 | 'The new regime has had a bad if not disastrous start, and it will have to sharpen up if Team Henry is not to be relegated next season.' Iain MacWhirter in the Sunday Herald, 29 th October 2000. |  |
| 'The new regime has had a bad if not disastrous start, and it will have to sharpen up if Team Henry is not to be relegated next season.' Iain MacWhirter in the Sunday Herald, 29 th October 2000. | |
Mr Munro last night failed to be selected as Labour's candidate to fight former Scottish First Minister Donald Dewar's Glasgow Anniesland seat in the Scottish Parliament.
Instead, the honour went to Glasgow City Councillor Bill Butler, a teacher, who defeated Mr Munro by 96 votes to 39.
Mr Munro, 47, from Portree, left Runrig three years ago, and has since had a successful solo career. His foray into formal politics first saw him fight the Ross, Skye and Inverness West seat at the 1997 General Election, failing in his attempt in 1997 to unseat Charles Kennedy, who had represented the seat at Westminster, in one form or another, since 1983.
He then failed again to represent the Skye seat at Holyrood against the Liberal Democrats' John Farquhar Munro, who won the seat with a majority of 1539.
The man from Kintail took 11,652 votes in the poll for the Scottish Parliament, beating Mr Munro into second place in a constituency which stretches from Cromarty, on the north-east tip of the Black Isle, to Dunvegan Head in the north west of Skye.
Although Labour and the rock star had real hopes of taking this seat, the issues of fuel prices, the Skye bridge, and student tuition fees worked against them, but Mr Munro still came a highly respectable second, attracting 10,113 votes. He substantially increased Labour's share of the vote both times and narrowly missed being elected.
It was a blow to Mr Munro who had passed up the chance of nomination as the MSP for Labour's safest seat in Scotland - Glasgow Shettleston - to fight the battle for Skye at Holyrood.
Ironically, his decision not to stand in Shettleston freed the way for former Glasgow City Council leader Frank McAveety to get the nomination and win the seat.
Mr Munro's bidding for Mr Dewar's Anniesland Scottish Parliamentary seat carried a further irony, in that it came only a few weeks after he had been urged by Mr Dewar to stand for the Scottish Parliament again.
The father of four is the director of development at Sabhal Mor Ostaig Gaelic college on Skye, and rector of the University of the Highlands and Islands project.
He has been used by Labour in national recruitment campaigns and was the party's spokesman on the Highlands and Islands - and the Gaelic language - in the run-up to the last Scottish Parliament elections. He was also an adviser to Ministers on Scottish arts and culture as a member of the Advisory Group on the Arts for the Scottish Executive.
Mr Munro's career began in the early 1970s when he left his native Skye to study art at Gray's School of Art, Aberdeen. Later, he taught art, became a successful rock star and served as rector of Edinburgh University from 1991 to 1994. His paintings continue to be sold at leading contemporary galleries.
Last night, as he left the Anniesland selection meeting, he was said to be disappointed, but wished Mr Butler well.
The victorious candidate, who is married to Patricia Ferguson, the Deputy Presiding Officer in Holyrood and MSP for Glasgow Maryhill, said later: "It is a tremendous honour and privilege to be chosen for this key seat. Nobody can replace Donald Dewar, and no sensible person would even try."
Mr Butler has been a Glasgow councillor for 13 years, having fought five local elections. He represents the Tollcross Park Ward and is vice-convener of the big policy and resources committee.
Labour had earlier selected local party chairman John Robertson to fight the late First Minister's seat at Westminster. Mr Robertson was Mr Dewar's election agent for the past six years.
First Minister Henry McLeish said: "The local party have made a first class choice. As First Minister I want to see as many Labour MSPs as possible join the hustings to help achieve a Labour victory."
The SNP and LibDems were still meeting last night to choose their candidates for the contests on November 23. The Scottish Tories will select their candidate tonight.
Single parent Rose Kane will fight the Holyrood seat for the Scottish Socialist Party, whose candidate for the Westminster seat will be nursing union activist Charlie McCarthy.
- Oct 31
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