Gwyneth Dunwoody
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Gwyneth Dunwoody | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of Parliament for Crewe and Nantwich Crewe (1974–1983) | |
| In office 28 February 1974 – 17 April 2008 | |
| Preceded by | Scholefield Allen |
| Member of Parliament for Exeter | |
| In office 31 March 1966 – 18 June 1970 | |
| Preceded by | Sir Rolf Dudley-Williams |
| Succeeded by | John Hannam |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 12 December 1930 Fulham, London, England |
| Died | 17 April 2008 (aged 77) |
| Political party | Labour |
| Spouse | John Dunwoody (died 2006) |
Gwyneth Patricia Phillips (December 12 1930, Fulham, London – 17 April 2008),[1] was until her death, the longest-serving female Member of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.
Early life
Dunwoody attended the Fulham County Secondary School for Girls, now known as Fulham Cross School, and the Convent of Notre Dame. She joined the Labour Party in 1946. Gwyneth married her husband in 1954, the same year he qualified as a doctor. He had got to know her father, Morgan Philips, General Secretary of the Labour Party, and met Morgan's family at home. From 1963-6, she was a councillor on Totnes Borough Council (now South Hams). From 1970-5, she was Director of the Film Producers Association of Great Britain and Consultant to the Association of Independent Cinemas. She and her husband divorced in 1975, soon after her re-election (now as the MP for Crewe), when her husband had returned to being a doctor. She was a member of ASLEF.
Parliamentary career
Dunwoody stood as the Labour Party candidate for the Exeter seat in the 1964 general election; and in 1966 became the Member of Parliament for Exeter. She remained Exeter's MP until 1970. She then became MP for Crewe in February 1974
Dunwoody was also a Member of the European Parliament between 1975 and 1979, at a time when MEPs were nominated by national parliaments — MEPs have been directly elected since 1979.
In 1983, Dunwoody stood for election as deputy leader of the Labour Party, alongside Peter Shore, on a Eurosceptic platform (a position she consistently maintained throughout her career). The position was won by Roy Hattersley, and Dunwoody came last out of the four candidates with 1.3% of the Electoral College.
In 1983, boundary changes abolished the constituency of Crewe and created the constituency of Crewe and Nantwich, where she remained MP until her death in 2008.
In 1998 she gained headlines around the world when she clashed with New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani urging the return of the original Winnie the Pooh dolls from Donnell Library Center to the British Museum after she said she "detected sadness" in their display behind bulletproof glass in the United States library.
In October 2000, she was one of several candidates for the speakership of the House of Commons. The election was won by Michael Martin MP.
As a member for a constituency with a strong connection with the railway industry, she had considerable expertise on transport matters and was Chair of the House of Commons' Transport Committee from 1997 to 2008. In this role she was a credible, independent-minded critic of the government, and an attempt by the Government Whips to remove her from the Committee after the 2001 general election led to a revolt by back-bench members of Parliament, which resulted in her reinstatement.
She was President of Labour Friends of Israel.
Personal life
She belonged to an experienced political dynasty: her father, Morgan Phillips, was General Secretary of the Labour Party between 1944 and 1962; her mother, Norah Phillips was a life peer in the House of Lords and Lord Lieutenant of Greater London (1978-86); both her grandmothers were suffragettes; her late husband, John Dunwoody was a Labour MP from 1966 until 1970; while their daughter, Tamsin Dunwoody, was a member of the National Assembly for Wales for one term between 2003 and 2007 and from 2005 was Deputy Minister for Enterprise, Innovation and Networks in the Welsh Assembly Government. She also had two sons.
Death
On 17 April 2008 Mrs Dunwoody died peacefully following surgery for a heart condition. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7353743.stm
Her family will release a statement in the morning.
She did not have and had never had a stroke.
Records
In late September 2007, Gwyneth Dunwoody beat Irene Ward's record of the longest total service for a woman MP, at 37 years, 9 months.
In early December 2007, she beat Barbara Castle's record of the longest unbroken service for a woman MP, at 33 years, 9 months.
References
External links
- Recent deaths
- Labour MPs (UK)
- UK MPs 1966-1970
- UK MPs 1974
- UK MPs 1974-1979
- UK MPs 1979-1983
- UK MPs 1983-1987
- UK MPs 1987-1992
- UK MPs 1992-1997
- UK MPs 1997-2001
- UK MPs 2001-2005
- UK MPs 2005-
- Members of the United Kingdom Parliament for English constituencies
- Female members of the United Kingdom Parliament from English constituencies
- 1930 births