The rise of two political dynasties came a step closer yesterday after the late Gwyneth Dunwoody’s daughter and Boris Johnson’s father put themselves forward as future MPs.

Tamsin Dunwoody was selected by Labour to fight her mother’s former seat of Crewe & Nantwich on May 22. The by-election was called after the MP’s death at the age of 77 last month.

Stanley Johnson, father of Boris, told The Times that he hoped to contest the seat for Henley-on-Thames held by his son, who was elected Mayor of London last week.

Ms Dunwoody, 49, is expected to face a tough fight to defend her mother’s majority of 7,078. She was a Labour member of the Welsh Assembly from 2003 to 2007 and served as a deputy minister in Rhodri Morgan’s administration. She was ousted by the Tories from her Pembrokeshire constituency in last year’s election. Labour privately concedes that the election will be close, but hopes that the popularity of her mother will see off the opposition parties.

Speaking after her selection at a meeting of the local party in Crewe on Saturday, Ms Dunwoody said: “My mum is a formidable act to follow, having served the area with great pride and passion for 34 years. Like my mum, I will be a local champion and stand up for the people of Crewe & Nantwich.”

The Tories will attack her as a Labour loyalist and therefore very different from her mother, who had a reputation as a fiercely independent MP. “She is not a chip off the old block," a Tory source said.

The funeral of Gwyneth Dunwoody will be held on Thursday at St Margaret’s Church in Westminster.

Stanley Johnson, 67, said yesterday that he hoped that Tory party members would choose him to represent Henley. “My name should be on the list of hopefuls and if I am picked, then that is fine. There is a system in place and I can only hope that I am deemed worthy,” he said.

He will be up against some stiff competition for such a safe seat. His son was reelected in 2005 with an improved majority of 12,793 and a 53 per cent share of the vote.

John Walsh, the Conservative agent in Henley, said last week that the local association would be looking for a candidate “in an orderly fashion”. He added: “This will not be done in a rush. We have a timetable to select a candidate before the summer holiday, with a potential for an autumn or spring by-election.”

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