Former Labour minister Sir George Howarth has died at the age of 77. The former Merseyside MP, first elected in 1986, was honored by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer for his "lifetime of public service."
Sir George served as a parliamentary under-secretary in the Home Office from 1997 to 1999 under Prime Minister Tony Blair. He then took on the same role in the Northern Ireland Office from 1999 to 2001, following the signing of the Good Friday Agreement.
Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle described Sir George's death as "another sad loss" to the chamber. Sir Lindsay recalled campaigning for Howarth in the 1986 by-election that first saw him elected to Parliament.
Sir George was initially elected to represent Knowsley with a majority of more than 6,500. He later achieved 85% of the vote and a majority exceeding 42,000 in the constituency in the 2017 general election. During his tenure, he was selected three times as a temporary deputy speaker.
He was knighted in the 2019 Birthday Honours for services to Parliament. He announced his intention to retire at the last general election and was succeeded by Anneliese Midgley.
In 2011, Sir George's daughter Sian died at the age of 24 due to complications from Type 1 diabetes. He later credited his daughter with assisting his preparation for a parliamentary debate on Type 1 diabetes issues, where he urged the government to increase research funding. In 2016, he supported Owen Smith in his unsuccessful bid for leadership of the Labour party against Jeremy Corbyn.