Margo

Don’t need to write her second name, and she doesn’t need the likes of me to pay her tribute. I can’t think of a politician in my lifetime who has been so respected. Or so loved. And, when it came to integrity, she was in a class of her own.

However, I did meet her a number of times and her impact was such that I would like to record it – though many, many people in Scotland will have had similar experiences thanks to her energy and dynamism.

I first met her in the early eighties. She was guest speaker at the foundation of the SNP’s Marchmont Branch – it was my task to meet her at the airport and get her to the venue.

I was twenty something, and greeting the London flight I had all the nerves you would expect from someone about to meet a hero.

While I waited, as you do, I rehearsed my greeting: “Hallo, Margo, I’m from Marchmont SNP.” “Hello, I’m Sean. From Marchmont SNP.” Hi! The car’s outside….”. The more I tried to prepare, the worse I got.

Suddenly, the familiar figure was coming down the steps. Before I could open my mouth, she came towards me:
“Sean? Hallo! Thanks for coming – I’ve no luggage but I’m dying to stretch my legs.”

I think she talked all the way into town – it was as if she’d known me all her life. Later we all came to know that that was just Margo – but for me just then, it was a revelation.

After the hugely successful meeting, she asked if I could give her a lift to Dean Village. There followed more chat – about the Branch and the possibilities in the future. By the time I dropped her off, I felt totally comfortable in her company. But, as I reversed the car, there was a knock on the window. As I wound it down she was pointing to the back seat – “I forgot my poly bag,” she said. It’s my nightie – I’m staying with a friend!” – and with a big wink she grabbed the bag and gave a wave. I could have had a political scoop that night – but for a combination of naivity and discretion!

Over the years I would invite her to speak in the various schools in which I taught. Along with Neil McCormack and Jim Sillars, she had the most impact of any of the political figures whom I invited over the years – and that included former Cabinet Ministers and folk from all parties. With Neil it was his intellect and his ability to put over the message simply, with Jim it was his passion, but with Margo it was, above all else, her humanity – and the way in which it connected with people.

Latterly, I would introduce her as the only politician I had ever voted for who had actually won, but she seldom talked direct politics to the pupils – even when it was part of a political forum. She talked about having opinions, getting involved, making a difference, being confident in your beliefs. But, in amongst the grand ideas would be clothes and make up, Hibs, her children and grandchildren, girls’ sport and the pleasure of being part of ‘the awkward squad’. Even in later years, when the travelling was difficult, she never let us down, always had us laughing and thinking in equal parts. She charmed the boys, of course, but she energized and motivated the girls, most of whom had never met or listened to a female politician who could connect with them so directly, in such every day language, and with such lack of pretension. I used to think as I listened to her that she must have been one helluva great PE teacher.

How she blossomed in those ‘Independent’ years as MSP for the Lothians. Freed from the kind of Party constraints which had never meant that much to her anyway, she became the conscience of the Parliament and, in many ways, of the nation. Her advice was freely given to all comers and was seldom ignored, as it was usually right. She didn’t suffer fools easily, but neither did she condemn them. Her husband’s twitter handle may be @NaeFear, but hers could well have been @NaeBitter.

She was a shining light in the frequent murk of politics; she brought respect to every cause she championed and hope to those she supported, and to those to whom she listened. To see and hear Margo in action was to realise that there is a better way, that politics can serve the people, and that ego and complexity don’t have to be part of the political package. She listened, she learned, and she fought. Oh how she fought.

It’s cruel to think we have lost her so close to the vote for which she worked all her political life, but her voice was never one which depended on her physical presence, it was always there, even in her absence, like commonsense. Her influence will remain, and she will be tapping on shoulders and asking uncomfortable questions of many as they head into the voting booths on September 18th. On that day, we have the opportunity to give her the only memorial she would ever have wanted.

For Jim – her partner in so many ways, for her girls and their families, and for all who knew and loved her, the world will be a little quieter, a little more predictable, and a lot less fun. The term ‘Blonde Bombshell’ will never be quite so redolent or relevant. We can only hope that their loss is made more bearable by the knowledge that she was loved without reservation across the country – and often in the most surprising places, a fact she enjoyed immensely.

The words on the Mace at the front of the Scottish Parliament read: “Wisdom, Integrity, Compassion, Justice”. They could have saved themselves the cost of the engraving. They only had to look over to the now empty chair in the back left corner of the chamber. All those values – and more, were personified by the woman from Hamilton, via Govan, and Edinburgh.

Maybe they should just leave that chair empty – who could fill it?

Thank you, Margo. Rest easy at last.