Jane Bonham Carter, Baroness Bonham-Carter of Yarnbury

Jane Bonham Carter, Baroness Bonham-Carter of Yarnbury (born 20 October 1957) is a British Liberal Democrat politician,[1] and member of the House of Lords.[2]

The Right Honourable

The Baroness Bonham-Carter of Yarnbury
Member of the House of Lords
Lord Temporal
Assumed office
23 June 2004
Life Peerage
Personal details
Born (1957-10-20) October 20, 1957
Political partyLiberal Democrat
Alma materUniversity College London

Background

Family
Baroness' coronet

Bonham Carter hails from the Bonham Carter family. Her great-grandfather was H. H. Asquith, the former Prime Minister, and her grandparents were Maurice Bonham Carter and Violet Bonham Carter. Her father Mark Bonham Carter was a Liberal MP before becoming a Liberal Democrat Life Peer. Her aunt Laura Bonham Carter married Jo Grimond, who was to become Leader of the Liberal Party. Her family is the only example so far where three generations have received Life Peerages under the 1958 Life Peerages Act.[note 1]

In 2008 she was reported to be the partner of Baron Tim Razzall. Bonham Carter has declared the relationship in the House of Lords Register of Interests.[3]

Her cousins include the actress Helena Bonham Carter and fellow LibDem parliamentarian Raymond Asquith, 3rd Earl of Oxford and Asquith.[4]

Education

Bonham-Carter was educated at St. Paul's Girls' School, an independent school in Brook Green, Hammersmith, west London, and at University College London.

Career

Bonham-Carter worked in television before being raised to the Peerage, spending time at both the BBC and Channel 4, producing programmes such as Panorama, Newsnight and A Week In Politics.

In 1996 she became the Liberal Democrats' Director of Communications, a role she held through the 1997 election before returning to a career in television as an independent producer at Brook Lapping Productions, where she produced a number of documentaries for Channel 4, the BBC and ITV, including the award-winning series Maggie: the First Lady.

On 23 June 2004 she was created a Life Peeress as Baroness Bonham-Carter of Yarnbury, of Yarnbury in the County of Wiltshire,[5] and was appointed LibDem Spokesperson for Broadcasting and the Arts.

She has been a member of various House of Lords Select Committees, including the BBC Charter Review set up in 2005, and the Parliamentary Communications Committee.

After the formation of the Con-LibDem coalition government in 2010, she was elected Deputy Convenor of Liberal Democrat Peers and was appointed Co-Chair of the Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Party Committee for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport, which includes the role of LibDem spokesperson on DCMS matters in the House of Lords.

Bonham-Carter has served on the Advisory Committee of the thinktank Centre Forum since 2005, and RAPT (Rehabilitation for Addicted Prisoners Trust) since 1999. She was a Board Member of the National Campaign for the Arts from 2010–2012.

She is a Vice-President of the Debating Group.[6]

On 19 April 2015 it was announced that Bonham-Carter would be a patron of the Studio Theatre, Ashley Road, Salisbury.[7]

Controversy

Jane Bonham Carter attracted criticism in 2008 when it was revealed that she and her partner, Tim Razzall, had both claimed House of Lords expenses for a flat that they shared, although it was not claimed that a breach of the rules had occurred.[8] The House of Lords expenses system was later changed to give peers a flat rate irrespective of their residence.[9]

Styles and titles
  • Miss Jane Bonham-Carter (20 October 1957 to 21 July 1986)
  • The Honourable Jane Bonham Carter (21 July 1986 to 23 June 2004)
  • The Right Honourable The Baroness Bonham-Carter of Yarnbury (23 June 2004 to present)

See also

Notes
  1. The titles of the three judges Baron Russell of Killowen were created under the Appellate Jurisdiction Act of 1876.

References
  1. "Jane Bonham Carter". Liberal Democrats.
  2. www.parliament.uk
  3. "Baroness Bonham-Carter of Yarnbury". www.parliament.uk. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
  4. www.cracroftspeerage.co.uk
  5. "No. 57340". The London Gazette. 29 June 2004. p. 8083.
  6. "Debating Group". Archived from the original on 5 April 2015. Retrieved 31 January 2020.
  7. Baroness Bonham-Carter named as patron of city theatre, Salisbury Journal, 19 April 2015
  8. Hencke, David (12 May 2009). "House of Lords faces inquiry into peers' expenses claims". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
  9. "House of Lords expenses". www.parliament.uk. Retrieved 14 September 2017.


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