Douglas Houghton, Baron Houghton of Sowerby

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Arthur Leslie Noel Douglas Houghton, Baron Houghton of Sowerby , PC CH , (born August 11, 1898 in Long Eaton , Derbyshire , † May 2, 1996 in Caterham , Surrey ) was a British Labor Party politician . He was the last member of the British Cabinet, which was born in the 19th century, and also the last veteran of the First World War , which in the Cabinet and in Parliament was sitting.

Early years

Douglas Houghton fought in the First World War as a soldier in the battle of the Somme . After the war he got a job in administration.

Political career

Douglas Houghton advocated equality of opportunity and advocated giving simple service administrators the opportunity to qualify through exams, which had previously been impossible. From 1922 to 1960 he was Secretary General of the Inland Revenue Staff Federation , the British union for civil servants . From 1941 to 1964, Houghton was a member of the team on the radio program Can I help you? the British Broadcasting Corporation .

Because of his good relations with the labor movement in London and the Labor Party , he became Aldermann of the London County Council , a predecessor of the Greater London Council , in 1947 and held this office until 1949, when he was elected to the House in a by-election for the Sowerby constituency in Yorkshire of Commons was chosen. He was re-elected seven times by 1970.

Because of his understanding of numbers and his tenacity, Houghton succeeded Harold Wilson as chairman of the Public Accounts Committee in the House of Commons after Wilson became chairman of the Labor Party in 1963 . In 1964 he became cabinet minister in Wilson's government and was appointed to the Privy Council . In the same year he became Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster with the special task of social services, but without his own department. Because he could not work effectively because of this, he was appointed Minister without duties by Wilson in 1966.

In 1967, Houghton resigned from government and became chairman of the Labor Party's parliamentary group. In 1974 he left the House of Commons and was accepted into the House of Lords with the title Baron Houghton of Sowerby . There Lord Houghton was passionate about animal welfare and gave several speeches on the subject. Shortly before his death, he was the last member to remain in World War I, and at the age of 97 he was the longest-serving member of the House of Lords.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Obituary for Douglas Houghton on independent.co.uk v. May 3, 1996 , accessed July 2, 2013

literature

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Houghton, Douglas, Baron Houghton of Sowerby
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Houghton, Arthur Leslie Noel Douglas, Baron Houghton of Sowerby (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British politician, member of the House of Commons
DATE OF BIRTH August 11, 1898
PLACE OF BIRTH Long Eaton
DATE OF DEATH May 2, 1996
Place of death Caterham , Surrey