Tim Boswell

The Right Honourable The Lord Boswell of Aynho DL FSA
File:Official portrait of Lord Boswell of Aynho crop 2.jpg Official portrait, 2019
Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food
In office 5 July 1995 – 1 May 1997
Prime Minister	John Major
Preceded by	The Earl Howe
Succeeded by	The Lord Donoughue
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education
In office 19 December 1992 – 6 July 1995
Prime Minister	John Major
Preceded by	Nigel Forman
Succeeded by	Robin Squire
Lord Commissioner of the Treasury
In office 14 April 1992 – 11 December 1992
Prime Minister	John Major
Preceded by	Sydney Chapman
Succeeded by	Timothy Kirkhope
Member of the House of Lords
Lord Temporal
Life peerage 8 July 2010 – 24 July 2025
Member of Parliament for Daventry
In office 11 June 1987 – 12 April 2010
Preceded by	Reg Prentice
Succeeded by	Chris Heaton-Harris
Personal details
Born	(1942-12-02)2 December 1942 Brentwood, Essex, England
Died	30 August 2025(2025-08-30) (aged 82)
Party	Conservative
Spouse	Helen Delahay Rees
Children	3, including Victoria Prentis
Education	Marlborough College
Alma mater	New College, Oxford
Profession	Farmer and politician

Timothy Eric Boswell, Baron Boswell of Aynho DL (2 December 1942 – 30 August 2025) was a British politician who was the Conservative MP for Daventry from 1987 until he stood down at the 2010 general election, after which he was appointed to the House of Lords as a life peer.

Background

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.

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

Boswell died on 30 August 2025, at the age of 82.

Political career

Conservative Party

Boswell 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 Reg Prentice announced his retirement. He was elected as the Conservative MP for Daventry at the 1987 general election with a majority of 19,690 and held the safe seat comfortably until his retirement from the House of Commons.

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" (MPs who spent less money) in the expenses scandal.

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

House of Lords

Boswell 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. 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. He retired from the Lords on 24 July 2025.

Honours

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

Coat of arms of Tim Boswell

File:Coronet of a British Baron.svg File:Boswell of Aynho Escutcheon.png

Crest In front of a demi South Devon bull Proper unguled and resting its dexter hoof on a seax point downwards Or a cornucopia Azure replenished with apricots Or. Escutcheon Or on a fess Gules between three owls affronty Azure each perched on a sprig of oak fesswise Vert three garbs Or banded Azure. Supporters On either side a South Devon Bull Proper armed and unguled Or. Motto Cresco Dum Disco (I Grow As I Learn)

External links

• ePolitix.com - Tim Boswell MP
• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Tim Boswell
• Guardian Unlimited Politics - Ask Aristotle: Tim Boswell MP
• Profile on Conservative Party website
• Daventry Conservatives
• TheyWorkForYou.com - Tim Boswell MP
• The Public Whip - Tim Boswell MP voting record
• BBC News - Tim Boswell profile 15 February 2005