Harry Ewing, Baron Ewing of Kirkford

Harry Ewing, Baron Ewing of Kirkford (born January 20, 1931 in Cowdenbeath , Fife , Scotland , † June 9, 2007 in Dunfermline , Fife, Scotland) was a Scottish politician and life peer .

life and career

Early years

Ewing's father, William Ewing, worked in the coal mining industry for 51 years and served on Cowdenbeath City Council for 38 years. Ewing attended Beath High School , one of the best state schools in Scotland. Unlike his two brothers, he did not follow his father into the coal mines, but instead completed an apprenticeship in a foundry after having previously served in the military from 1949 to 1951.

In 1960 Ewing joined the Labor Party , two years later he left the foundry and instead began a job at the post office , which he would keep for the next nine years. During this time he was involved in the Union of Post Office Workers , later the Communication Workers Union . He was also active in the co-operative party .

In the 1970 general election , he ran in the East Fife constituency , but was defeated by Conservative MP John Gilmour . However, as early as 1971 Ewing was able to move into the House of Commons . The death of longtime MP Malcolm MacPherson made a by-election in the Stirling and Falkirk district necessary, in which Ewing was able to prevail against the Scottish National Party candidate , Robert McIntyre . The latter had been the first MP of his party for a short time in 1945.

Member of the House of Commons

In his inaugural address in the House of Commons, Ewing addressed the European Economic Community , which he was critical of throughout his political career. At the beginning of his time in Parliament, he primarily devoted himself to housing policy. In 1973 he was elected secretary of the Scottish Labor MPs group, and he was also chairman of the party's postal and telecommunications committee. When Harold Wilson surprisingly became Prime Minister the following year, he appointed Ewing Undersecretary in the Scotland Ministry .

Ewing's position in the Ministry of Scotland had come largely through the advocacy of Edward Short , who was impressed by his dealings with the growing Scottish National Party in his home district. However , Ewing did not always agree with the minister responsible, William Ross .

Ewing has always been an advocate of greater autonomy for Scotland, as he saw this as the only way to counter the demands for Scottish independence. At the beginning of the 1970s, there was absolutely no agreement within the Laour Party on this matter, and it was only the alarming successes of the SNP in the October 1974 elections that ensured that Ewing's convictions also became the official party line. This in turn only followed Ross to a limited extent. Although he spoke out in favor of a Scottish Parliament of its own , he tried to curtail its rights and responsibilities again and again.

When James Callaghan took office in 1976, he initially wanted to replace Ross with Dickson Mabon . Among other things, Ewings' contradiction led to Bruce Millan being installed as the new Scotland Minister instead . Ewing remained Undersecretary and continued to devote himself to Scottish autonomy. However, he had to see this fail when the referendum in Scotland in 1979 did not find enough supporters for an independent Scottish parliament.

After the 1979 election defeat , he became party spokesman for Scotland issues. Much appreciated by Labor MEPs from Scotland, he was more of an outsider in the UK party as a whole, as illustrated by his unsuccessful candidacies for parliamentary group chairmanship and the shadow cabinet in 1981. In 1983 he nominated Peter Shore for the election of party chairman, but with only 3 percent of the vote he had no chance.

After the 1987 elections , Ewing moved to the lower ranks of parliament at his own request; in 1989 he announced that he no longer wanted to run for the lower house in the 1992 parliamentary elections .

Late years

In 1989, a week after he announced his intention to retire from the House of Commons, Ewing became chairman of the Scottish Constitutional Convention , which worked out plans for Scottish autonomy in the Labor Party's 1992 election manifesto. After leaving the House of Commons in 1992, he was promoted to Life Peer . He has since officially held the title of Baron Ewing of Kirkford, of Cowdenbeath in the District of Dunfermline and took a place in the House of Lords .

In 1995 he was appointed Deputy Lieutenant for Fife. In the House of Lords he was initially spokesman for Scotland issues, but resigned from this office in November 1996.

When a separate parliament was actually formed in Scotland after Tony Blair's election victory and the 1997 referendum , he declined to run for reasons of age. Nevertheless, he followed the political events in Scotland very closely and was still active in the House of Lords until 2001 .

In the course of his life, Ewing fell ill with cancer twice. He ultimately died of this disease in 2007 in a hospital in Dunfermline. He left behind his wife Margaret, whom he married in 1954, and two children.

Web links

• Harry Ewing at Hansard (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g} Obituary on telegraph.co.uk , accessed March 8, 2015
2. ↑ ^{a b c d} biography at scottish-places.info accessed on March 8, 2015
3. ^ ^{A b} Harry Ewing, Baron Ewing of Kirkford on thepeerage.com , accessed September 11, 2016.
4. ↑ ^{a b c} Obituary on heraldscotland.com , accessed March 8, 2015
5. ↑ ^{a b c d e f} Obituary on scotsman.com , accessed March 8, 2015
6. ↑ ^{a b c} Obituary on theguardian.com , accessed March 8, 2015