The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Nicola Sturgeon and husband Peter Murrell attend the funeral of former SNP leader Gordon Wilson in Dundee.
First Ministers past and present pay tribute to Gordon Wilson
Tributes were paid to a man who laid the foundations of “a more self-confident Scotland” as former SNP leader Gordon Wilson was laid to rest in Dundee.
Mr Wilson, who was 79, led the party between 1979 and 1990 and represented the Dundee East constituency from 1974 to 1987.
He died in Roxburghe House hospice in the early hours of June 25 at the age of 79.
Mourners at the service of remembrance at St Peter’s Free Church included First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and Mr Wilson’s successor as SNP leader, former First Minister Alex Salmond.
Deputy First Minister and Perthshire North MSP John Swinney delivered a eulogy at the service.
He said Mr Wilson’s leadership of the SNP through the 1980s helped a party on the verge of disintegration survive and laid the foundations for its electoral successes.
Mr Swinney said: “He loved being an MP in this city. He loved bringing justice to the homes and the workplaces of those he had the privilege to represent.
“He was angry about what the people of Dundee had to endure and he acted at all times to make their lives better.”
Mr Swinney added: “Earlier this year, at an event in Dundee, I had the opportunity to say, in front of Gordon and (his wife) Edith, the only conclusion that I think it is fair to say — that the existence today of a Scottish Parliament, the existence of an SNP Government and the existence of a more selfconfident Scotland, is due to the foundations laid by Gordon Wilson. “I am very glad he heard me say that.” The Rev David Robertson, a personal friend of Mr Wilson, said: “Gordon was a friend and a mentor to me.
“The whole of Scotland is a poorer place without Gordon Wilson, a politician of integrity and intelligence.”
Mr Wilson is survived by his wife Edith, daughters Margaret and Katie and five grandchildren.
After the service, Ms Sturgeon said: “There probably wouldn’t be a Scottish Parliament, let alone an SNP Government, without the many years of dedicated service from people like Gordon Wilson.
“He will long be remembered as someone who helped to build modern Scotland as we know it.”
Mr Salmond said: “Today’s service captured it really well: Gordon was somebody with a really extraordinary code of belief.
“Belief in his own faith, or his politics, or his personal conduct, he kept that absolutely and that was a hugely admirable quality.”
Prime Minister Theresa May paid tribute to Mr Wilson in the House of Commons yesterday.
She said: “I am sure all members of this House will wish to both offer our condolences to the friends and family and colleagues of the late Gordon Wilson but also to recognise the role that he played in politics in the UK.”
Mr Wilson served as assistant national secretary from 1963-1964, national secretary from 1964-1971 and executive vice-chairman between 1972-1973.
During that time, he was a key figure in the party’s oil campaign, which coined the political slogan “It’s Scotland’s oil”.
Mr Wilson took over the party’s leadership following the failed 1979 referendum on Scottish devolution and the loss of nine of the party’s 11 MPs in the subsequent general election.
He presided over several poor general elections but the fortunes of the party began to improve, notably with the victory of Jim Sillars in the Govan by-election of 1988.