Herbert Bowden, Baron Aylestone

Who was Herbert Bowden, Baron Aylestone?

Herbert William Bowden, Baron Aylestone, CH CBE PC was a British Labour politician.

Born in Cardiff, Wales, Bowden was a councillor on Leicester City Council 1938–45 and president of Leicester Labour Party in 1938. He served in the Royal Air Force during World War II. He was elected at the 1945 general election for South Leicester, taking South-West Leicester at the 1950 election. He was appointed a whip in 1949 and a Lord Commissioner of the Treasury in 1950. From 1951, he was Deputy Chief Whip, then Chief Whip through Labour's years in opposition.

When Labour returned to power in 1964, Bowden was appointed Leader of the House of Commons and Lord President of the Council, having become a Privy Counsellor in 1962. In 1966 he was moved to the new post of Secretary of State for Commonwealth Affairs, serving until 1967. In September 1967, he was made a life peer as Baron Aylestone, of Aylestone in the City of Leicester and became chairman of the Independent Television Authority. He was made a member of the Order of the Companions of Honour in 1975. He joined the Social Democratic Party in the 1980s. He died in Worthing aged 89.