Gordon Wilson (Scottish politician)

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Robert Gordon Wilson (16 April 1938 – 25 June 2017) was a Scottish politician and solicitor. He was the leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) from 1979 to 1990, and was SNP Member of Parliament (MP) for Dundee East from 1974 to 1987. He was Rector of the University of Dundee from 1983 to 1986.

Background

Wilson was born in Glasgow, the son of Elizabeth Murray and Robert George Wilson, a butcher's van driver.<ref name = ODNB>Template:Cite ODNB</ref> He was educated at Douglas High School for Boys on the Isle of Man, and the University of Edinburgh, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Laws degree.<ref name="Guardian obituary">Template:Cite news</ref> Following graduation, Wilson qualified as a solicitor, and worked for T.F. Reid Solicitors in Paisley from 1963 until his election as an MP in 1974.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Political career

Wilson joined the Scottish National Party in 1959, on his graduation from university.<ref name="Herald smiling">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Independent obituary">Template:Cite news</ref> He was "controller" of the political pirate radio station Radio Free Scotland, which broadcast on a frequency used by BBC between 1956 and 1965, moving the location of the transmitter to avoid being caught.<ref name="Guardian obituary"/> Wilson served as Assistant National Secretary of the SNP from 1963 to 1964, as National Secretary from 1964 to 1971, and was vice-chairman of the SNP Oil Campaign Committee, which was responsible for the party's iconic It's Scotland's oil campaign.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> It was Wilson who coined the slogan.<ref name="Herald smiling"/><ref name="Pirates Courier">Template:Cite news</ref>

Wilson was Executive Vice-Chairman in 1972–1973, and while Executive Vice-Chairman he had a responsibility for oil.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Wilson stood as the SNP parliamentary candidate at the Dundee East by-election in March 1973, where he was narrowly defeated by Labour's George Machin. He did however clearly out-poll the Lord Provost of Dundee, William Fitzgerald, who stood as a Conservative and was thought to have had a good chance of winning the seat.<ref name="Herald 2Mar1973">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Herald1Mar1973">Template:Cite news</ref> Machin was a native of Sheffield and some thought Labour made a mistake by selecting an Englishman for a Scottish seat.<ref name="Herald1Mar1973"/> Anti-English feeling was reported to be shown during Machin's victory speech which was reportedly disrupted by 'angry shouts of Scottish Nationalist supporters', with 'chants of "Go back to Yorkshire" and "Go home, Englishman"'.<ref name="Herald 2Mar1973"/> Wilson was reported to be disappointed by losing narrowly, but was pleased by the considerable increase in the SNP vote since the last general election.<ref name="Herald 2Mar1973"/>

Gordon Wilson was elected as Member of Parliament for the Dundee East constituency at the February 1974 general election,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and increased his majority to 6,983 at the October 1974 general election.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He was the deputy leader of the SNP parliamentary group at Westminster from 1974 to 1979, and served as parliamentary spokesperson on oil and energy (1974–1983) and joint spokesperson on devolution (1976–1979).<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

He was one of only two SNP MPs in the aftermath of the 1979 UK general election. Anthony Finlay, writing in The Glasgow Herald opined that Wilson held his seat "only because the Labour Party was foolish enough to pick Jimmy Reid" as his opponent.<ref name="GH5May1979p4">Template:Cite news</ref> On 15 September 1979, at the SNP Annual National Conference in Dundee, Wilson was elected as National Convener (leader) of the SNP, succeeding Billy Wolfe. He had with 530 votes, defeating Stephen Maxwell (117 votes) and Willie McRae (52 votes).<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Lynch, Peter (2002). SNP: the history of the Scottish National Party. Welsh Academic Press. p. 170.</ref>

When Robin Cook MP moved an amendment to legalise homosexual acts to the Bill which became the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 1980, he stated "The clause bears the names of hon. Members from all three major parties. I regret that the only party represented among Scottish Members of Parliament from which there has been no support for the clause is the Scottish National Party. I am pleased to see both representatives of that party in their place, and I hope to convert them in the remainder of my remarks."<ref>Template:Cite Hansard</ref> When the amendment came to a vote, Wilson and the SNP's other MP Donald Stewart both voted against the decriminalisation of homosexual acts.<ref>Template:Cite Hansard</ref>

In the early 1980s when the party was in internal turmoil, and he was a key mover in condemning both Siol nan Gaidheal and the 79 Group.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=national>Template:Cite news</ref> At the SNP's conference in Ayr in June 1982 he announced in the middle of his keynote speech that there would not be "parties within the party".<ref name="Guardian obituary"/><ref name="Herald obituary">Template:Cite news</ref> Using his executive position he was able to force an emergency motion and a vote on his proposal.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He received the backing he needed.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Wilson led the party through two poor general election performances in 1983<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and 1987.<ref name="Herald 12Jun1987">Template:Cite news</ref> In 1987, Wilson lost his seat to Labour's John McAllion.<ref name=profile>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> After his defeat at the 1987 general election he returned to legal practice.<ref name="Guardian obituary"/>

He remained as party leader, and Jim Sillars won at the Govan by-election victory in 1988. Wilson attempted to involve the SNP in the Scottish Constitutional Convention but due to the convention's unwillingness to contemplate discussions about Scottish independence as a constitutional option the SNP did not get involved.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He announced his resignation as leader of the SNP in May 1990,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> with Alex Salmond succeeding him.<ref name="Guardian obituary"/>

In September 1998 he was selected by delegates at the SNP's conference as a candidate for Scotland in the 1999 European Parliament elections.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He was placed fourth on the SNP's list and with the SNP only winning two of the eight seats, he was unsuccessful.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

He wrote three books that were published between 2009 and 2014 which detailed aspects of his political life.<ref name="Guardian obituary"/>

Wilson continued to have a modest presence in Scottish politics after his retirement. He was active in the Scottish independence referendum campaign. In November 2012, he and Sillars suggested that Scotland should consider joining the European Free Trade Association as an alternative to remaining in the EU,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and voted Leave in the 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Together with Sillars he then established think-tank Options for Scotland, publishing articles and papers.<ref name="Guardian obituary"/>

Personal life

Wilson married Edith (née Hassall) in 1965 and they had two daughters and five grandchildren.<ref name="Guardian obituary"/>

Wilson was a devout Christian.<ref name="Independent obituary"/> Later in life, he was a member of Saint Peter's Free Church in Dundee.<ref name="Guardian obituary"/><ref name="Scotsman obituary">Template:Cite news</ref> In 2010, Wilson and David Robertson co-founded Solas (Centre for Public Christianity) - an evangelical Christian body dedicated to the revival of the faith in Scotland and abroad.<ref name="Herald obituary"/><ref name="Scotsman obituary"/>

He had retired to Broughty Ferry, Dundee and sailed his boat Saorsa on the Firth of Tay.<ref name="Independent obituary"/>

Wilson died from a pulmonary embolism at the Roxburghe House hospice in Dundee on the morning of 25 June 2017, at the age of 79.<ref name = ODNB/><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> His funeral was held at Saint Peter's Free Church in Dundee on 5 July 2017. His party colleague John Swinney and David Robertson gave eulogies.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Awards and honours

He was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws (LL.D) degree by the University of Dundee in 1986.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Wilson's papers are held variously by the National Library of Scotland,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Archive Services at the University of Dundee<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and the Scottish Political Archive at the University of Stirling.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> His collection of historical nationalist pamphlets is held by the Macartney Library at SNP headquarters in Edinburgh.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Publications

SNP: The Turbulent Years 1960-1990, 2009. Template:ISBN<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
Pirates of the Air: The Story of Radio Free Scotland, 2011 Template:ISBN<ref name="Pirates Courier"/>
Scotland: The Battle for Independence, 2014 Template:ISBN

References

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External links

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Gordon Wilson (Scottish politician)

Contents

Background

Political career

Personal life

Awards and honours

Publications

Further reading

References

Further reading

External links

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Gordon Wilson (Scottish politician)

Background

Political career

Personal life

Awards and honours

Publications

Further reading

References

Further reading

External links

Navigation menu

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