In a House of Commons tainted in recent times with allegations of sleaze and political opportunism, Gwyneth Dunwoody, who died this week aged 77, stood out as an honest campaigner who stuck to what she believed in, even in her final hours.

Mrs Dunwoody, who was the longest-serving female MP, joined the Labour party in 1946 and entered the Commons in 1966. She was born into a politically active family – both her grandmothers were suffragettes and her father, the late Morgan Phillips, was Labour party general secretary.