Gordon Wilson (politician, 1938)

Gordon Wilson (born April 16, 1938 in Govan , † June 25, 2017 ) was a British politician of the Scottish National Party (SNP).

Life

Coming from Glasgow , Wilson moved to Paisley with his wife Edith and their two daughters in the early 1960s . From 1963 he worked there as a solicitor , most recently between 1971 and 1974 for TF Reid & Donaldson . Wilson passed away on June 25, 2017 after a brief illness.

Political career

In the 1960s, Wilson acted as party secretary for the SNP. Around this time he was also one of the driving forces behind the It's Scotland's oil campaign , which was instrumental in the rise of the SNP. In the 1980s Wilson was chairman of the SNP and was replaced by Alex Salmond in 1990 .

After the Labor politician George Thomson , who had represented the constituency of Dundee East in the House of Commons since 1952 , was appointed EU commissioner in 1973 , he gave up his mandate, which is why by-elections were necessary in the constituency. The SNP set up Wilson for these. In the elections held on March 1, 1973, Wilson could not prevail against the Labor candidate George Machin .

In the following regular elections in February 1974 , Wilson ran again for the mandate of Dundee East. After winning the vote, this time he prevailed against Machin and subsequently moved into the British House of Commons for the first time. In the following elections in October of the same year . as well as 1979 and 1983 he held his mandate. It was not until the general election in 1987 that Wilson was defeated by Labor candidate John McAllion and left the House of Commons. In Parliament, 4417 contributions from Wilson were recorded.

Works

• SNP the Turbulent Years 1960-1990 , ISBN 0-951-28207-7
• Pirates of the Air , 2011, ISBN 0-951-28208-5
• Scotland: The Battle for Independence: A History of the Scottish National Party 1990-2014 , 2014, ISBN 0-957-22853-8

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} Gordon Wilson in Hansard (English)
2. ↑ ^{a b} BBC News: Former SNP leader Gordon Wilson dies June 25, 2016.
3. ↑ ^{a b} Daily Record: Ex-SNP chief Gordon books in with fond memories of Paisley , November 16, 2009.
4. ^ Scottish Conservative and Unionist Association: Annual Conference , 1975, p. 73.
5. ↑ Results of the February 1974 general election ( Memento of the original from August 20, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
6. ↑ Results of the lower house elections in October 1974 ( memento of the original from August 20, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
7. ↑ Results of the 1979 general election ( Memento of the original from September 24, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
8. ↑ Results of the parliamentary elections in 1983 ( Memento of the original from September 24, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
9. ↑ Results of the lower house elections in 1987 ( Memento of the original from August 11, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 

Web links

• Gordon Wilson at Hansard (English)