Gwyneth Dunwoody

Politician

Born: 12 December, 1930, in London.

Died: 17 April, 2008, in London, aged 77.

THE strident back-bench Labour MP Gwyneth Dunwoody was fiercely independent – politically and personally. Not for nothing was she known around Westminster as "Vinegar Lil". Her forthright views on many aspects of government ensured colleagues regarded her with awe. Dunwoody had the knack of saying what others thought. She was the longest-serving female MP at Westminster and greatly respected by all parties in the House.

Something of matriarch, she became an acknowledged authority on transport and campaigned vehemently for increased investment throughout the industry. But her warm personality and ability to make fun of herself were as popular with voters as they were at Westminster. She delighted audiences with quips such as: "I have no problem being called a battle-axe. They're very well-made, very sharp and largely very efficient at what they do."

Dunwoody was refreshingly original. Although she never gained high office, she championed her views with a vengeance, whether against the officialdom of the EU, on the sidelining of the Commons by Tony Blair or on her distrust of the new intake of women with New Labour. Of "Blair's babes" she ruefully said: "Those who like young wines and young women don't have much of a palate."

Gwyneth Patricia Dunwoody was born in Fulham, south London. Her family had long connections with the Labour Party and both of her grandmothers were suffragettes. Her father, Morgan Phillips, was general secretary of the Labour Party in the 1950s and, after his death, her mother served as a minister in the House of Lords.

She attended school in Fulham and served as a local councillor in the early 1960s. In 1966 she was elected member for Exeter and her husband won a neighbouring constituency.

For a few months she served as a junior minister of trade in Harold Wilson's government. She lost her seat in 1970 and for five years Dunwoody worked as a director of the Film Producers Association.

In 1974 she won Crewe, a seat she would hold until her death. Her two years as shadow transport secretary proved unfulfilling and her lacklustre performance led to her being replaced and ousted from the shadow cabinet. However, her influence at Westminster grew immeasurably when she was appointed to the transport sub-committee. There she flourished and her no-nonsense questioning became a byword for common sense and constructive thinking.

After his second victory in 2001, Mr Blair tried to unseat Dunwoody from the committee. More than 100 Labour MPs signed a petition supporting her. Her reinstatement was a huge compliment to her standing in parliament.

The conflict did not stop with the prime minister; Dunwoody led searching inquiries into the rail transport system. These covered the industry's finances, the proposed introduction of high-speed trains, the future of all routes to Scotland and acceptance of the Major government's privatisation of Railtrack.

Dunwoody raised real doubts as to the efficacy of Railtrack. It gave her no pleasure after structural and physical disasters that Railtrack was replaced by Network Rail in 2002.

Her committee also published scathing reports on the planned privatisation of the air-traffic control and crossed swords regularly with transport executives. She accused, a visibly surprised Gerald Corbett of Railtrack of "staggering from one crisis to another".

In the 1980s her career seemed to be floundering and her marriage ended. Worse, turmoil in her personal finances was made public. After some imprudent investments, Dunwoody narrowly avoided eviction from her home and she had a £2,000 debt at the House of Commons restaurant. It says much for her tenacity that her career recovered and she was almost appointed speaker of the house.

Dunwoody was never politically correct. Her clothes were, at best, erratic ("I am not employed for my dress sense") and she furthered many unfashionable ideas: she was consultant to the British Fur Federation, voted seven times against the Maastricht Agreement and opposed special rights for women.

Dunwoody was devoted to her family. She was a considerable linguist and a woman of wit, charm and imagination. Veteran left-wing MP Tony Benn rightly said of her: "Gwyneth was a signpost, not a weather cock." She was a one-off and the Commons will be a poorer place without her.

Dunwoody is survived by two sons and a daughter.