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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Chair of the International Relations and Defence Committee | |
Assumed office 31 January 2023 | |
Preceded by | The Baroness Anelay of St Johns |
Chief Whip of the House of Lords Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms | |
In office 26 July 2019 – 7 September 2022 | |
Prime Minister | Boris Johnson |
Preceded by | The Lord Taylor of Holbeach |
Succeeded by | The Baroness Williams of Trafford |
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Civil Society | |
In office 13 July 2016 – 26 July 2019[1] | |
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 | |
as an elected hereditary peer 25 July 2011 | |
By-election | 25 July 2011 |
Preceded by | The 7th Earl of Onslow |
Personal details | |
Born | 18 July 1958 |
Political party | Conservative |
Spouse | Emma Allinson |
Relatives | Thomas Ashton (father) |
Education | Trinity College, Oxford (BA) |
Henry Ashton went to Eton College and 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]
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/
As he does not have any sons, the heir presumptive to the family title is his younger brother, Jack Ashton.[10]
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