Gwyneth Dunwoody

Dunwoody chaired the Commons Transport Committee and its predecessors for most of the period from 1997 until her death in 2008, and was so independent that Labour whips tried to remove her in 2001; the Commons voted to reinstate her, a revolt that helped bring in more independent selection of chairs. Her committees were scathing about rail privatisation and Railtrack's safety record after the Hatfield crash. She is the patron saint of awkward chairs.