Health campaigner;

Born: April 1, 1945; Died: November 6, 2011.

ERNEST Walker, who has died aged 66, was a single-issue politician who inadvertently helped secure the first SNP administration at the Scottish Parliament.

Mr Walker, known as Ernie, a former health service chief in the south of England, was the pivotal figure in a campaign against the downgrading of St John's Hospital in Livingston, West Lothian.

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