Tributes pour in after Gwyneth Dunwoody dies
Labour MP Gwyneth Dunwoody, the longest-serving female member of parliament, has died after a brief illness at the age of 77.
Her son confirmed that the MP for Crewe and Nantwich since 1974 had been ill for the past few weeks.
Prime minister and Labour leader Gordon Brown described Ms Dunwoody as “politics at its best” and said that she would be missed.
“So many people will be so sad to hear of the death of Gwyneth Dunwoody,” Mr Brown said.
“She was always her own person. She was fiercely independent.”
Ms Dunwoody had been chairwoman of the transport select committee and a well known campaigner for backbenchers’ rights.
Her son confirmed to the BBC that the Labour MP had died on Thursday after being ill for a week or so.
Former Labour MP Tony Benn said: “She was an independent-minded woman who always spoke her mind and will be badly missed.
“She was listened to with great attention from the House itself.”
Conservative party chairman Caroline Spelman also expressed her grief at the news, saying: “Gwyneth Dunwoody’s passing is a moment of great sadness for parliamentary democracy.
“To many, Gwyneth was a kindly matriarch in the House and her warm personality and powerful rhetoric will be sorely missed.”
Ms Dunwoody joined the Labour party in 1946 and first entered parliament in 1966.
