Henry Ashton, 4th Baron Ashton of Hyde
Thomas Henry Ashton, 4th Baron Ashton of Hyde PC (born 18 July 1958), has served as a Minister in HM Government since 2014 and by profession is an insurance broker. He succeeded to his family's peerage title on 2 August 2008.
The Lord Ashton of Hyde | |
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Chief Whip of the House of Lords Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms | |
Assumed office 26 July 2019 | |
Prime Minister | Boris Johnson |
Preceded by | The Lord Taylor of Holbeach |
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Civil Society [1] | |
In office 13 July 2016 – 26 July 2019 | |
Prime Minister | Theresa May |
Preceded by | Rob Wilson |
Succeeded by | The Baroness Barran |
Lord-in-waiting Government Whip | |
In office 15 July 2014 – 11 June 2017 | |
Prime Minister | David Cameron Theresa May |
Preceded by | The Lord Bates |
Succeeded by | The Lord Henley |
Member of the House of Lords Lord Temporal | |
Assumed office 5 September 2011 Hereditary Peerage | |
Preceded by | The 7th Earl of Onslow |
Personal details | |
Born | 18 July 1958 |
Political party | Conservative |
Spouse(s) | Emma Louise Allinson |
Mother | Pauline Trewlove Brackenbury (Dowager Lady Ashton of Hyde) |
Father | Thomas Ashton, 3rd Baron Ashton of Hyde, TD |
Alma mater | Trinity College, Oxford |
Education and career
Henry Ashton attended Eton College before going up to Trinity College, Oxford. He was commissioned in the Royal Hussars, later becoming a Lieutenant in the Royal Wessex Yeomanry. Ashton worked as an insurance broker and held the position of Chief Executive Officer at Berkshire Hathaway-owned Lloyd's firms Faraday Underwriting Ltd, and Faraday Reinsurance Co. Ltd, from 2005 until 2013. From 2010 to 2013 Lord Ashton was a member of the Council of Lloyd's.
Elected a representative hereditary peer in July 2011, Ashton sits in the House of Lords as a Conservative.[2] In the July 2014 government reshuffle he was appointed a Lord-in-waiting and Whip in the Lords by Prime Minister David Cameron,[3] serving until the 2017 general election.[4] In July 2016 Prime Minister Theresa May appointed him as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Department for Culture, Media & Sport.
In March 2019, Lord Ashton received international publicity and acclaim for giving a correct and clever definition[5] to Lord Geddes, to the latter's question about the meaning of the term algorithm. Lord Ashton gave the definition as "an algorithm is a set of rules that precisely defines a sequence of operations".[6] The definition was said to "[rival] dictionary entries for clarity and succinctness—wrapped up in a historical allusion that he knew his classically educated interlocutor would understand."[7]
In July 2019, Lord Ashton of Hyde was appointed Chief Whip in the House of Lords by new Prime Minister Boris Johnson.[8] He was appointed to the Privy Council the following month.[9]
Family
Descended from a cadet branch of the ancient Lancashire Assheton family, he married Emma Louise Allinson, daughter of Colin Allinson and Alison Palmer (née Bartholomew), in 1987; they have four daughters:
- Harriet Emily, the Hon. Mrs. Colburn (born 11 July 1990)
- Hon. Isabel Louise Ashton (born 22 September 1992)
- Hon. Flora Juliet Ashton (born 17 April 1995)
- Hon. Matilda Hermione Ashton (born 2 February 2000).
The heir presumptive to the family title is his younger brother, Hon. Jack Edward Ashton (born 1966).[10]
See also
Arms
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References
- Portfolio was DCMS until June 2017
- "Conservative Hereditary Peers' by-election, July 2011: Result" (PDF). House of Lords. 20 July 2011. Retrieved 20 July 2011.
- "Lord Ashton of Hyde". GOV.UK. Retrieved 17 July 2014.
- "Full list of new ministerial and government appointments: June 2017". Prime Minister's Office, 10 Downing Street. 12 June 2017. Retrieved 21 June 2017.
- Two British Lords Just Gave a Charmingly Spot-On Definition of 'Algorithm', Will Oremus, Slate.com, 2019-03-14
- "14 March 2019 Volume 796". House of Lords Hansard. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
- video, Twitter, 2019-03-14
- https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-49125078
- ORDERS APPROVED AT THE PRIVY COUNCIL HELD BY THE QUEEN AT BALMORAL ON 28TH AUGUST 2019
- Mosley, Charles (ed.) (2003). Burke's Peerage & Baronetage, 107th edn. London: Burke's Peerage & Gentry Ltd. p. 159 (ASHTON OF HYDE, B). ISBN 0-9711966-2-1.
External links
- ‘ASHTON OF HYDE’, Who's Who 2018, A & C Black; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2017
Political offices | ||
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Preceded by The Lord Taylor of Holbeach |
Chief Whip of the House of Lords 2019–present |
Incumbent |
Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms 2019–present | ||
Party political offices | ||
Preceded by The Lord Taylor of Holbeach |
Conservative Chief Whip in the House of Lords 2019–present |
Incumbent |
Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
Preceded by The Earl of Onslow |
Elected hereditary peer to the House of Lords under of the House of Lords Act 1999 2011–present |
Incumbent |
Peerage of the United Kingdom | ||
Preceded by Thomas Ashton, 3rd Baron Ashton of Hyde |
![]() Baron Ashton of Hyde 2008–present |
Incumbent Heir presumptive: Hon. John Ashton |