 | 'Ewing was regarded as a young radical in the Seventies but also built up a reputation as a hard-working representative to whom her constituents had easy access. A combination of her early enthusiasm and years of experience made her a widely respected figure.' The Times, 22 nd March 2006. |  |
Long-serving Scottish nationalist who won the respect of friend and foe alike both at Westminster and at Holyrood.
MARGARET EWING was part of a dynasty of Scottish nationalist politics that included her husband Fergus, an SNP member of the Scottish Parliament, and her mother-in-law, Winnie, the partyÕs veteran president.
Ewing was one of ScotlandÕs longest-serving elected politicians and was a popular figure among her opponents at Westminster, to which she was first elected 32 years ago, and at the Scottish Parliament in Holyrood.
Margaret Anne McAdam was born in rural Lanarkshire in 1945. She was educated at Biggar High School and the universities of Glasgow and Strathclyde. She began work as a teacher, rising to the post of principal teacher of remedial education at St ModanÕs High School in Stirling. She joined the SNP in 1966, under the influence of her future mother-in-law.
In the election of February 1974 Ewing stood for the East Dunbartonshire parliamentary seat but came third behind the Conservative winner and Labour. The second general election of 1974 in October saw her take the seat, beating the Tory by a majority of just 22. Ewing was part of the SNP 'football team' of 11 MPs elected to Westminster that year and was appointed SNP spokesman on education and social services. Five years later she lost the seat, being beaten into third place by Labour, with the Tories second. It was the end of a golden period for Scottish nationalism with a referendum on devolution failing to reach the required majority.
In the 1983 election she stood at Strathkelvin and Bearsden, coming a distant fourth. Despite that defeat, Ewing was later elected deputy leader of the SNP. In 1987 she returned to Parliament, taking Moray from the Tories with a healthy majority. She was one of the pioneering campaigners for winter heating payments and was also a powerful advocate for the Scottish whisky industry, which had a strong representation in her constituency.
She became SNP leader in the Commons and was tipped as a possible successor to the party leader, Gordon Wilson, when he stepped down after 11 years at the helm in September 1990. A close contest with Alex Salmond was forecast, and she was believed to be WilsonÕs chosen candidate, but at the party annual conference Salmond won with 486 votes to EwingÕs 186. In 1999 Ewing became MSP for Moray and in 2001, along with most of her colleagues, stood down from Westminster to concentrate on the Scottish Parliament.
In 2002 she was found to be suffering from breast cancer and last August announced she would stand down from Holyrood at the elections in 2007.
Ewing was regarded as a young radical in the Seventies but also built up a reputation as a hard-working representative to whom her constituents had easy access. A combination of her early enthusiasm and years of experience made her a widely respected figure.
Much of her ambition was blunted by the crushing defeat to Salmond in 1990 after which she adopted a lower profile. At Holyrood Ewing was given the unpromising post of rural affairs spokesman but brought all her energies to the job.
A sign of her mellowing over the years came in 1995 when she said that LabourÕs plan for a devolved parliament was likely to bring independence more quickly than waiting for the electorate to vote for it. She had broken an SNP taboo, but many observers remarked that her views were common sense.
Her first marriage to Donald Bain, an economist and SNP researcher, ended in divorce in 1980 after 12 years. She is survived by her second husband, whom she married in 1983.
Margaret Ewing, MSP, was born on September 1, 1945. She died on March 21, 2006, aged 60.
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