A BOROUGH-born and educated politican who rose to become a longstanding and respected MP, vice chair of the Conservative Party and private secretary to Prime Minister John Major has died aged 81.

The death today of Sir Graham Bright brings an end to a career of public service that began in 1965 when he was elected to Thurrock Council.

A war baby, Sir Graham was born in Horndon on the Hill in 1942 and was the son of farm labourer Robert Bright and the former Agnes Graham.

He was educated at Hassenbrook Secondary Modern School in Stanford-le-Hope and joined the food processing firm Pauls & White while also taking courses at Thurrock Technical College.

He was a factory manager at 20, and sales and marketing manager at 24.

Made redundant in 1970 with the business in trouble, he took over the remains of Dietary Foods, a subsidiary of Pauls & White, and turned it into a thriving business, with Sweet 'n Low his great success. From the 1980s, he also chaired Cumberland Foods and Mother Nature.

However, politics played a role in almost all his life and he was an active Young Conservative and founder of its local branch before getting elected to the council, where he served until 1979 and on Essex County Council from 1967 to 1970.

Sir Graham Bright.

He stood unsuccessfully to be Thurrock MP in 1970 and 74 and also missed out when he stood in Dartford in the second election of 1974.

It proved to be fourth time lucky when he won in Luton five years later.

During his time in Westminster Sir Graham Bright served as a Parliamentary Private Secretary to various members of the Cabinet for 18 years, most notably to Mr Major for his first four years as Prime Minister (1990–94).

Sir Graham then went on to serve as a Vice-Chairman of the Conservative Party from 1994 to 97.

He received a knighthood in 1994.

He made a return to public office in 2012 when he was elected as Cambridgeshire's Police and Crime Commissioner, serving one term until 2016.