With the Death of Margo Macdonald Scotland has lost a unique and Independent voice.
It sad that as and vocal supporter of Scottish independence she will not see Scotland achieving Independence or even have the opportunity to vote for 9t
, Margo MacDonald entered parliamentary politics by winning the Glasgow Govan by-election, 1973 as an SNP candidate at 30 years old.
She only narrowly lost the Seat in the February 1974 general election
But she maybe had paved the way to the SNP making stunning gains in the two elections that year.
By sheer irony one of those campaigning against Margo in the By-election was the then Labour MP for South Ayrshire Jim Sillars who later was not to become her Husband but win the seat of Govan for the SNP in equally stunning fashion in in 1988
A political left-winger, she was prominent in the socialist 79 Group and left the party in 1982 due to this group's proscription. but like Alex Salmond who was in a similar position returned
In 1999 she was elected to the Scottish Parliament, representing the Lothians. She earned a high media profile by her outspoken views on a number of issues, including sex workers' rights and MSPs' salaries.She quickly established herself as a rebel within the party, and was disciplined in 2000 for missing a parliamentary vote without permission and briefing a Sunday newspaper against party policy.
[Meanwhile, she fell out with the party leadership, firstly under Alex Salmond and then John Swinney, for being in the SNP Fundamentalist mould who opposed the idea og a gradualist move towards Independence through the Scottish Parliament through the accumulation of more powers
This culminated in her being placed fifth on the SNP list for Lothians for the 2003 Parliament election, effectively ending her chances of being re-elected as an SNP MSP. In response, there were a spate of resignations from the party,[and Margo decided to stand as an independent. For this, she was officially expelled from the SNP on 28 January 2003.
She was re-elected as an independent MSP at the 2003 Scottish Parliament election, and again in 2007 and 2011.
He death leaves Scotlamd poorer but maybe her greatest memorial will be the establishment of a an Independent Scotland.
It sad that as and vocal supporter of Scottish independence she will not see Scotland achieving Independence or even have the opportunity to vote for 9t
, Margo MacDonald entered parliamentary politics by winning the Glasgow Govan by-election, 1973 as an SNP candidate at 30 years old.
There were "scenes of near-hysteria by supporters" as she was declared the winner in what had, until then, been a Labour stronghold. Her election, during the last months of the Conservative Heath government, "overturned the theory that the SNP can thrive only when a Labour Government is in office
| Glasgow Govan by-election, 1973 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| SNP | Margo MacDonald | 6,360 | 41.5 | +31.2 | |
| Labour | Harry Selby | 5,789 | 38.2 | -21.9 | |
| Conservative | John Mair | 1,780 | 11.7 | -16.5 | |
| Liberal | Peter McMillan | 1,239 | 8.2 | ||
| Majority | 571 | 3.5 | |||
| Turnout | 15,168 | ||||
| SNP gain from Labour | Swing | 26.7 | |||
She only narrowly lost the Seat in the February 1974 general election
| General Election February 1974 : Glasgow Govan[4] | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||
| Labour | Harry Selby | 10,326 | 43.17 | |||
| SNP | Margo MacDonald | 9,783 | 40.90 | |||
| Conservative | J Mair | 3,049 | 12.75 | |||
| Liberal | P McMillan | 763 | 3.19 | |||
| Majority | 543 | 2.27 | ||||
| Turnout | 23,920 | 74.92 | ||||
| Labour gain from SNP | Swing | |||||
But she maybe had paved the way to the SNP making stunning gains in the two elections that year.
By sheer irony one of those campaigning against Margo in the By-election was the then Labour MP for South Ayrshire Jim Sillars who later was not to become her Husband but win the seat of Govan for the SNP in equally stunning fashion in in 1988
A political left-winger, she was prominent in the socialist 79 Group and left the party in 1982 due to this group's proscription. but like Alex Salmond who was in a similar position returned
In 1999 she was elected to the Scottish Parliament, representing the Lothians. She earned a high media profile by her outspoken views on a number of issues, including sex workers' rights and MSPs' salaries.She quickly established herself as a rebel within the party, and was disciplined in 2000 for missing a parliamentary vote without permission and briefing a Sunday newspaper against party policy.
[Meanwhile, she fell out with the party leadership, firstly under Alex Salmond and then John Swinney, for being in the SNP Fundamentalist mould who opposed the idea og a gradualist move towards Independence through the Scottish Parliament through the accumulation of more powers
This culminated in her being placed fifth on the SNP list for Lothians for the 2003 Parliament election, effectively ending her chances of being re-elected as an SNP MSP. In response, there were a spate of resignations from the party,[and Margo decided to stand as an independent. For this, she was officially expelled from the SNP on 28 January 2003.
She was re-elected as an independent MSP at the 2003 Scottish Parliament election, and again in 2007 and 2011.
He death leaves Scotlamd poorer but maybe her greatest memorial will be the establishment of a an Independent Scotland.
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