MY political teeth were cut in sunny Leith. As an 11-year-old I became
deeply smitten by the excitement of the election, the rosettes, the
posting of bills, the public meetings, the vans with loudspeakers on
their roofs, the trading of insults; my family will tell you that
absolutely nothing has changed.
Thus I was a supporter of and leaflet deliverer for the Tory candidate
-- although he may well have been labelled a National Liberal and
Unionist in these days -- one Eoin C. Meekie who was attempting to end
the parliamentary career of the Labour incumbent, James Hoy.
There was a ditty we used to sing as we worked, proving pretty
conclusively to the rest of the population that we were a couple of
slices short of a pan loaf, which went something like this:
Vote, vote, vote for Mr Meekie,
He'll be knocking at your door,
He's the one to give us all the fun,
So we won't have Jimmy any more
-- Shut the door!
Well, sad to relate we never did beat the shrewd, old campaigner Mr,
later, Lord Hoy whose slogan was always ''A-Hoy for Leith'', although we
did run him to 72 votes on one occasion. This week I received a
Christmas card from his son Ian, once a Labour councillor now a Tory on
Edinbugh district, a personal friend of many years standing.
The young Hoy and I have had many a good crack about the old Leith
days and we have kept paternal eyes on the constituency. Ronald
King-Murray, who became a Judge, kept the seat in the moderate Labour
tradition; he was then followed by Ron Brown.
On the night that Ron was adopted, by one vote over his nearest rival
it was said, I was in Munich with the Labour convener of Lothian region,
John Crichton, a Leither in all things first. When the news of the Brown
selection came through it would be fair to say that his jaw dropped like
a Bruno opponent. It is also true that John worked hard for Ron at
several elections.
I was as astonished as he was at the choice. Ron Brown was an
Edinburgh councillor but the impression he had made there was of a
political light-weight who could not be, nor was he, entrusted with any
major responsibility. While the Robin Cooks and George Foulkes flew
high, Ron was confined to the back benches.
He was not without a pawky sense of humour which I note he has
retained. His reaction last week to the letter from campaigns
co-ordinator John Cunningham inviting him to a #500-a-head gala dinner
at which Neil Kinnock will speak was typical.
''I am going to send this letter to the police,'' declared Ron. ''The
Labour Party, particularly in the run-up to a General Election, can't be
involved in this kind of event -- if it is it would be absolutely
unbelievable. It is probably some kind of trick to discredit us.''
No, Ron, it is just a bunch of salon socialists being invited to
unload some of their guilt for making so much lolly under the Tories.
They deserve a speech from Neil.
While enjoying some of Mr Brown's jokes, however, I have to say that
the people of Leith have been ill-served by his stewardship. Members of
Parliament should be best remembered for matters other than underwear
raids.
The Conservative Party, nevertheless, must accept some of the blame
for Mr Brown's survival. They have fielded some candidates in this
consituency whose ability and suitability to represent Leith have been
exposed as pitifully thin.
This time it is going to be different.
Let me present Councillor Mohammad bin Ashiq Rizvi, MA, Ll.B, JP,
currently representing the New Town/Stockbridge division on Lothian
Regional Council and just adopted as the Tory prospective parliamentary
candidate; and a pal of mine to boot.
I recall when Mo fought his first successful election in 1986 there
were two very New Town Edinburgh ladies discussing their candidate.
'Rizvi -- what sort of name is that?'' demanded one.
''Italian,'' replied her friend.
He was, in fact, born in India but moved to Pakistan after
independence before coming to the UK in l962. Today, he is a freelance
insurance consultant.
Mo Rizvi held the regional seat, when many Tories were losing theirs,
by just 68 votes. In l990, not exactly a vintage year for the true-blues
either, he put the margin of victory up to 180.
He was the first Asian Conservative councillor in Scotland, he is the
first of his ethnic group to be adopted as a Tory prospective
parliamentary candidate and, as far as either of us are aware, he is the
only Asian chosen by any party in Scotland for this particular General
Election. And he intends to fight it all the way.
''They may not have seen too many Tory faces in Leith over the last
few years,'' he told me, ''but they had better get used to mine.''
Now why should we be all that excited about the forthcoming contest in
Leith where the Labour majority is 11,327? Because everyone and his
brother expects Ron Brown, de-selected by the comrades, to stand again
under whatever tag he chooses.
I don't think he has been a particularly bright MP. But there is
sympathy for the Browns in Leith, particularly May Brown for whom the
song Stand By Your Man might have been written, and his vote may not be
derisory.
Add to that the fact that the official Labour candidate, Malcolm
Chisholm, exudes all the excitement of watching grass growing, an SNP
vote which is surely going to rise -- only 4045 last time -- plus our
new lad and you could have a rather an explosive cocktail.
The boy Hoy and I have dusted down our songsheets and re-written the
slogan.
''A-Mo for Leith!''
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