Winnie Ewing

Winifred Margaret Ewing (born 10 July 1929) is a Scottish nationalist, lawyer and prominent Scottish National Party (SNP) politician who was a Member of Parliament (Hamilton 1967–70; Moray and Nairn 74–79), Member of the European Parliament (Highlands and Islands 1975–1999) and Member of the Scottish Parliament (Highlands and Islands 1999–2003). Her election victory in 1967 was a significant by-election in Scottish political history and began a surge of support for the SNP.^[1][2] She was the Scottish National Party President from 1987 to 2005.

Early life

Born Winifred Margaret Woodburn in Glasgow, she was educated at Battlefield School and Queen's Park Senior Secondary School. In 1946 she matriculated at Glasgow University where she earned an MA and studied for an LLB. Although relatively inactive in politics at that time, she joined the Student Nationalists. Following her graduation, she qualified and practised as a solicitor and notary public. She was Secretary of the Glasgow Bar Association from 1962 to 1967.^[3]

Political biography

She became active in campaigning for Scottish independence through her membership of the Glasgow University Scottish Nationalist Association, and came to prominence in 1967 when she won the Hamilton by-election as the Scottish National Party (SNP) candidate.^[4][5] She was elected with the help of a team including her election agent, John McAteer. On 16 November, she made her first appearance at Westminster, with her husband and children accompanied her on the journey.^[6] She arrived at the parliament in a Scottish-built Hillman Imp and was greeted by a crowd and a pipe band.^[7] She said at the time "stop the world, Scotland wants to get on", and her presence at Westminster led to a significant rise in membership for the SNP. It was speculated at the time that the Ewing's electoral gain led to the establishment of the Kilbrandon Commission by the Labour government of Harold Wilson to look into the viability of a devolved Scottish Assembly.

Despite her high profile, Ewing was unsuccessful in retaining the Hamilton seat at the 1970 general election.^[8] At the following February 1974 election she stood for Moray and Nairn and was returned to Westminster, although another election followed in October of the same year when her already marginal majority declined. Following the October election she was announced as the SNP's spokesperson on external affairs and EEC.^[9] She first became an MEP in 1975, at a time when the European Parliament was still composed of representative delegations from national parliaments. She lost her Westminster seat at the May 1979 election, but within weeks had gained a seat in the European Parliament at the first direct elections to the Parliament. Ewing was unsuccessful at seeking to return to Westminster as the SNP candidate for Orkney and Shetland in 1983, coming third.

She was elected the SNP Party President in 1987.^[3]

It was during her time as an MEP that she acquired the nickname Madame Ecosse (French for Mrs Scotland) because of her strong advocacy of Scottish interests in Strasbourg and Brussels.^[10][11] That sobriquet was first used by Le Monde and with Ewing using the term as a badge of pride, it stuck.^[12] By 1995 she had become Britain's longest serving MEP.^[12] She had been a former Vice President of the European Radical Alliance which included French, Guyanan, Flemish, Luxembourg, Italian, Corsican and Spanish (Canary Islands) MEPs.

In 1999, she did not stand for the European Parliament, instead becoming a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) in the first session of the Scottish Parliament, representing the Highlands and Islands. As the oldest member, Mother of the House,^[13][14] it was her duty to preside over the opening of the Scottish Parliament, a session she opened with the statement: "The Scottish Parliament, adjourned on the 25th day of March in the year 1707, is hereby reconvened".^[15] She sat as a member on the European Committee, then the Public Petitions Committee.^[16]

During the controversy that arose in the early years of the Scottish Parliament surrounding proposals to repeal Clause 28 (a law banning the active promotion of homosexuality in schools) she joined her son Fergus Ewing in abstaining, although her daughter in law Margaret Ewing supported repeal as did the majority of her party's MSPs.

In June 2001, having turned 72 years old, she announced that she would retire from Parliament at the end of the session.^[17] In January 2003, she lost her husband, Stewart Ewing, in a fire accident.^[18] He had been active with her in politics for many years, and had himself served as an SNP councillor for the Summerston area in Glasgow. The same year she lost her husband she stood down from being an MSP, although she continued to serve as the SNP's President, a position she held for many years.

On 15 July 2005, she announced she would be stepping down as President of the Scottish National Party at its September Conference, bringing to an end her 38-year career in representative politics.

Her son Fergus Ewing serves as SNP MSP, as did his late wife Margaret Ewing, and her daughter Annabelle Ewing, who was also an MP between 2001 and 2005.^[19]

Outside parliament

Ewing is a vice president of equal rights charity Parity.^[20]

On April 2009, BBC Alba broadcast a biographical documentary Madame Ecosse,^[21] produced by Madmac Productions. It was rebroadcast on BBC Scotland in July to mark her 80th birthday.^[22]

Awards and honours

She was conferred with honorary LLD degrees from the University of Glasgow in 1995 and University of Aberdeen in 2004,^[23] She was conferred with Doctor of the University degrees from the Open University in 1993^[24] and University of Stirling in 2012.^[25]

In 2009, a portrait of her painted by David Donaldson in 1970 was loaned to the Parliament and put on display.^[26]

References

Further reading

• Winnie Ewing (2004). Michael Russell, ed. Stop the World: The Autobiography of Winnie Ewing. Birlinn Limited. ISBN 978-1-84158-239-9.

External links

• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Winnie Ewing
• Mother Scotland (22 February 2007 ) The Scotsman
• Portrait of Winnie Ewing, by Norman Edgar, at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery
• Personal profile of Winnie Ewing in the European Parliament's database of members