MP won Ellesmere Port and Neston from the Tories in 1992 and held the seat for 23 years

This article is more than 8 months old

This article is more than 8 months old

Labour colleagues have paid tribute to the former Labour MP for Ellesmere Port and Neston, Andrew Miller, who has died at the age of 70.

He served for 23 years, having been first elected to the previously Conservative-held Cheshire seat in 1992. He was re-elected four times before he stepped down in 2015.

The current MP for Miller’s old seat, Justin Madders, said Ellesmere Port and Neston was a “much better place for his involvement”.

He told the PA: “Everyone who knew Andrew will be deeply saddened to hear of his passing.

“He served the constituency with distinction for 23 years and everywhere within it are reminders of projects he helped bring to fruition with his unrivalled ability to pull people together behind a shared goal.

“I knew his constituents thought highly of him but one thing that really struck me when I took over from him as MP was just how well thought of he was in parliament as well. Nobody there had a bad word to say about him, which in politics is a rare if not unique thing.”

In one of his final Commons speeches in 2015, Miller highlighted his work to improve rights for temporary and agency workers through introducing a private members bill in 2007. In 2010, he was confirmed as the first chair of the House of Commons science and technology select committee, a position he held until he stood down as an MP. He was also a former chair of the Commons regulatory reform committee.

Labour colleagues have paid tribute to Miller on Twitter, including Andy Burnham, mayor of Greater Manchester who called him a “stalwart”.

Andy Burnham (@AndyBurnhamGM) Couldn’t agree more Chris. “Windy” Miller was a dear friend to us all. Always there for me when I needed him. A stalwart of the North West PLP. So sad to hear this news. Love to Fran & the family. https://t.co/0vIkT7dqlZ

Chester MP Chris Matheson said Mr Miller had been a friend and mentor to him personally.

In a tweet, he said: “I am deeply, deeply saddened to hear of the news of the death of Andrew Miller, who has been over 25 years a friend and mentor, who did so much for Cheshire, and so much to promote science in parliament.”

Miller was born in Isleworth, west London, in 1949, and was educated in Malta and later Hampshire.

He earned a diploma in industrial relations from the London School of Economics and worked as a laboratory technician at the then Portsmouth Polytechnic.

He was a former official of the Manufacturing, Science and Finance (MSF) trades union before he entered parliament in 1992.