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On
Saturday 13 May 2006 the Oliver Brown Award was presented to Dr Winifred
Ewing by the Scots Independent newspaper at a lunch in the Terraces
Hotel in Stirling.
Lilian
MacDonald was an impeccable chair, and the grace was said by Gordon
Wilson; an unusual and moving grace including a reference to Winnie!
Lilian commented that we were very pleased to have with us two former
very young, very clever and very hard-working National Secretaries, who
both became Party leaders, John Swinney MSP and Gordon Wilson, and a
former leader, James Halliday.
 She
welcomed Una Ozga, daughter of Oliver Brown, who was the first speaker;
she was accompanied by her niece, also Una, so we had a further
generation of the Brown family with us. Una is now living in France,
near Bergerac, in Joan of Arc country, and spoke of visiting her statue;
she reminded us of the Joan of Arc dinners from a long time ago. She
and her Polish husband were busy learning French, and acclimatising
themselves to life in the Dordogne, and was very happy to find that many
French regard the Scots as having the same philosophy as they do.
The Toast
to the Scots Independent was given by John Swinney MSP; he reminisced
that it was ten years since he had been invited to an Oliver lunch, so
it must have been something he said; he also hinted darkly that James
Halliday, a Dundee United supporter had somehow known that this would be
Scottish Cup Final day, involving Hearts, so John would not be able to
go to Hampden! John spoke warmly of the paper and its contribution to
Independence, and of the team of volunteers who kept the paper going
through the years. He was very optimistic about the future for Scotland
and the SNP’s place in it.
The award
was presented by James Halliday, Chairman of the Scots Independent; he
reminded us that the award was for the person who had done most to lift
the self confidence of the Scottish people. On these terms, the award
could have been given to Winnie Ewing in any one of the last 40 years.
In his view the most powerful slogan we ever had was “Yes we can”, and
this was due to Winnie, whose eternal optimism was that what was
possible was attainable.
He said
Winnie anticipated the Freedom of Information Act by 40 years; after she
was elected in Hamilton in 1967 she produced her famous Black Book,
laying bare the actions hidden by the government that they were
reluctant to expose to scrutiny. This information was obtained through
Parliamentary answers to questions that no Scottish MP had ever asked.
When Winnie
went to the European Parliament she presented Scotland as a nation among
nations, and was known as Madame Ecosse, a soubriquet that infuriated
the British establishment. She made friends with other European nations
at a time when the SNP was shooting itself in the foot, only wishing to
be friends with anywhere east of the Oder. Her presence and conduct in
Europe made us better able to stand up to our neighbour.
Winnie was
always the campaigner par excellence, and her work in the Highlands and
Islands kept Scotland on the map; in particular her visits to Orkney
and Shetland kept them firmly part of Scotland at a time when our
opponents were trying to ratchet up their secession.
Jimmy
reminded us that when the Scottish Parliament closed in 1707, the Earl
of Seafield said; “Here’s the end to an auld sang.” Dr Robert McIntyre
had always maintained that the Parliament was not abolished, merely
adjourned, a view that he, as a rather austere historian questioned;
however he had no qualms when Winnie took Robert’s advice. Her words on
the re-opening of the Scottish Parliament will ring through history:
“The Scottish Parliament, adjourned on 25th March 1707, is
hereby reconvened.”
Winnie was
accompanied by her daughter Annabel, and we were also pleased to see
Hugh MacDonald , one of her election team in 1967, who had run a Joan of
Arc dinner after Oliver’s death. She spoke of her sadness at the loss
of Margaret, and of her optimism for Scotland. She was extremely pleased
to be given the award, but thought that it was never going to happen;
she did mention that we must have had to wait until she became a
“civilian”! She also commented on how the link with Oliver Brown helped
preserve a continuity in the Party, and reminded us of Oliver’s response
when he was asked what he would do if he was ever elected: “Demand a
recount” was the reply.
Winnie’s
father was in the ILP, and when she went to Westminster she was invited
to dinner with ex-ILP Lords who had known her father; Scottish MPs were
extremely hostile in the main, but she felt she was fairly well treated
by Harold Wilson, the then Prime Minister. She thanked him for being
kind, and he replied: “Kind? I was only being fair.” Winnie said her
opinion would have changed drastically if she had been able to see the
oil papers! She received a great many visitors at Westminster, a source
of wonderment to Sir Alex Douglas Home, who received none at all.
She said
she loved campaigning, the noise, the colour, the music, and also spoke
of her late husband Stewart’s time as a Glasgow councillor; she said
when you were in Hamilton or Moray, you had to keep your feet on the
ground. She told us of a visit to Oban, where she met a little girl who
told her mum that she was being taught about Winnie at school. “Modern
studies?” “No, history.”
Winnie paid
tribute to Dr Robert McIntyre, one of her mentors, and finished with a
quote from James Halliday; “When a man stands on a bank of principle
and does not move, in time, all the people will join him on that bank of
principle.” The SNP is a party of principle.
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