Tributes were paid yesterday to Richard Daniels, a former teacher and dedicated organiser in the Progressive Labour Party.

Mr Daniels was 72.

Alex Scott, a former PLP premier, said Mr Daniels was a man who “made the trains run on time” in the party, from canvassing to administration.

Mr Scott added: “Richard helped make the organisation work. He was not on the front lines, but you could achieve very little without people like him.

“He was talented and committed to excellence.

“If you knew the job was done by Richard, you only had to check it once.

“He was very accommodating. Generally perfectionists don’t tolerate imperfection, but Richard was a wonderful person to work with.”

Mr Scott, who served as premier from 2003 to 2006, said he had worked with Mr Daniels during his time in Warwick, where he co-ordinated canvassing.

Mr Daniels later served on the PLP’s central committee.

“Dellwood was just one school where he taught, and he touched many lives in the classroom,” Mr Scott said. “There will be a community of young people serving many different professions better for the fact that they were taught by him.”

Dame Jennifer Smith, the former premier, said that she and Mr Daniels had attended East End Primary School together, followed by the Berkeley Institute.

She added: “When I entered politics, Richard and his family were behind me. He worked at branch level and then at the party headquarters during his summer holidays.

“He was an exceptionally dedicated teacher and party member and he will be missed.”

Walter Roban, the Deputy Premier, called Mr Daniels “a career educator whose work included Elliot Primary School”.

He added: “Mr Daniels was a very well-known activist within the PLP, but it was behind the scenes, working with the leadership in particular.

“He was central in the PLP in ways not many people may have known, other than insiders.”

Mr Roban described him as “a no-nonsense guy with a lot of heart”.

Mr Daniels’s flair with statistics and data assisted the party in elections as well as navigating events such as the switch to single-seat constituencies.

Mr Daniels worked in Warwick and his native St George’s as well as assisting the PLP’s 2007 election win in Smith’s North, Mr Roban said.

Mr Roban added: “He was warm and welcoming. If you were a friend, you were always a friend, and he was a transparent, blunt friend who would tell it like it is.”

During the Motion to Adjourn in the House of Assembly on Friday, Mr Roban described Mr Daniels as “someone who helped to change this country”.

Jeanne Atherden, of the One Bermuda Alliance, said they had been schoolmates who liked to discuss current affairs.

Lieutenant-Colonel David Burch, the Minister of Public Works, offered condolences to his constituent, and tributes also came from PLP MPs Kim Swan and Michael Scott.

Renée Ming, the MP for St George’s North, told the House that the family enjoyed “a very long history with St George’s”.

She added: “I want his family to know that they are in our thoughts and prayers.”

A funeral service for Mr Daniels will be held at 1pm on Saturday at St Peter’s Church in St George.