David Ross Howarth (born 10 November 1958) is a British academic and politician who was the Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament for

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

from 2005 to 2010. He served as an

Electoral Commission An election commission is a body charged with overseeing the implementation of electioneering process of any country. The formal names of election commissions vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and may be styled an electoral commission, a c ...

er between 2010 and 2018. He is Professor of Law and Public Policy at the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

. He is the author of ''Textbook on Tort'', ''Law as Engineering: Thinking about What Lawyers Do'' and articles in academic journals and chapters in academic books. He researches into a broad range of public and private law areas, conducting empirical research. He has engaged in policy making and leadership in public roles, previously as Leader of

Cambridge City Council Cambridge City Council is the local authority for Cambridge, a non-metropolitan district with city status in the United Kingdom, city status in Cambridgeshire, England. The council has been under Labour Party (UK), Labour majority control since ...

, and as a member of the Liberal Democrats' Federal Policy Committee.

Political career

Howarth was a Councillor on Cambridge City Council from 1987 to 2004, representing the city's

Castle Ward Castle Ward is an 18th-century National Trust property located near the village of Strangford, in County Down, Northern Ireland, in the townland of the same name. It overlooks Strangford Lough and is 7 miles from Downpatrick and 1.5 miles fro ...

. He was elected Leader of the Liberal Democrat group on Cambridge City Council in 1990 when it was in third place, and then leading it to become the principal opposition on the council, eventually becoming Leader of the Council in 2000. He continued as Leader until 2003, stepping down to concentrate on winning the Cambridge parliamentary seat. He stood unsuccessfully for Parliament in

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

and

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

, and in the nearby seat of

Peterborough Peterborough ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in the City of Peterborough district in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Cambridgeshire, England. The city is north of London, on the River Nene. A ...

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

. In the 2005 general election he was elected Member of Parliament for Cambridge, defeating Labour MP Anne Campbell, overturning a majority of 8,579, and winning with a majority of 4,339 votes (securing 44% of the votes cast). He was the first Liberal or Liberal Democrat to win Cambridge since the 1906 general election. His work as a legislator has informed his research interests, and he has subsequently published on the legislative process (specifically the Backbench Business Committee), conducted empirical research 'The Reality of the Constitution'. Highlights of his legislative scrutiny included work on the Companies Bill; highlighting the problems with the Legislative and Regulatory Reform Bill; the Constitutional Reform and Governance Bill; and various Criminal Justice Bills. Howarth also was successively Shadow Minister for Local Government (2005-6); Shadow Minister for Energy (2006-7); Shadow

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(2007-9); and Shadow

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(2009–10). He served on the Constitutional Affairs, Justice and Environmental Audit Select Committees. In 2008 Howarth criticised

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minister Vernon Coaker's defence of the policing of the

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at Kingsnorth power station, which was widely criticised as disproportionate, and called on the government and police to end the practice of likening environmental protesters to terrorists. He was one of the relatively few MPs not implicated in the 2009 expenses scandal, being singled out by ''The Guardian'' as one of the "Angels" for having "not claimed a penny in second home allowances" and commuting the 60 miles from Cambridge to Westminster. On 5 November 2009, he announced that he would be standing down as MP for Cambridge at the next election, citing a desire to return to academia, which he did after the General Election of May 2010. He was subsequently reinstated in his old job, as a Reader in Law and Land Economy at Cambridge University. He served as the Liberal Democrat nominee as an

er, for two four year terms between October 2010 and October 2018.

Personal life

David Howarth has two children and is married to Edna Howarth. Edna Howarth is a magistrate in Cambridge Magistrates' Court.House of Commons (2008). ''Hansard'', 6 May 2008, Column 586

Notes

External links

*
David Howarth MP
official Liberal Democrats profile * {{DEFAULTSORT:Howarth, David 1958 births Alumni of Clare College, Cambridge Councillors in Cambridgeshire Fellows of Clare College, Cambridge Liberal Democrats (UK) MPs for English constituencies Living people People educated at Queen Mary's Grammar School People from Bloxwich People from Wednesbury UK MPs 2005–2010 Yale Law School alumni Yale University alumni Leaders of local authorities of England Liberal Democrats (UK) councillors