WATCH 'Everything she touched turned to gold': Tributes pour in for Dame Tessa Jowell
6 min read
Tributes from across the political divide have been pouring in for Dame Tessa Jowell who died yesterday at the age of 70, following a battle with brain cancer.
Former Prime Minister Tony Blair said “everything she touched turned to gold”, while Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn paid heartfelt respects to the Labour grandee.
Dame Tessa, who was diagnosed with the illness in May last year, suffered a haemorrhage on Friday, and had been in a coma until she died peacefully on Saturday, a spokesman for the family said.
Former Labour leader Mr Blair - who first made her a minister - said “her impact on politics was enormous”.
“Everything she touched she turned to gold in some way,” he said - noting her achievements on equal pay, Sure Start and the 2012 Olympics in London.
“She did everything with the same passion, determination, verve, ability and charm. So she was a unique politician but she was a really dear friend.”
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said Dame Tessa’s “achievements were huge” and praised her “strength in raising awareness of her illness”.
The Prime Minister paid her respects to the family and said the battle Dame Tessa had with her illness “was humbling and it was inspirational”.
Top political figures appearing on the Sunday shows lined up to deliver moving tributes to the former Dulwich MP.
On the Andrew Marr Show, Environment Secretary Michael Gove said: “Dame Tessa was one of the kindest and most thoughtful people you could find in public life…
“The thing that has struck me throughout is that she is one of those people who brings joy into other people’s lives because she was transparently there to try to do the right thing.”
Shadow Foreign Secretary Emily Thornberry told Pienaar’s Politics on Radio 5 Live: “She was a true sister.
“Perhaps for my generation more like an auntie. You’d go into Parliament and it’s very competitive, it’s quite bewildering when you first start, but Tessa was always there to say: ‘come and have a cup of tea, let’s have a chat’.”
And ex-Downing Street press chief Alastair Campbell said Dame Tessa “made other people feel alive”.
“Tessa was a really extraordinary person. I don’t think I’ve ever met anybody, let alone in politics but in life, who had so much empathy and humanity,” he told Sky News.
Labour MP Lisa Nandy told ITV's Peston on Sunday: “She never stopped telling me what I should be doing and there’s a huge Tessa shaped hole in politics and in our personal lives today.”
Her death comes just months after she used an emotional speech in the House of Lords calling for better access to alternative cancer treatments.
The heartfelt intervention in January sparked a rare tribute from peers who rose to offer her a standing ovation.
Dame Tessa was regarded as having played a pivotal role in securing the 2012 Olympics for London when she served as culture secretary, before taking on the role of Minister for the Olympics and Minister for London.
The family spokesman said: “It is with great sadness, and an enormous sense of loss, that we announce the death of Tessa Jowell.
They added: “In addition to chemotherapy and radiotherapy, in recent months doctors tried innovative new treatments which Tessa gladly embraced, but sadly the tumour recently progressed very quickly.
“The family would like to thank people for the overwhelming support Tessa and they have received since she became ill.
“They have been touched and moved by the response, in both Houses of Parliament; from members of the public; and other cancer patients and their families around the world.”
Other tributes poured in from across the political divide.
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