Howell, David, Howell of Guildford (1936– )

British politician. In 1966 he was elected Conservative member of Parliament for Guildford and between 1970 and 1974 he was successively a government whip, parliamentary secretary in the Civil Service Department, parliamentary under secretary in the Department of Employment, parliamentary under secretary in the Northern Ireland Office, minister of state in the Northern Ireland Office, and minister of state in the Department of Energy. He served in the Commons until 1997, when he was raised to a peerage.

Howell was educated at Eton School and King's College, Cambridge University. After a brief period as a civil servant he became a leader-writer on the Daily Telegraph, and then, from 1964–66, he was director of the Conservative Political Centre. He was chairman of the Bow Group (1961–62), a Conservative Party ‘think tank,’ dedicated to the development of policy, the publication of research, and the fostering of debate within the party. Howell also served as the editor (1962–64) of the Bow Group's publication, Crossbow.