Labour MP Gwyneth Dunwoody, 77

Posted: Friday, April 18th, 2008 12:46 am

Veteran Labour MP Gwyneth Dunwoody, the longest-serving female member of parliament, died last night at the age of 77 after a short illness.

A formidable and well-respected Commons figure who championed backbench rights and shot to prominence as the chair of the transport select committee, Dunwoody was taken ill a week ago and died peacefully yesterday evening, according to her son. …

The MP for Crewe and Nantwich came from political stock. Both her grandmothers were suffragettes, her father, Morgan Phillips, was general secretary of the Labour party and her mother, Norah Phillips, served in the Lords before being made Lord Lieutenant of London. …

She was often a thorn in New Labour’s side…

“For me,” she said in 2005, “parliament is not only the most important forum for the British people, it is also the last defender of the rights of all citizens.” … Read full obituary