TRIBUTES have been paid to former Glasgow MP and councillor Helen McElhone, who has died at home, aged 80.

She briefly became Labour MP for Queen's Park after winning a by-election in 1982 following the death of her husband Frank, who previously held the seat.

She held the seat for less than six months when the constituency disappeared in boundary changes and she lost out in the selection contest for the new Glasgow Central seat at the 1983 General Election.

As an MP, one of the issues she focused on was housing and she was critical of the Hutchie E housing block in Gorbals, and argued it should be demolished.

Lord Foulkes, a Labour peer and former MP, MSP and Scotland Office minister, paid tribute to her determination and commitment.

He said: "She was a strong woman, very political and very active; not to be under-estimated, despite her short period as an MP."

Mrs McElhone became a councillor in 1985 for the Bellahouston area on Strathclyde Regional Council campaigning, among other things for improved sporting and leisure facilities in the area.

She later served on a vetting panel to screen prospective Labour candidates for the first elections to the Scottish Parliament in 1999.

She is survived by two sons, Gerry and Johnny, and two daughters, Lorraine and Rozanne, and three grandchildren.

Her funeral will be on Thursday at St Gabriel's Church, Merrylee, and later at Linn Crematorium in the city's South Side.

stewart.paterson@ eveningtimes.co.uk