Frances Morrell was brought up in York, and educated at that city's Queen Anne Grammar School and at Hull University.
This latter role brought her into contact with Tony Benn, then coming to be seen as the leader of the Labour left, and with whom she then agreed on many important issues.
She was Labour candidate for Chelmsford at the February 1974 general election, and served as a Special Adviser to Benn at the Departments of Industry and Energy from 1974 to 1979.
She was unlucky in failing to be selected as candidate for any of several Labour constituencies at the 1979 general election (among them Birkenhead and Manchester Blackley).
The Eye also published a Clerihew: "Frances Morrell / Has done very well / To be leader of the ILEA / Without being black, working class or gay."
She became unsatisfied with his leadership, which she considered weak, and built support for a change through the GLC Women's Group; in April 1983 she challenged him and was elected as the new leader.
She was joint chief executive of ArtsInform, which she set up with Linda Payne in 1995 to build relationships between schools and colleges with professional artists and arts organisations.