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| May and Corbyn lead MPs' tributes to Tessa Jowell | May and Corbyn lead MPs' tributes to Tessa Jowell |
| (7 months later) | |
| Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn have led heartfelt tributes in the House of Commons to the former cabinet minister Tessa Jowell, who died of brain cancer at the weekend. | Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn have led heartfelt tributes in the House of Commons to the former cabinet minister Tessa Jowell, who died of brain cancer at the weekend. |
| May, Corbyn and Bercow lead Commons tributes to Tessa Jowell - Politics live | |
| The prime minister described her as “a most extraordinary politician, colleague and campaigner”, adding that MPs were honoured to have shared the chamber with her. | The prime minister described her as “a most extraordinary politician, colleague and campaigner”, adding that MPs were honoured to have shared the chamber with her. |
| May, who has announced that funding for brain cancer research would be doubled and better diagnostic tests rolled out to all NHS hospitals in tribute, said the former Labour cabinet minister’s dignity and courage were “as humbling as they were inspirational”, adding: “Even at what must have been some of her most difficult moments, her compassion for others shone through.” | May, who has announced that funding for brain cancer research would be doubled and better diagnostic tests rolled out to all NHS hospitals in tribute, said the former Labour cabinet minister’s dignity and courage were “as humbling as they were inspirational”, adding: “Even at what must have been some of her most difficult moments, her compassion for others shone through.” |
| The Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, who first met Jowell in the 1970s when she was a north London councillor and he was a union organiser, described her as a “warm and compassionate” person. | The Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, who first met Jowell in the 1970s when she was a north London councillor and he was a union organiser, described her as a “warm and compassionate” person. |
| “I think she will be remembered for her passion, for her sense of social justice, for her sense of inclusion and her sense of fun in dealing with people,” he said. | “I think she will be remembered for her passion, for her sense of social justice, for her sense of inclusion and her sense of fun in dealing with people,” he said. |
| “It’s wonderful that we now have the Tessa Jowell brain cancer research fund and hope we will support that, so that others won’t suffer in the awful way that she suffered. She taught us how to live, and I think she also taught us how to die.” | “It’s wonderful that we now have the Tessa Jowell brain cancer research fund and hope we will support that, so that others won’t suffer in the awful way that she suffered. She taught us how to live, and I think she also taught us how to die.” |
| John Bercow, the Speaker, told MPs: “The embodiment of empathy, a stellar progressive change-maker and a well of practical compassion without rival: Tessa Jowell was the best of us. | John Bercow, the Speaker, told MPs: “The embodiment of empathy, a stellar progressive change-maker and a well of practical compassion without rival: Tessa Jowell was the best of us. |
| “I rue her tragic and untimely passing which leaves all of us in this place – and countless others beyond it – infinitely and permanently poorer. May Tessa rest in peace.” | “I rue her tragic and untimely passing which leaves all of us in this place – and countless others beyond it – infinitely and permanently poorer. May Tessa rest in peace.” |
| The mother of the house, Harriet Harman, told MPs that Jowell was “true Labour” but unafraid of working cross-party for her causes, where the “personal and political completely intertwined”. | The mother of the house, Harriet Harman, told MPs that Jowell was “true Labour” but unafraid of working cross-party for her causes, where the “personal and political completely intertwined”. |
| Harman, whose Peckham constituency neighboured Jowell’s seat, added: “She had a unique personal style, she befriended people who were struggling, who were having difficulties, who were powerless who she felt she could support, but she also befriended the powerful in order to get them to back her progressive causes. | Harman, whose Peckham constituency neighboured Jowell’s seat, added: “She had a unique personal style, she befriended people who were struggling, who were having difficulties, who were powerless who she felt she could support, but she also befriended the powerful in order to get them to back her progressive causes. |
| “She was no softy though, everybody said – quite rightly – how charming and nice she was, but there was steel behind those clear blue eyes.” | “She was no softy though, everybody said – quite rightly – how charming and nice she was, but there was steel behind those clear blue eyes.” |
| The Labour backbencher Peter Kyle shared Jowell’s description of a meeting with Tony Blair at which she tried to persuade him to back the Olympics. | The Labour backbencher Peter Kyle shared Jowell’s description of a meeting with Tony Blair at which she tried to persuade him to back the Olympics. |
| “At the end of the meeting she turned to him and asked: ‘Do you want to be the prime minister who had the Olympics within your grasp but who turned away?’. That to me was Tessa, because she had learned to weaponise the male ego. | “At the end of the meeting she turned to him and asked: ‘Do you want to be the prime minister who had the Olympics within your grasp but who turned away?’. That to me was Tessa, because she had learned to weaponise the male ego. |
| “That somebody could have an Olympic-sized vision, make it happen, yet do so leaving nothing but a trail of love and laughter is a modern day political miracle. For those of us who knew her, she was that miracle.” | “That somebody could have an Olympic-sized vision, make it happen, yet do so leaving nothing but a trail of love and laughter is a modern day political miracle. For those of us who knew her, she was that miracle.” |
| Tory MP Hugo Swire, who shadowed Jowell when she was culture secretary, told MPs: “She embodied the best in a minister who goes about their business trying to do what they believe is the best interests of the country, not of the party.” | Tory MP Hugo Swire, who shadowed Jowell when she was culture secretary, told MPs: “She embodied the best in a minister who goes about their business trying to do what they believe is the best interests of the country, not of the party.” |
| The veteran Labour MP Margaret Hodge, who entered the Commons within a couple of years of Jowell, described how they became friends while both heavily pregnant. | The veteran Labour MP Margaret Hodge, who entered the Commons within a couple of years of Jowell, described how they became friends while both heavily pregnant. |
| “She was a people-focused politician, she was a feminist and she showed awesome courage all the way through her life, but particularly in her last year,” she said. | “She was a people-focused politician, she was a feminist and she showed awesome courage all the way through her life, but particularly in her last year,” she said. |
| Tessa Jowell – a life in pictures | |
| MPs also described how Jowell was, in Hodge’s words, the “go-to person” on style in parliament, with Labour’s Mary Creagh saying she “knew how to rock a frock” and others praising her eye for fashion. | MPs also described how Jowell was, in Hodge’s words, the “go-to person” on style in parliament, with Labour’s Mary Creagh saying she “knew how to rock a frock” and others praising her eye for fashion. |
| The Birmingham MP Liam Byrne added that Jowell had one of the “best political satnavs in the business”, adding: “She knew that if you hit a road block, you hadn’t reached the end of the road, you just had to find your way round it.” | The Birmingham MP Liam Byrne added that Jowell had one of the “best political satnavs in the business”, adding: “She knew that if you hit a road block, you hadn’t reached the end of the road, you just had to find your way round it.” |
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