TRIBUTES have been paid to a “compassionate” and “tolerant” politician from Bracknell who passed away earlier this month.

Raymond Carter CBE, who was a councillor on Easthampstead Rural District Council from 1963 to 1968, stood in Wokingham for the Labour Party in the 1966 general election.

READ MORE: Argos in Bracknell set to close down

Although he came a close second in this vote, he went on to become an MP in Birmingham Northfield from 1970-1979.

During his time in parliament, he served on the Public Accounts Committee from 1973 to 1974 and then on the Science and Technology Committee and the Council of Europe, The Telegraph reports.

With Labour coming into power in 1974, it was not long before Mr Carter became a member of James Callaghan’s government, serving as parliamentary under-secretary of State at the Northern Ireland Office in 1976.

READ MORE: Why this council isn't taking part in electric scooter trials

His legacy in Westminster was the Congenital Disabilities Act of 1976 — a private member’s measure which enabled compensation to be claimed for children born disabled as a result of negligence.

Mr Carter’s wife, Jeanette, told the News: “He had a lot of guts, he was very compassionate.

“He took the Congenital Disabilities Bill through parliament.

“A neighbour of ours had a thalidomide baby and he organised a collection.

“He was always ready to help people.”

Jeanette also described ‘Ray’ as “very tolerant” and as someone who “got on with everyone.”

The couple moved to Bracknell together when they got married in 1959 — he even lived in the town while he was MP for Birmingham Northfield.

Born in 1935, Raymond would go on to train at Reading Technical College, according to the Telegraph, before becoming an electrical engineer.

READ MORE: Community rallies to buy closed-down ice rink

He reached the rank of sergeant in the Royal Engineers before moving on to the Central Electricity Board in 1965.

When the 1966 election came round, he used a family image on his election posters and flyers, the first time a parliamentary candidate had done this, according to his family.

Bracknell News:

They told the News: “He wanted to show his prospective voters that he was just like many of them with a young family.”

He was appointed a CBE in 1991 having been appointed as director of Marathon Oil GB in 1983, where he served until 2003.

Raymond Carter passed away at Frimley Park Hospital surrounded by his family on Thursday, July 2, aged 84.