Editing Kim Howells (section)

===Personality===
Howells is known to be outspoken. He told ''[[The Scotsman]]'' newspaper in September 1995 that [[devolution]] was akin to fascism and that it would lead to the "Balkanisation of Great Britain".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/plaid-cymru-s-hopes-raised-by-labour-doubts-1602127.html|title=Plaid Cymru's hopes raised by Labour doubts|last=Cusick|first=James|date=20 September 1995|work=The Independent|accessdate=31 August 2022}}</ref>

In 2002, as a junior Minister at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, he criticised the [[Turner Prize]] by writing a note that read:

{{quote|If this is the best British artists can produce then British art is lost. It is cold mechanical, conceptual bullshit. Kim Howells. P.S. The attempts at contextualisation are particularly pathetic and symptomatic of a lack of conviction.}}

Throughout his Parliamentary career he was unafraid to speak his mind and often sparked strong criticism from those he criticised or offended. During a [[House of Commons of the United Kingdom|House of Commons]] debate on licensing laws he said that the idea of "listening to three [[Somerset]] folk singers sounds like hell".

On the ''[[Today (BBC Radio 4)|Today]]'' programme, while visiting [[Iraq]] on 11 March 2006 as Foreign Office minister, he commented in an interview:
{{quote|[Iraq] is a mess that can't launch an attack now on [[Iran]]; a mess that won't be able to march into [[Kuwait]]; it's a mess that can't develop nuclear weapons. So yes it's a mess but it's starting to look like the sort of mess that most of us live in.<ref>{{cite news | title=Minister admits Iraq is 'a mess' | date=11 March 2006 | access-date=23 July 2006 | publisher=[[BBC]] | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4796130.stm}}</ref>}}
On 22 July 2006, Howell criticised [[2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict|Israel's bombardment of Lebanon]] while on a visit to [[Beirut]], breaking with the [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|Prime Minister]] and [[Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs|Foreign Secretary]]'s less critical line, saying:
{{quote|The destruction of the infrastructure, the death of so many children and so many people. These have not been surgical strikes. And it's very difficult, I think, to understand the kind of military tactics that have been used. You know, if they're chasing [[Hezbollah]], then go for Hezbollah. You don't go for the entire Lebanese nation.<ref>{{cite news | title= Minister condemns Israeli action | date=22 July 2006 | access-date=23 July 2006 | publisher=[[BBC]] | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/5205658.stm}}</ref>}}

He once described the [[British royal family]] as "a bit bonkers".<ref>{{cite news | title=Minister says royals are 'bonkers' | date=8 April 2001 | access-date=29 July 2006 | publisher=[[BBC]] | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/1265857.stm}}</ref>

Howells said in 2013 that Labour had to change its relationship with the unions or face damaging its reputation and risk losing the next general election.<ref>{{cite news | title=Kim Howells warns Ed Miliband over union selection powers | date=22 June 2013 | access-date=1 July 2013 | publisher=[[BBC]] | url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-23118994}}</ref>