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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."
ENDS.
Author : SNP Press Office
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