Houghton was a great believer in equality of opportunity and campaigned for certain numbers of lower (clerical) grade civil servants to have the chance of taking an examination that could lead to previously unheard-of promotion [citation needed].

After John Belcher quit the House of Commons over accusations of minor dishonesty, Houghton was persuaded to seek nomination for the subsequent by-election.

The post of Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster after 1964 gave Houghton a position in the cabinet and special responsibility for Social Services but not an actual department over which he could preside.

By contrast, Houghton had a tenacity and command of detail that made him a highly suitable person for the task, given there was perceived to be quite a lot of factionalism in the party at the time.

[1] The Labour History Archive and Study Centre at the People's History Museum in Manchester holds the collection of Douglas Houghton, whose papers include those of the Parliamentary Labour Party, animal charities and pressure groups, as well as broadcasts, speeches and correspondence.

Houghton and Lord Platt proposed what became known as the Houghton/Platt Memorandum on Animal Experimentation to the Home Secretary on 4 August 1976.

[6] In 1939, he married Vera Houghton who also worked at Association of Officers for Taxes, before becoming a campaigner for abortion law reform and free birth control.