Teacher, education adviser and politician who worked tirelessly to improve the lives of children in Britain and abroad

Doreen Massey, Lady Massey of Darwen, who has died of cancer aged 85, devoted a long and busy working life primarily to improving the lives of children and young people in Britain and, subsequently, as a member of the Council of Europe, further afield. She believed in an inclusive society and sought to challenge discrimination, to defend human rights and, whenever possible, to speak on behalf of those who did not themselves have a voice.

Massey was acclaimed for her considerable ethical contribution to a number of issues in public life, notably on education, marriage equality, LGBTQ+ rights, sexual health and the misuse of drugs and alcohol. She was a forthright, brave woman who lived life according to the values she espoused, and in consequence was as widely popular in parliaments as she had once been as a schoolteacher in the playground.

This post was originally published on Human rights | The Guardian.