Photograph: Chris Ison/PA
Despite standing down as the Liberal Democrat leader in the House of Lords this month, Shirley Williams remains the darling of the party conference.
After 60 years in politics her farewell speech was this morning's highlight for many delegates, who rewarded her call for more radical and challenging ideas with a one-minute standing ovation.
Intriguingly, for someone in such a bitchy profession, the one constant in Lady Williams' career has been her popularity.
As she is loved by the Lib Dems, she was once loved by Labour activists, before she abandoned the party to co-found the Social Democratic party in the early 80s.
Her popularity did not, however, appear to be shared by the Lib Dem pass office this morning when they lost her conference accreditation.
It was only when the party's former president Lord Holmes informed them that she had to speak in two minutes that she was admitted into the conference centre.
