RUTH Davidson has led the tributes to Sir Teddy Taylor, the former Tory MP and arch Eurosceptic, who has died aged 80.

The Scottish Conservative leader said: "Teddy Taylor was one of the great servants of our party in Scotland. He built up a huge personal following in his Cathcart seat in the 60s and 70s as the original 'tenement Tory'.

"Even now, 40 years on, many local people will remember his fierce commitment and dedication to Glasgow.”

Ms Davidson said Sir Teddy continued that service in Southend for many years, where he was held in the same high esteem as he was regarded in his home city. The former Shadow Scottish Secretary was MP for Rochford and Southend East for 25 years.

"He was my mum's MP when she was growing up in the south side of Glasgow,” recalled Ms Davidson. “Lots of folk in Glasgow would declare: 'I'm no voting Tory but I am voting for Teddy Taylor.'”

She went on: "He was a true parliamentarian and a great local champion, who will be remembered with fondness across the political spectrum.

"We send our deepest condolences to his family and wish them all our support at this time."

David Mundell, the Scottish Secretary, said he was saddened to hear the news of Sir Teddy’s death.

"In his time, he was one of the great characters of Scottish politics.

"He was a great doorstep politician, always deeply committed to representing his constituents and to his country, including time spent as a minister in the Scottish Office," he added.

Born and educated in Glasgow, Edward Macmillan Taylor worked as a journalist on the then Glasgow Herald and was a councillor in the city from 1960. His first attempt to become an MP in Glasgow Springburn in 1959 failed but five years later he was elected to represent Glasgow Cathcart as a “Unionist with Home Rule inclinations”.

His political career was marked by a fierce loathing of the European Union.

He quit as a Scottish Office minister in 1971 over Edward Heath's decision to join what was then the Common Market. But later was appointed Shadow Scottish Secretary under Margaret Thatcher’s leadership in the late 1970s.

Two decades later, he was among a band of diehard Tory rebels - the so-called "whipless wonders"- who had the whip withdrawn and were kicked out of the party by John Major over their opposition to the Maastricht Treaty.

In 1979, he was elected MP for Southend East in a by-election, having finally lost the marginal Glasgow Cathcart at the General Election of that year. The father-of-three went on to hold the Essex seat until he retired from Westminster in 2005. He was knighted in 1991.

His wife, Sheila, said that while he had never changed his views on Europe, he had remained devoted to his constituency.

"He loved being an MP here. The great love of his life was helping his constituents. He really cared about Southend and was very well-liked by everybody here," she explained.

Sir Teddy, who had been ill for some months, died in Southend Hospital late on Wednesday.