Stephen Goodwin Howard
CBE
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
(1867 – 13 November 1934) was a British
Liberal
Liberal or liberalism may refer to:
Politics
* a supporter of liberalism
** Liberalism by country
* an adherent of a Liberal Party
* Liberalism (international relations)
* Sexually liberal feminism
* Social liberalism
Arts, entertainment and m ...
politician.
Family
Howard was the son of Stephen Howard of
Kirtling
Kirtling, together with Kirtling Green and Kirtling Towers, is a scattered settlement in the south-eastern edge of the English county of Cambridgeshire. It forms a civil parish with the nearby village of Upend to its north. The population of t ...
in
Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East of England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and North ...
. His family home was at The Moat,
Upend
Upend is a hamlet in the east of Cambridgeshire. It is south-east of Newmarket and lies in the same parish as Kirtling. Until the 15th century Upend was called Upheme which is old English for "the up-dwelling". Upend may once have been a sepa ...
. In 1895 he married Mary Maude Hailey. They a son and two daughters. Their son Stephen
Gerald Howard
Sir Stephen Gerald Howard (7 June 1896 – 25 June 1973) was a British farmer, barrister and judge who was an active National Liberal and later Conservative Party politician. He had a junior role on the prosecution team in several celebra ...
QC was
Conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...
MP for
Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East of England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and North ...
from 1950 to 1961.
Career
Howard described his profession as a tenant farmer and is recorded as owning land in Kirtling, very near the border with
West Suffolk. He is described as one of the area's principal landowners. Howard also served in the 2nd Volunteer Battalion of the
Cambridgeshire Regiment
The Cambridgeshire Regiment was an infantry regiment of the British Army, and was part of the Territorial Army. Originating in units of rifle volunteers formed in 1860, the regiment served in the Second Anglo-Boer War and the First and Second W ...
achieving the rank of Major.
Parliamentary politics
Howard was President of East Cambridgeshire Liberal Association and was then selected as the candidate for the
Sudbury Division of Suffolk for the
1918 general election. Although he was known to be a supporter of prime minister
David Lloyd George
David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor, (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922. He was a Liberal Party politician from Wales, known for leading the United Kingdom during ...
he was elected as a Liberal without receiving
the coalition coupon
The Coalition Coupon was a letter sent to parliamentary candidates at the 1918 United Kingdom general election, endorsing them as official representatives of the Coalition Government. The 1918 election took place in the heady atmosphere of victor ...
. However, once elected, he was one of nine such MPs to accept the Coalition
whip
A whip is a tool or weapon designed to strike humans or other animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain. They can also be used without inflicting pain, for audiovisual cues, such as in equestrianism. They are generally ...
in the ensuing Parliament. Another historian says there were only eight such MPs but still includes Howard in the list. Howard was also one of a very few Liberals to win in a previously Conservative seat in 1918, so strong was the coalition government at that election. He defeated Captain R G Proby, who was standing as a Coalition Unionist
Howard also stood in Sudbury at the
1922 general election this time as a
Lloyd George National Liberal. However he now faced Tory and Independent Liberal opponents and lost to Herbert Mercer, the Conservative.
Cambridgeshire politics
Howard was a member of
Cambridgeshire County Council
Cambridgeshire County Council is the county council of Cambridgeshire, England. The council consists of 61 councillors, representing 59 electoral divisions. The council is based at New Shire Hall at Alconbury Weald, near Huntingdon. It is a me ...
. He was sometime chairman of the Main Roads Committee and of the Roads and Bridges Committee. He also served on the Joint Committee. He was created an
Alderman
An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members them ...
and became chairman of the County Council in 1921. Howard was appointed a
CBE
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
in 1918. He was also appointed a
deputy lieutenant of Cambridgeshire and served as a
justice of the peace.
[''Who was Who,'' OUP 2007]
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Howard, Stephen
1867 births
1934 deaths
Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies
UK MPs 1918–1922
Cambridgeshire Regiment officers
Commanders of the Order of the British Empire
Deputy Lieutenants of Cambridgeshire
English justices of the peace
People from East Cambridgeshire District
Members of Cambridgeshire County Council
National Liberal Party (UK, 1922) politicians
19th-century British Army personnel