Kim Scott Howells (born 27 November 1946) is a
Welsh Labour Party former politician. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for
Pontypridd
Pontypridd ( , ), Colloquialism, colloquially referred to as ''Ponty'', is a town and a Community (Wales), community in Rhondda Cynon Taf, South Wales, approximately 10 miles north west of Cardiff city centre.
Geography
Pontypridd comprises the ...
from
1989
1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...
to
2010
The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...
, and held a number of
ministerial positions within the
Blair and
Brown governments.
Biography
Howells is the son of Glanville Howells, a Communist lorry driver,
and of Joan Glenys Howells. Born in
Merthyr Tydfil
Merthyr Tydfil () is the main town in Merthyr Tydfil County Borough, Wales, administered by Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council. It is about north of Cardiff. Often called just Merthyr, it is said to be named after Tydfil, daughter of K ...
,
Wales
Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...
and raised in
Penywaun near
Aberdare
Aberdare ( ; ) is a town in the Cynon Valley area of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales, at the confluence of the Rivers Dare (Dâr) and River Cynon, Cynon. Aberdare has a population of 39,550 (mid-2017 estimate). Aberdare is south-west of Merthyr Tydf ...
in the
Cynon Valley
Cynon Valley () is a former coal mining valley in Wales. It lies between Rhondda and the Merthyr Valley and takes its name from the River Cynon. Aberdare is located in the north of the valley and Mountain Ash in the south. From 1974 to 19 ...
, he is a former pupil of Mountain Ash Grammar School.
Howells went to
Hornsey College of Art
Hornsey College of Art, also known as HCA, founded in 1880 as the Hornsey School of Arts, was an art school in Crouch End, part of Hornsey, Middlesex, England. From 1965 it was in the London Borough of Haringey.
From 1955 to 1973, when it was me ...
where he was active in the May 1968 student occupation, and was the first protester to breach the
Metropolitan Police cordon at the demonstration against the
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...
outside the US Embassy in
Grosvenor Square
Grosvenor Square ( ) is a large garden square in the Mayfair district of Westminster, Greater London. It is the centrepiece of the Mayfair property of the Duke of Westminster, and takes its name from the duke's surname "Grosvenor". It was deve ...
in 1968.
Howells featured as a student leader at
Hornsey College of Art
Hornsey College of Art, also known as HCA, founded in 1880 as the Hornsey School of Arts, was an art school in Crouch End, part of Hornsey, Middlesex, England. From 1965 it was in the London Borough of Haringey.
From 1955 to 1973, when it was me ...
in director
John Goldschmidt's film ''Our Live Experiment is worth more than 3,000 Textbooks'', made for
Granada Television
ITV Granada, formerly known as Granada Television, is the ITV (TV network), ITV franchisee for the North West of England and Isle of Man. From 1956 to 1968 it broadcast to both the north west and Yorkshire on weekdays only, as ABC Weekend TV, ...
and shown on the
ITV network.
He attended the
Cambridgeshire College of Arts and Technology between 1971 and 1974 where he studied for a Joint Honours Degree and was awarded an upper second, which allowed him to follow post-graduate studies in history. Howells later obtained a PhD from the
University of Warwick
The University of Warwick ( ; abbreviated as ''Warw.'' in post-nominal letters) is a public research university on the outskirts of Coventry between the West Midlands and Warwickshire, England. The university was founded in 1965 as part of ...
in 1979 for a thesis entitled ''A view from below: tradition, experience and nationalism in the South Wales coalfield, 1937–1957''.
Professional career
On returning home to
South Wales
South Wales ( ) is a Regions of Wales, loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the Historic counties of Wales, historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire ( ...
from college, Howells worked as a researcher and editor for the ''South Wales Miner'', before becoming a South Wales
National Union of Mineworkers official and local representative of the
Communist Party of Great Britain
The Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB) was the largest communist organisation in Britain and was founded in 1920 through a merger of several smaller Marxist groups. Many miners joined the CPGB in the 1926 general strike. In 1930, the CPGB ...
. He joined the
Labour Party in 1982.
Howells ran the NUM Pontypridd office which co-ordinated the South Wales miners' efforts during the
UK miners' strike. A serious incident during the national dispute occurred in his area at the end of November 1984, when taxi driver
David Wilkie was killed when two striking miners dropped a concrete block off a local bridge onto Wilkie's taxi, which was taking a strike-breaking miner to work. On being told of the incident in a telephone call from a reporter of the ''
South Wales Echo
The ''South Wales Echo'' is a daily tabloid newspaper published in Cardiff, Wales and distributed throughout the surrounding area. It has a circulation of 6,026.
Background
The newspaper was founded in 1884 and was based in Thomson House, C ...
'', Howells rode his bicycle to the NUM offices.
After allegations that he hid evidence associated with the death of Wilkie, and an investigation by
South Wales Police, Howells in 2004 commented in a
BBC Wales
BBC Cymru Wales is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcasting, public broadcaster in Wales.
It is one of the four BBC national regions, alongside the BBC English Regions, BBC Northern Ireland and BBC Scotland. Established in 1964, ...
documentary that when he heard the news, he thought "hang on, we've got all those records we've kept over in the NUM offices, there's all those maps on the wall, we're gonna get implicated in this". He then destroyed a large number of papers because he feared a police raid on the union offices.
["Howells' strike papers admission – inquiry"](_blank)
BBC News, 27 January 2004. He has commented that the attack by the strikers was a result of pressure to get the miners to return to work.
Following the miners' strike and the closure of 29 of the 30
National Coal Board
The National Coal Board (NCB) was the statutory corporation created to run the nationalised coal mining industry in the United Kingdom. Set up under the Coal Industry Nationalisation Act 1946, it took over the United Kingdom's collieries on "ve ...
pits in South Wales, Howells became a writer and presenter for television and radio, and a college lecturer.
Parliamentary career

Howells entered the
House of Commons
The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...
in
a by-election in 1989. As a member of the Labour Opposition, he became successively an Opposition Spokesman on Trade and Industry, on Home Affairs, on Foreign Affairs and on Development and Co-operation. Howells suggested in 1996 that the word "socialism" ought to be "humanely phased out" of Labour Party policy documents.
In 1995,
Clause IV of the party's constitution was revised to state that "The Labour Party is a
democratic socialist
Democratic socialism is a left-wing economic and political philosophy that supports political democracy and some form of a socially owned economy, with a particular emphasis on economic democracy, workplace democracy, and workers' self-mana ...
party".
He held a string of junior ministerial posts in various departments following the
1997 election until October 2008. From May 1997 to January 1998, he served as a
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the
Department for Education and Employment
The Department for Education and Skills (DfES) was a United Kingdom government department between 2001 and 2007, responsible for the Education in England, education system (including higher education and adult learning) as well as children's se ...
. He then served in the Department for Trade and Industry until June 2001, and then as a junior minister with the trade and broadcasting brief at the
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It holds the responsibility for Culture of the United Kingdom, culture a ...
until June 2003. He served as a
Minister of State
Minister of state is a designation for a government minister, with varying meanings in different jurisdictions. In a number of European countries, the title is given as an honorific conferring a higher rank, often bestowed upon senior minister ...
from June 2003 to September 2004, when he became
Minister for Higher Education. He left that post when he was made Minister for the Middle East in the
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) is the ministry of foreign affairs and a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the government of the United Kingdom.
The office was created on 2 ...
in May 2005. He remained a Minister of State at the Foreign Office after
Gordon Brown
James Gordon Brown (born 20 February 1951) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 to 2010. Previously, he was Chancellor of the Ex ...
became Prime Minister, but returned to the backbenches when Brown conducted a reshuffle in October 2008.
After leaving the government Howells was appointed to take over from
Margaret Beckett
Margaret Mary Beckett, Baroness Beckett, (; born 15 January 1943), is a British politician. She was a member of Parliament (MP) for more than 45 years, first from 1974 to 1979 and then from 1983 to 2024. A member of the Labour Party, she was ...
as chair of the
Intelligence and Security Committee, a committee of parliamentarians that oversees the work of Britain's intelligence and security agencies.
In 2003, he said the Labour government was trying to run capitalism more "efficiently" and "humanely".
He is a member, and the former chairman, of
Labour Friends of Israel
Labour Friends of Israel (LFI) is a group in the Parliament of the United Kingdom that advocates a strong bilateral relationship between the United Kingdom and Israel, and seeks to strengthen ties between the British Labour Party (UK), Labour ...
.
In February 2009, Howells was appointed to the
Privy Council, making him
The Right Honourable
''The Right Honourable'' (abbreviation: The Rt Hon. or variations) is an honorific Style (form of address), style traditionally applied to certain persons and collective bodies in the United Kingdom, the former British Empire, and the Commonwealt ...
Kim Howells, an appointment that coincided with the 20th anniversary of his election to Parliament.
In March 2009, it was revealed that Howells made one of the lowest expense claims among Welsh MPs, being 5th from bottom.
On 18 December 2009, Howells announced that he would stand down at the
2010 general election.
On 15 July 2011, Howells received an Honorary Doctorate for his contribution to Welsh and British politics from the
University of Glamorgan
The University of Glamorgan () was a public university based in South Wales, that merged with University of Wales, Newport to form the University of South Wales in April 2013. The university was based in Pontypridd, in Rhondda Cynon Taf, with ...
. Following comments made by Howells concerning the financial reasons for recruiting students from overseas and, particularly, the perceived security risk appertaining to students from Libya, international students organised to demonstrate at the event. Howells withdrew from the ceremony at the last minute after pressure mounted on him. The NUS Wales Black Students' Campaign described Dr Howells' comments as "reckless" and said that the comments "could add to the barriers facing Black and Minority Ethnic students in Wales".
Parliamentary challenges
In February 2006, he was the subject of a complaint from
Paul Flynn MP after he mocked Mr Flynn's attitude towards the UK's Afghan drug policy:
On 22 November 2006, it was announced that on a recent visit to Iraq his helicopter was involved in an incident as it left the city of
Basra
Basra () is a port city in Iraq, southern Iraq. It is the capital of the eponymous Basra Governorate, as well as the List of largest cities of Iraq, third largest city in Iraq overall, behind Baghdad and Mosul. Located near the Iran–Iraq bor ...
with witnesses claiming shots were fired at the aircraft.
Ministerial career
Howells served in various ministerial capacities. Notable legislation he introduced included the
Licensing Act 2003 and the
Communications Act 2003
The Communications Act 2003 (c. 21) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The act, which came into force on 25 July 2003, superseded the Telecommunications Act 1984. The new act was the responsibility of Culture Secretary Tessa ...
.
Personality
Howells is known to be outspoken. He told ''
The Scotsman
''The Scotsman'' is a Scottish compact (newspaper), compact newspaper and daily news website headquartered in Edinburgh. First established as a radical political paper in 1817, it began daily publication in 1855 and remained a broadsheet until ...
'' newspaper in September 1995 that
devolution
Devolution is the statutory delegation of powers from the central government of a sovereign state to govern at a subnational level, such as a regional or local level. It is a form of administrative decentralization. Devolved territori ...
was akin to fascism and that it would lead to the "Balkanisation of Great Britain".
In 2002, as a junior Minister at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, he criticised the
Turner Prize
The Turner Prize, named after the English painter J. M. W. Turner, is an annual prize presented to a British visual artist. Between 1991 and 2016, only artists under the age of 50 were eligible (this restriction was removed for the 2017 award). ...
by writing a note that read:
Throughout his Parliamentary career he was unafraid to speak his mind and often sparked strong criticism from those he criticised or offended. During a
House of Commons
The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...
debate on licensing laws he said that the idea of "listening to three
Somerset
Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...
folk singers sounds like hell".
On the ''
Today
Today (archaically to-day) may refer to:
* The current day and calendar date
** Today is between and , subject to the local time zone
* Now, the time that is perceived directly, present
* The current, present era
Arts, entertainment and m ...
'' programme, while visiting
Iraq
Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...
on 11 March 2006 as Foreign Office minister, he commented in an interview:
On 22 July 2006, Howell criticised
Israel's bombardment of Lebanon while on a visit to
Beirut
Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...
, breaking with the
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
Foreign Secretary's less critical line, saying:
He once described the
British royal family
The British royal family comprises Charles III and other members of his family. There is no strict legal or formal definition of who is or is not a member, although the Royal Household has issued different lists outlining who is considere ...
as "a bit bonkers".
Howells said in 2013 that Labour had to change its relationship with the unions or face damaging its reputation and risk losing the next general election.
Personal life
Howells married Eirlys Davies in 1983. He has two sons and one stepdaughter.
References
External links
*
* official profile
Guardian Unlimited Politics – Ask Aristotle: Kim Howells MPTheyWorkForYou.com – Kim Howells MPThe Public Whip – Kim Howellsvoting record
Flickr Album– Photographs
BBC News report of Turner Prize comments31 October 2002
Report on his comments about the Monarchy and the Somerset Folk Singers. Also details an exchange with Paul Flynn on drugs policy in which Howells became abusive. Minister admits Iraq is 'a mess' 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 ...
, 11 March 2006
audio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Howells, Kim
1946 births
Living people
Welsh Labour MPs
Alumni of Anglia Ruskin University
Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom
UK MPs 1987–1992
UK MPs 1992–1997
UK MPs 1997–2001
UK MPs 2001–2005
UK MPs 2005–2010
Communist Party of Great Britain members
Labour Friends of Israel
Welsh trade unionists
Welsh communists
Alumni of the University of Warwick
Alumni of Middlesex University
People from Merthyr Tydfil
Coal in Wales
Ministers for universities of the United Kingdom