Lib Dem peer Baroness Shirley Williams died in her sleep at the age of 90.
Baroness Williams, who dedicated 60 years to public service, first stood for office as a Labour candidate during the 1954 by-election in the then Harwich constituency standing against the Conservative Sir Julian Ridsdale.
She stood in the same seat in 1955, again unsuccessfully, before first being elected as MP for Hitchin in Hertfordshire in 1964.
Tributes - Baroness Shirley Williams, who started her career in north Essex, has died. Picture: PA Archive
Mrs Williams served in the Labour governments of Harold Wilson and James Callaghan during the 1970s, including as Education Secretary.