Tributes have been paid to a “dedicated” politician after he died at the age of 83.
The Rt Hon Sir John Stanley, who served as Conservative MP for Tonbridge and Malling for 41 years between 1974 and 2015, passed away following an illness.
Sir John Stanley has passed away at the age of 83
Leading the tributes, MP for Tonbridge and Malling Tom Tugendhat (Con), said Sir John “served with distinction” and had dedicated much of his life to his constituents’ concerns.
He wrote: “I am sorry to share the sad news that my predecessor, The Rt Hon Sir John Stanley, has died at the age of 83 following illness.
“Sir John served our community in Tonbridge and Malling as its MP for 41 years, between 1974 and 2015.
“He dedicated much of his life to our concerns and cared deeply.
“He served with distinction as a minister in government and had the privilege, as Margaret Thatcher’s Parliamentary Private Secretary, of being the one who welcomed her into Number 10 for the first time.”
Dame Tracey Crouch also paid tribute to her former colleague and neighbour.
The former Chatham and Aylesford MP said: “He represented Tonbridge and Malling for many years and with a great deal of respect and compassion for the communities and people he served.”
Sir John had said serving his constituency had been “the greatest privilege of his life” when he stepped down at the election in May 2015.
During his career, he had served as a minister three times – in defence, housing and Northern Ireland – as well as acting as Margaret Thatcher’s Parliamentary Private Secretary while she was Leader of the Opposition.
More locally, he was at the forefront of a campaign by Kent MPs for improvements to rail services run by operator Southeastern.
At the time of his retirement from politics, Sir John had a majority of more than 18,000 votes, making his seat one of the most comfortable in the south east.
