult woman", joked that Michael Gove , who was "wild", would "go to war with at least three countries at once" and characterised some of the utterances of Andrea Leadsom as "extremely stupid". Clarke added that Gove "did us all
12064-454: Was later re-hired by the Conservative Party to run their successful campaign in the 2008 London mayoral election . Despite his impending resignation following the 2005 general election, Howard performed a substantial reshuffle of the party's front bench in which several rising star MPs were given their first shadow portfolios, including George Osborne and David Cameron . This move cleared the way for David Cameron (who had worked for Howard as
12180-473: Was later selected and elected as the Conservative MP for Devizes in 2019 . Robert Oulds and Adrian Hilton were successively sacked as candidates for Slough –Oulds after he was photographed with a number of firearms and dubbed a "Tory gun nut" by The Sun ; and Hilton after a piece he wrote for The Spectator in 2003 came to public attention, in which he claimed that "a Catholic EU will inevitably result in
12296-450: Was marred by attacks on his record as Home Secretary. Howard came in last out of five candidates with the support of only 23 MPs in the first round of polling for the leadership election. He then withdrew from the race and endorsed the eventual winner, William Hague. Howard served as Shadow Foreign Secretary for the next two years but retired from the Shadow cabinet in 1999, though continued as
12412-513: Was named 2003 Parliamentarian of the Year by The Spectator and Zurich UK. This was in recognition of his performance at the dispatch box in his previous role as Shadow Chancellor. However, twelve months after he became party leader, neither his personal popularity nor his party's with the public had risen appreciably in opinion polls from several years before. Howard was part of discussions for British Airways to resume flights to Pakistan in 2003, this
12528-461: Was promoted to the Cabinet as Secretary of State for Employment in January 1990 following the resignation of Norman Fowler . He subsequently guided through legislation abolishing the closed shop , and campaigned vigorously for Thatcher in the first ballot of the 1990 Conservative leadership election , although he told her a day before she resigned that he felt she was not going to win and that John Major
12644-473: Was put into effect after Black Wednesday. He reduced the basic rate of income tax from 25% to 23%, reduced UK Government spending as a percentage of GDP, and reduced the budget deficit from £50.8 billion in 1993 to £15.5 billion in 1997. Clarke's successor, the Labour Chancellor Gordon Brown , continued these policies, which eliminated the deficit by 1998 and allowed Brown to record
12760-414: Was removed from the leadership, Howard was elected unopposed as leader of the party in November 2003. As leader, he faced much less discontent within the party than any of his three predecessors and was seen as a steady hand. He avoided repeating such managerial missteps as Duncan Smith's firing of David Davis as Conservative Party Chairman and imposed discipline quickly and firmly: for example, he removed
12876-399: Was reported that he argued with inquiry counsel, refused to apologise and at one point even walked out while the chairman, Sir Brian Langstaff , was speaking. The MSF trade union claimed that Clarke's exclusion of NHS medical laboratory staff from the pay review body in 1984 led to massive staff shortages and a crisis in medical laboratory testing by 1999. Just over two years later he
12992-448: Was sacked. Lewis sued the Home Office for wrongful dismissal and alleged that Howard had regularly interfered with the service's operations, citing an instance in which Howard put "extreme and unjustified pressure" on him to suspend the governor of Parkhurst Prison (threatening to overrule him if he did not). In a television interview on Newsnight , Jeremy Paxman asked Howard whether he had in fact threatened to overrule Lewis, posing
13108-613: Was selected to contest the constituency of Folkestone and Hythe in Kent after the sitting Conservative MP, Sir Albert Costain , decided to retire. Howard won the seat at the 1983 general election. Howard gained quick promotion, becoming Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department of Trade and Industry in 1985 with responsibility for regulating the financial dealings of the City of London. This junior post became very important, as he oversaw
13224-510: Was six, his parents became naturalised as British subjects and the family name was changed to Howard. Howard passed his eleven-plus exam in 1952 and then attended Llanelli Boys' Grammar School . He joined the Young Conservatives at age 15. He gained a place at Peterhouse, Cambridge, where he was President of the Cambridge Union in 1962. After taking a 2:1 in the first part of the economics tripos , he switched to law and graduated with
13340-465: Was triggered for the United Kingdom to leave the European Union, Howard was interviewed on 2 April 2017 by Sophy Ridge for her programme on Sky News . He compared the post- Brexit situation of Gibraltar's disputed sovereignty with Spain with the resolution of a similar issue by the Falklands War in 1982. Howard said he was "absolutely certain" Theresa May "will show the same resolve in standing by
13456-419: Was until their final departure in 2008 the only European airline serving the nation. In November 2004, Newsnight again concentrated on Howard with coverage of a campaign trip to Cornwall and an interview with Jeremy Paxman. The piece, which purported to show that members of the public could not identify Howard and that those who recognised him did not support him, was the subject of an official complaint from
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