Jim Sillars | |
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Member of Parliament for Glasgow Govan |
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In office 1988 – 1992 |
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Preceded by | Bruce Millan |
Succeeded by | Ian Davidson |
Majority | 11.8% |
Member of Parliament for South Ayrshire |
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In office 1970 – 1979 |
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Preceded by | Emrys Hughes |
Succeeded by | George Foulkes later Lord Foulkers of Cumnock |
Personal details | |
Born | 4 October 1937 Ayr, Scotland |
Political party | Scottish National Party |
Spouse(s) | Margo MacDonald MSP |
Jim Sillars (Gaelic: Seumas Mac an Airgid; born 4 October 1937) is a Scottish politician. He is married to current member of the Scottish Parliament, Margo MacDonald.
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Sillars was born in Ayrshire, Scotland. His early working life involved him following his father into working on the railways, then joining the Royal Navy, before becoming a fireman. It was as a fireman that he became more active politically, through the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) and later with the Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC).
Sillars was elected at a by-election in 1970 as Member of Parliament (MP) for South Ayrshire constituency, representing the Labour Party. He became well known as an articulate, intellectual left-winger, strongly in favour of the establishment of a devolved Scottish Assembly.
In 1976 he led a breakaway Scottish Labour Party (SLP). The formation of the SLP was inspired primarily by the failure of the then Labour Government to secure a Scottish Assembly. Sillars threw himself into establishing the SLP as a political force, but ultimately it would collapse following the 1979 General Election. At that election the SLP had nominated a mere three candidates (including Sillars who was attempting to hold on to his South Ayrshire seat). However only Sillars came remotely close to winning and it was this failure to secure a meaningful share of the vote that prompted the decision to disband.
In the early 1980s Sillars (along with many other former SLP members) joined the Scottish National Party (SNP). Being a left-winger he had fostered close links with the SNP internal 79 Group, who had encouraged him to join.
Sillars, along with the 79 Group and the former SLP members in the SNP, started to shape the SNP as a clearly defined, left-of-centre party. Policies adopted included the support of a non-payment scheme in relation to the poll tax introduced by the Conservative Government of Margaret Thatcher, as well as the policy of independence within Europe, of which Sillars was a leading exponent. Sillars also started talking in terms of direct action to bring prominence to the Scottish independence cause, stating that 'we must be prepared to hear the sound of cell doors slamming behind us if we are prepared to win independence'.
In 1988 Sillars was chosen as the SNP candidate for the Glasgow Govan by-election. Govan was a Labour seat (although Sillars' wife Margo MacDonald had won it for the SNP in a by-election previously, in 1973), but Sillars proved an inspired choice. His sound use of oratory and his street campaigning style brought life to the SNP and they won a dramatic victory.
Sillars would become the SNP's deputy leader, with many surprised he didn't stand for the party leadership when it became available in 1990. The 1992 General Election proved a disappointing one for Sillars personally as he lost his Govan seat. It was at this time that Sillars made his famous comment that the Scottish people were '90 minute patriots' (a reference to the amount of time a football match lasts).
This comment proved the beginning of a break with the SNP leadership. The then SNP leader Alex Salmond had been a Sillars ally, but his comments in the aftermath of the 1992 General Election (and it is also suspected the fact that Sillars supported Salmond's leadership contest opponent, Margaret Ewing) started this break.
Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
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Preceded by Emrys Hughes |
Member of Parliament for South Ayrshire 1970–1979 |
Succeeded by George Foulkes |
Preceded by Bruce Millan |
Member of Parliament for Glasgow Govan 1988–1992 |
Succeeded by Ian Davidson |
Party political offices | ||
Preceded by Alasdair Morgan |
Senior Vice Convener (Deputy Leader) of the Scottish National Party 1991–92 |
Succeeded by Allan Macartney |
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