A
TRIBUTE TO MARGARET EWING MSP
Speaking to
the SNP Spring Conference in Dundee in a tribute to Margaret Ewing MSP,
SNP North Tayside MSP John Swinney said:
"The day
after the 1992 General Election, as I came to terms with being second
rather than first in North Tayside, and worse still tried to come to
terms with the fact that I had been defeated by none other than Bill
Walker, Margaret telephoned me. She was sympathetic. She herself had
experienced election defeat in the past. She was funny. She said she
had been beaten by some pretty eccentric opponents, but she did concede
that Bill Walker was in a league of his own.
But
although she was sympathetic and she was funny she had a serious message
in the call. Pick yourself up, give it more than you ever thought you
could, and win the next time. Over the next five long, hard years of
campaigning that call never left me. And in the early hours of the
morning after the 1997 General Election, when I won the seat, one of the
first calls I received was from Margaret.
That story
tells us all we need to know about Margaret Ewing. Although she led a
frantic and busy life she never forgot those small, generous touches in
life. She always was able to think of others before herself. She
demonstrated real leadership in the way she motivated people with the
warm and kind gestures that were such a hallmark of her contribution to
politics.
Margaret's
political life spanned forty years of constant, unswerving support for
the Scottish National Party and our goal of Scottish Independence. Her
contribution stretched from fly-posting in the 1960s to nearly a quarter
of a century of effective and dignified parliamentary representation.
Margaret
was a bright star that landed on Westminster in 1974 as MP for East
Dunbartonshire. Stuffy old Westminster had no idea what had hit it when
a bright, glamorous and charismatic young woman arrived to upset the
apple cart. Despite having a majority of only 22 votes she made
Westminster sit up and take notice of Scotland and the call for
Independence
She came to
terms with defeat in 1979, did as she told me to do – dusted herself
down - and returned to the Commons in 1987 and embarked on 19 years of
uninterrupted devotion to representing the communities of Moray.
In 1999
Margaret took her well deserved place in the Scottish Parliament and in
her first speech she said -
I came
here to work for Scotland and to take Scotland forward to full
independence and the rights she deserves in the international
community.
Margaret's
vision for Scotland was encapsulated in those fine words. She believed
that Scotland would be the best our country could be if we had
self-government, able to take responsibility for our own decisions, able
to make a positive contribution to the international community.
Her most
recent and much respected work in Malawi is testament to living her
political vision.
In the
sound-bite world that is our modern politics, I think it is all too rare
that the contributions individuals make to politics are properly and
dispassionately assessed. Margaret was one of the most significant
figures in what we know to be modern nationalism in Scotland. She had
an ability to relate Independence to the lives of our people. She had a
clear-sighted view that every action we took had to relate to winning
the arguments for Independence. She had the ability to recognise that
tactical advantage one day might be a strategic disaster the next.
Margaret
brought all of this to her campaign for the leadership of the Scottish
National Party in 1990 and, when she did not win, she made it clear to
all around her this was the time to support the new leader of the Party.
As a
campaigner, she pioneered the idea of a Winter Fuel Allowance at much
the same time as Gordon Brown was saying a winter heating payment was a
selfish Nationalist initiative. Margaret led and won this debate on
social justice long before the Iron Chancellor stumbled across the
concept.
As a
constituency servant she was without equal. Last week I spent three
days campaigning in Moray. As I called at door after door I was told by
constituent after constituent how wonderful a parliamentary
representative Margaret had been.
I often
told her she should write a manual about how to serve a constituency.
She might not have written it but she certainly held informal tutorials
about it. They were subtle but you were in no doubt that you were being
taught a gentle lesson in the process. Over the years, some in our Party
sneered at people who were respected parliamentarians. The only view
for which Margaret held greater contempt was for those who supported the
Union. Margaret believed that to win support we had to win respect.
Not respect in some sloppy and lazy establishment fashion but respect by
being effective advocates for the people. Respect for the strength and
power of our cause. Respect for the quality of our case and our
arguments. Margaret earned that respect in the House of Commons and the
Scottish Parliament.
Everyone
knew she was a Scottish Nationalist but she was respected across the
board as a fine parliamentarian who set a standard in parliamentary work
as exacting as her standard in constituency service.
Margaret
had a wicked sense of humour that she deployed to powerful effect. Much
has been said about the moment of greatest humour in the short history
of the Scottish Parliament for which Margaret was entirely responsible.
Bruce
Crawford had almost burst a blood vessel attacking the Government and
First Minister, Henry McLeish. Henry got up and launched a fierce
counter-attack reaching a powerful crescendo saying Bruce's conduct was
so disgraceful it deserved a word that was a completely unparliamentary
term. A word that began with H and ended with Y. Satisfied, Henry took
a breath, gave a smile and savoured his finest moment just as Margaret
shouted out HENRY. That was the only thing we remember about that
McLeish performance.
If I had to
sum up Margaret's political contribution in one sentence what would it
be? I would say she was a charming, vivacious, principled Nationalist
who had the very rare ability to speak from the head and the heart at
the same time.
Fergus
cannot be with us today but he has asked me to thank many people within
the Party, throughout Scotland and further afield who have overwhelmed
him with their messages of appreciation of Margaret's life.
Fergus is
taking some time off but wants everyone to know he will be back in
action soon to continue the work he and Margaret undertook together for
Scottish Independence.
Finally
Conference, at various stages in my campaign to win the North Tayside
constituency, Margaret was a regular visitor to support me in my
efforts. She came to my constituency and she came to yours. And now it
is our duty to go to hers - to her beloved Moray - and to work to retain
a constituency she served with devotion, with energy and with inspired
leadership.
Thank you
Maggie for all you have done for each one of us, for all you have done
for our Party, and thank you for all you have done for the country that
you loved."
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