The former Labour minister George Howarth, who has died aged 77, was an MP for 38 years and held elected office on Merseyside for more than five decades. He believed politics was all about winning power in order to serve those who had elected him. It brought him respect in parliament and widespread affection in his constituency.
A novelist seeking to portray a caricature of the ideal Labour MP would have relished the arc of Howarth’s life and career. The son of a plumber, he was born, raised and educated in the constituency he would represent. He joined Labour as a teenager, was an elected councillor at 22, chaired the housing and finance committees and ran the local party before winning a controversial byelection in difficult circumstances. He was an apprentice fitter who worked as an engineer and then returned to college, becoming a further education teacher.
