Andrew Miller: Former Labour MP for Ellesmere Port and Neston dies Published duration 24 December 2019

image copyright Labour Party image caption Mr Miller worked for legislative changes including the minimum wage and agency workers' rights

The former Labour MP for Ellesmere Port and Neston, Andrew Miller, has died.

Mr Miller was first elected to the Cheshire seat in 1992 and served under five Labour leaders before standing down at the May 2015 general election.

Family friend and Labour MP for Knowsley George Howarth said Mr Miller was seriously ill for some time before he died, aged 70.

Mr Miller had a passion for science and technology and chaired the Commons select committee over 10 years.

Born in Middlesex in 1949, Mr Miller was educated in Malta and later earned a Diploma in Industrial Relations from the London School of Economics.

He was a former official of the technicians' union MSF and won his seat in 1992 from the Conservatives, holding it for 23 years.

image caption Andrew Miller stood down in 2015

When he stood down, Mr Miller said he was "proud" of being part of legislative changes like the minimum wage and improving the rights of agency workers.

He also worked with political parties in his former home of Malta in the lead up to the country's accession to the EU and fondly recalled helping get a plaque for Nelson Mandela placed in Westminster Hall.

He had a keen interest in tennis and lived in Cheshire in a house he bought derelict and rebuilt.

The University of Chester awarded Mr Miller an honorary DSc in 2014 and he was made an honorary Fellow of Liverpool John Moores University a year later.

Mr Miller leaves his wife, Fran, and three children.