Gwyneth Dunwoody MP RIP

[eastern wiseguy]

Just saw the sad news on BBC. A friend to ATC in parliament. She will be missed.

[spekesoftly]

Yes, the lady was a breath of fresh air in the political world. I always admired her plain speaking, no nonsense, no bull**** style.

[BEXIL160]

I met her, as did a few of my generation, at Westminster. She seemed well able to grasp the technicalties of, and the poor reasoning behind, the PPP being discussed at the time.

Indeed she had brilliant understanding of most of the issues surrounding all UK transport,air, land and sea

I shall cherish her absolute demolition of certain CAA/NATS senior managers, and I doubt they'll ever forget either :E

A great loss of a Great Lady.

[HEATHROW DIRECTOR]

Very sad news.. If only we had her "in charge" instead of Brown Clown.

God Bless you Gwyneth.

[Homo Simpson]

The only one with balls to stand up against the morons that part privatised us!!!

[Wee Jock McPlop]

Gwyneth Dunwoody was a rare thing in modern-day politics - a politician told it like it was and thus gained the respect and admiration of many because of that. If only the rest of them would learn. No spin, no bull, no evading the question. Just good old plain honesty and integrity. Gwyneth will be sadly missed and well-remembered.

Sad news,

WJMcP

Bexil 160,

I remember an old boss of mine, during my RAF days, attending a meeting in Parliament chaired by Gwyneth. Let's just say that she made a lasting impression!:E

[Mr_Grubby]

I remember Bill Semple, Chief Executive Nats, being reduced to a gibbering wreck by Gwyneth when she headed the House of Commons Transport Committee back in December 1999.

She was asking very awkward questions and he had no answers.

Fantastic to watch.

She will be missed.

[Dances with Boffins]

Probably not by gibbering Bill though.

She put up a good fight for us:D

[Loki]

It`s not often you can say good things about politicians, of whatever flavour, but she was magnificent.

[NorthSouth]

Well worth reflecting on WHY Gwyneth Dunwoody was so on the ball on issues such as the NATS PPP. It's because she started explicitly from the standpoint that there are lots of things which the market simply can't (and therefore shouldn't) do. That's because she was a socialist. Other politicians who either have had their brains sucked out of them by Blair or are simply ideologically enthralled by the idea of profit, are unable to understand this wider truth.
NS

[Jumbo Driver]

Gwyneth Dunwoody was outstanding for her fierce independence of mind, her integrity, her common sense and her quick and sometimes wicked sense of humour. She was indeed a good ally and a voice of reason on the Transport Select Committee.

She was a rare combination of talents for a politician and will be greatly missed.


JD

[CUNIM]

She was a breath of fresh air and a real protector of the truth rather than what the politicians often wanted the truth to be. A rare politician with a capital P. Here is me, now a Conservative Chairman of a constituency praising a socialist, I must go and wash my mouth out with carbolic. Always enjoyed listening to her. Loved her taking apart the NATS senior management.:D:D

[Cuddles]

Thanks for everything Gwyneth, I hope you've sufficiently inspired like minded people to enter politics, where they can campaign as tirelessly as you did.

RIP

[Talkdownman]

A very hard act to follow, and a lovely lady. She will be sorely missed.
Thank you, Gwyneth, for waking up our air traffic managers.

[Avitor]

Thankyou Gwyneth for being Gwyneth, there could be someone to take your place but it is doubtful. Great Britain and Northern Ireland will miss a great stateswoman. :D

[CAP493]

It wasn't only senior NATS managers that got the sharp end of her tongue.

I remember a GATCO seminar where she shared the platform with several senior management types including one gentleman from BAW. When in response to a question from an ATCO in the audience, he whispered to her that he'd prefer to discuss the issue outside of the meeting, in an authoritative and almost majestic manner, she told him in a loud voice that the questioner wanted to discuss it there and then, and so he should provide the answer.

With an amazing intellect and ability to assess the issues from 'outside the box' Gwyneth D was one of only a handful of post-war UK politicians who had true integrity and principles.

The Labour Party and the Commons will be all the poorer for her passing away.

[1996]

Those of us that saw her take a certain young(ish) ATCOs Branch Chair under her wing and treat him like a long lost son will never forget her.

[clarkson51]

First post but can't let this one pass without a comment. Gwyneth was a remarkable woman and she'll be deeply missed for her conviction approach to politics - and she did a lot of good things. However, while she certainly opposed the PPP I'd say she was one of the main reasons why it happened.

Those CAA/ NATS managers who she was beating up for everyone's entertainment in 1998/99 weren't the people who caused Swanwick to be late. The cause of Swanwick being late was down to the fact that IBM - then the biggest IT company in the world - had said they could complete it by 1996, instead of which they completely mucked it up and the project then had to be rescued. The people who Gwyneth was attacking in 98/99 were the rescuers - air traffickers put into an impossible job! And after Lockheed Martin had taken over the contract, and despite all the criticism and doom mongering, in the end they did it and Swanwick worked.

Meanwhile of course, the new Labour Government was looking to raise money - without appearing to have completely lost its credibility. And Gwynteth's contribution was almost single handedly to turn NATS into a "problem" for the Government which had to be sorted out. You only have to look at any of the Government pronouncements about the PPP from that period and they're all about the need to "inject project management skills" and "private sector management expertise" into NATS. Nothing about the cash raising side of it. For example - this from a Government response to one of her reports:

"The Government agrees fully with the Committee that there is still considerable room for improvement in the operations of the 100% publicly owned NATS' business -this was one of the main reasons for seeking a Strategic Partnership for NATS with a Public Private Partnership, which will ensure greater investment and safety.

As the Committee points out, over the past few years NATS has experienced cost overruns or long delays to the completion of all of its major projects. The Government believes that delivering action now through the implementation of the PPP, will provide the necessary resources and expertise required by NATS to manage its business effectively. To do nothing now would therefore be damaging to NATS business and investment programme, as well as damaging to the morale of NATS staff, who would be subjected to further uncertainty about their future."

So who gave them the excuse for the PPP with endless public diatribes against allegedly useless NATS managers - you've got it in one!

[notared]

I remember it well Mr Grubby and to be fair to the said gentleman I heard him say later at an open forum that it was a unique experience being grilled by the formidable lady. There are sadly too few of her like left in politics

[A I]

I endorse everything said in previous posts. The lady was a true friend to ATC. I don't believe that there are no others with her qualities left in politics but we are unlikely to get another Gwyneth chairing the Transport select committee. Hopefully we won't need one.

A I

[BEXIL160]

Clarksons view is somewhat at odds with the truth regarding Swanwick, and those responsible. As ever a mixture of truth and misinformation seeks to rewrite history.... a very old tactic, beloved of politicians in particular.

PPP happened because Gordon Brown pledged in 1997, to stick to the previous Conservative Governments spending plan. ("Prudence"). This included receipts of some £650m specifically from the sale of NATS. Without selling NATS, there was a hole in the budget.

Oh, dear, but Labour had promised "Our Air is Not For Sale" the year before. What to do? PPP was the result and went on to become one of Gordon's favourites for yet another reason, it keeps debt off the public books.

The smokescreen was laid about NATS needs for investment, but this could quite easily have been achieved by a simple change to treasury rules, allowing NATS to borrow on the open Market, as the AEA had then been allowed to do. At the time the reasons for this were not answered.

I still have my letters from various ministers and MPs about this very point. They all declined to answer.

Gwyneth knew all this.

Gwyneth also knew full well what had gone on post IBM, and those who mismanaged it . Air Traffickers (sic) they were not. Managers? They barely "managed". They fully deserved her scrutiny.

BEX

[clarkson51]

Bex

We're not really disagreeing are we. The Government needed the money from selling NATS but it also needed to have a reason for changing its mind. You say their excuse was the need for "investment". Oviously they could have changed the borrowing rules but then they'd have got no cash. I'm saying the other excuse was the need for "private sector project management skills". They used both excuses - you can't be suggesting that they didn't use the public doom mongering about Swanwick as a justification for the PPP!

[Spitoon]

Only met Mrs D once...and for those brief few minutes found her all at the same time, charming, sharp, insightful and fully aware of what was going on around her (whilst being very carefully shepherded by some senior types). Also remember seeing on TV she and her Select Committee taking a couple of senior CAA people to pieces very efficiently - as ever asking straight questions and demanding similar answers.

As has been said by others, she had an integrity that is sorely lacking in our current crop of politicians (whatever their political persuasions) and her passing is a loss that I suspect will only be more fully realised as time goes by.

Loved to see her on Question Time too.

RIP.....but, if I'm wrong and there is something after we shuffle off, I have a feeling that Gwyneth will be making sure that it's working properly.

[Rage]

Clarky

Of course she wasn't perfect (she was Labour after all) but at least she put principle above politics unlike that dimwit called Martin Salter. ;)