Tim Boswell

Timothy Eric Boswell, Baron Boswell of Aynho DL (born 2 December 1942) is a British politician who was formerly the Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) for Daventry from 1987 until he stood down at the 2010 general election, after which he was raised to the House of Lords as a Conservative life peer.[1][2][3]

The Right Honourable

The Lord Boswell of Aynho

DL FSA
Lord Boswell of Aynho in 2019
Lord Commissioner of the Treasury
In office
14 April 1992 – 11 December 1992
Prime MinisterJohn Major
Preceded bySydney Chapman
Succeeded byTimothy Kirkhope
Member of the House of Lords
Lord Temporal
Assumed office
8 July 2010
Life Peerage
Member of Parliament
for Daventry
In office
11 June 1987 – 12 April 2010
Preceded byReg Prentice
Succeeded byChris Heaton-Harris
Personal details
Born (1942-12-02) 2 December 1942
Brentwood, Essex, England
NationalityEnglish
Political partyConservative
Spouse(s)Helen Delahay Rees
Children3, including Victoria Prentis
EducationMarlborough College
Alma materNew College, Oxford
ProfessionFarmer and politician

Personal life

The son of a farmer, Tim Boswell was educated at Marlborough College and New College, Oxford, where he obtained a degree in Classics and a diploma in agricultural economics.[3]

Boswell was married to Helen Delahay Boswell, née Rees, for 50 years until her death in 2019.[3][4][5] They had three daughters together including the Conservative Member of Parliament Victoria Prentis.

Political career

Conservative Party

He joined the Conservative Research Department in 1966, becoming head of the economics section in 1974. He stood for Parliament at the February 1974 general election in Rugby but lost by 6,154 votes to Labour's William Price.

He was elected as the Treasurer of the Daventry Conservative Association in 1976 and subsequently its Chairman from 1979 to 1983. He became a political advisor to the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Michael Jopling for two years from 1984.

House of Commons

Boswell was chosen to contest the Daventry constituency after the sitting Conservative MP and former Labour Cabinet member Reg Prentice had announced his retirement. Tim Boswell was elected as the Conservative MP for Daventry at the 1987 general election with a majority of 19,690 and held the seat very comfortably since.

Tim Boswell's Westminster career began unsurprisingly as a Member of the Agriculture Select committee in 1987. He became the Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Financial Secretary to the Treasury Peter Lilley in 1989. Tim Boswell entered John Major's government in 1990 as an Assistant Government Whip, following the 1992 general election he was promoted within the Whip's Office and became a Lord Commissioner to the Treasury.

In December 1992, Tim Boswell was appointed Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department of Education and moved in the same position at the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food until the Major government fell at the 1997 general election.

In opposition Boswell was a spokesman on the Treasury in the immediate aftermath of the 1997 election defeat and became a spokesman on Trade and Industry under William Hague, before speaking on Education and Employment in 1999 until after the 2001 general election. He became the spokesman for Work and Pensions under the leadership of Iain Duncan Smith, moving briefly to speak on Constitutional Affairs in 2003 under Michael Howard and back to Work and Pensions in 2004, where he remained following the 2005 general election.

On 31 March 2006, Boswell announced his intention not to contest the subsequent general election, provided it did not take place unexpectedly soon. The Daventry seat was split in two at the 2010 general election, with the northern portion becoming part of a new Daventry constituency and the southern part becoming part of a South Northamptonshire constituency.

In May 2009, he was listed by The Telegraph as one of the "Saints" in the expenses scandal.[6]

After his retirement from the House of Commons the seat remained Conservative under Chris Heaton-Harris.

House of Lords

He was raised to the House of Lords as a Conservative Life peer being created Baron Boswell of Aynho, of Aynho in the County of Northamptonshire on 8 July 2010.[1] In May 2012, he resigned the Conservative whip after being made Principal Deputy Chairman of Committees in the House. He also became Chairman of the European Union Committee.[7][8]

Honours

On 10 March 2016, Boswell was elected a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London (FSA).[9] He was appointed a deputy lieutenant of Northamptonshire in 2010.[10]

References
  1. "No. 59487". The London Gazette. 13 July 2010. p. 13285.
  2. "Lord Boswell of Aynho". Parliament.uk. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
  3. "Boswell of Aynho". ukwhoswho.com. Who's Who. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
  4. "Helen Boswell - Deceased Estates". The Gazette (Official Public Record). Retrieved 14 November 2019.
  5. "Helen Boswell Obituary". Legacy.com. The Times. 23 July 2019. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
  6. "MPs' Expenses: the saints". The Telegraph. London. 19 May 2009. Retrieved 1 July 2009.
  7. "Lord Boswell of Aynho biography". Archived from the original on 2 March 2012. Retrieved 12 May 2012.
  8. "Lords European Union Committee homepage". Retrieved 12 May 2012.
  9. "10 Mar Ballot Results". Society of Antiquaries of London. 10 March 2016. Retrieved 16 April 2016.
  10. Deputy Lieutenant Commissions
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Reg Prentice		 Member of Parliament for Daventry
1987–2010		 Succeeded by
Chris Heaton-Harris
Orders of precedence in the United Kingdom
Preceded by
The Lord Spicer		 Gentlemen
Baron Boswell of Aynho 		Followed by
The Lord Black of Brentwood
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