Gwyneth Dunwoody MP RIP
 

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

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

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.

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

God Bless you Gwyneth.

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

A Formidable, But Very Likeable Lady
 

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

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.

Probably not by gibbering Bill though.

She put up a good fight for us:D

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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!

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

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