Member of the House of Lords.

Tim Boswell was born in 1942. He was at school at Marlborough, and at New College, Oxford. He is married to Helen with three adult children, and two grandchildren.

Tim first stood for Parliament in February 1974 (for Rugby). He then managed his family farming business on the death of his father, and was involved in his constituency locally (as an officer for seven years) and as County Chairman of the National Farmers’ Union. He was appointed as part-time Special Political Adviser to the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food in May 1984, and held the post until his selection as Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Daventry in November 1986. He was first elected Member of Parliament for Daventry in 1987 and held the seat until his retirement in 2010.

He was President of the Perry Foundation from 1984-1990, a national charity specialising in agricultural research and education, and from 1988-1990 was a member of the Agricultural and Food Research Council. In November 1989 he was appointed a PPS and in July 1990 he was appointed an Assistant Whip. From April until December 1992 he was a Lord Commissioner of Her Majesty's Treasury (senior Government Whip).

Tim was Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department of Education from December 1992 until July 1995. From July 1995 until May 1997, Tim was Parliamentary Secretary at the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. In July 1997, Tim was appointed Opposition Frontbench Spokesman for the Treasury. Since December 1997 he has been the Opposition Frontbench Spokesman on Energy and Industry in the DTI team. In June 1999 he was appointed Frontbench Spokesman for Further and Higher Education and Disabilities. In September 2001, he was appointed a Frontbench Spokesman for Work & Pensions and for Disabilities.

In July 2002, he was appointed Shadow Minister for Education & Skills and for Disabilities. In June 2003 he relinquished his disability responsibilities to concentrate on post-sixteen education. In November 2003, he was appointed a Shadow Minister for Home, Constitutional & Legal Affairs, and in November 2004 he was appointed Shadow Minister for Work & Pensions.

From June 2005 to July 2007 Tim was Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Party Chairman. He retired from the frontbench duties in 2007 and was elevated to a peerage in July 2010. He now serves as Vice-Chair of Governors (and Chair of Finance Committee) of the University of Wales Institute Cardiff and as a Co-opted Governor of the University of Northampton. He became a Fellow of City and Guilds in 2005 and continues to serve as a member of the Skills Commission, as well as in local charities. He became a Deputy Lieutenant for Northamptonshire in 2010.