Robert Howarth, veteran Labour politician from Bolton who was an MP in the 1960s and later council leader – obituary
A lorry driver’s son, Howarth was brought up in a Tory home and flirted with the Young Conservatives before joining the Labour Party in 1945
2 May 2021 • 3:34pm
Robert Howarth, Labour candidate in the 1960 Bolton East by-election: he was narrowly beaten by the Conservative Edwin Taylor, whom he would oust in the general election four years later
Credit: David Thorpe/ANL/Shutterstock
Robert Howarth, who has died aged 93, was Labour MP for Bolton East from 1964 to 1970, and chairman of the party’s backbench aviation committee; but his parliamentary career was dwarfed by his four decades of service on Bolton council, including 24 years as its leader until he lost his seat in 2004.