Gwyneth Dunwoody

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Gwyneth Dunwoody MP
Image:Replace this image female.svg

Member of Parliament
for Crewe and Nantwich
Crewe (1974–1983)
Incumbent
Assumed office 
28 February 1974
Preceded by Scholefield Allen
Succeeded by Incumbent
Member of Parliament
for Exeter
In office
31 March 1966 – 18 June 1970
Preceded by Sir Rolf Dudley-Williams
Succeeded by John Hannam
Born 12 December 1930 (1930-12-12) (age 78)
Fulham, London, England
Nationality British
Political party Labour
Spouse John Dunwoody (died 2006)

Gwyneth Dunwoody (born in Fulham, London, England, December 12, 1930, as Gwyneth Patricia Phillips), is currently the longest-serving female Member of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.

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[edit] Early life

She went to the Fulham County Secondary School for Girls (now Fulham Cross School) on Munster Road in Fulham and the Convent of Notre Dame. She joined the Labour Party in 1946. She married her husband the same year he qualified as a doctor in 1954. He had got to know her father, Morgan Philips, through 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 divorced in 1975, soon after being re-elected as the MP for Crewe, when her husband had returned to being a doctor. She is a member of the RMT.

[edit] Parliamentary career

She contested the Exeter seat in 1964. She was the Labour Party Member of Parliament (MP) for Exeter between 1966 and 1970, then MP for Parliamentary Constituency of Crewe from February 1974 to 1983 then following boundary changes, for the Crewe and Nantwich Parliamentary Constituency since 1983. That year, she was an unsuccessful candidate for the deputy leadership election of the Labour Party coming fourth (last) with 1.3% of the Electoral College, which was won by Roy Hattersley. She 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 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 a candidate 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 has considerable expertise on transport matters and has been Chair of the House of Commons' Transport Committee since 1997. In this role she has been a thorn in the flesh of the government, and an attempt by the Government Whips to remove her from the Chair of the Transport Committee after the 2001 general election led to a revolt by back-bench members of Parliament, which led to her reinstatement. During her tenure of the chair of that committee, it has been criticised for confusing volume of output with quality, and thus diminishing the authority of the committee and the respect in which its reports are held.[citation needed] For example, the committee's report on the railway industry published on April 1, 2004 was described by one railway industry figure as displaying prejudices and a quality of analysis of the kind you normally get from hairdressers and taxi-drivers[citation needed]. Since then, the membership of the committee has changed several times (most notably after the 2005 general election), but Mrs Dunwoody has remained in the chair.

She is President of Labour Friends of Israel.

[edit] Personal life

She belongs 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 has two sons.

[edit] 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.

In early August 2008, she will beat Irene Ward's record of the longest span of service for a woman MP, at 42 years, 4 months.

In early December 2009, she will beat Irene Ward's record to become the oldest ever woman MP, at 79 years, 0 months.

If Gwyneth Dunwoody stands and wins again at the next UK General Election, likely to be held in 2010, she will become the oldest woman to be re-elected to the House of Commons, easily beating Irene Ward's record of age 75 years and 3 months.


Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Sir Rolf Dudley-Williams 		Member of Parliament for Exeter
1966–1970 		Succeeded by
Sir John Hannam
Preceded by
Scholefield Allen 		Member of Parliament for Crewe
February 1974–1983 		Succeeded by
(constituency abolished)
Preceded by
(new constituency) 		Member of Parliament for Crewe and Nantwich
1983 – present 		Incumbent

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://india.smashits.com/wikipedia/Gwyneth_Dunwoody"
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