Party. Having progressed to Labour's Southern Regional Office (covering what is now the South East Region) Howarth left Labour's staff in 1988 to work in the private sector and settled in Reading. In 1990 Howarth was elected Chair of Reading Labour Party which encompassed both of the town's parliamentary constituencies and the Reading local government functions. He served as Chair until 1994 after which he became Press Officer, a role which he continued for the ten years. He also served as Vice-Chair of Berkshire County Labour Party, Thames Valley European Constituency, the South East Regional Board/Executive and the National Policy Forum. Working life In 1989 Howarth joined a company providing software and IT solutions, working on marketing communications and eventually becoming Director of Marketing and a partner. In 1995 he founded his own business providing marketing consulting services and later brand, design and business communications. He became a member of the Chartered Society of Designers and also worked in public affairs as a consultant for the international business communications firm, Instinctif Partners. Local government In 1993 he contested Redlands Division on Berkshire County Council, winning the seat comfortably. On the county council he served as chair of the Transport Committee and later as vice-chair of the Environment Committee as part of the Labour-Liberal Democrat administration. Howarth was a strong advocate of the abolition of Berkshire County Council and its replacement with Unitary local government. He served five years on the county council until it was dissolved in April 1998. In 2001 he was elected to Reading Borough Council, by now a unitary council, for Park Ward and was re-elected in 2004. Serving for a year as deputy lead on sport and cultural services, he became the cabinet member responsible for transport and strategic planning and was appointed to the South East England Regional Assembly. He became a member of the UK Government's Regional Transport Board for the South East, the Joint Regional European Committee, the Regional Planning Committee, and the Berkshire Join Strategic Planning Committee. Howarth was also Chair of the Reading Station Project Board, which brought together stakeholders in the successful bid to attract funding for the expansion of the Great Western mainline facilities at Reading railway station. In 2007 he stood down from the Borough Council. European elections In 1994 John Howarth was Labour candidate for the Thames Valley coming close to unseating the Conservative MEP in what