Remembering Our Tam
The Linlithgow Labour Party was saddened to receive the news that our former Member of Parliament Tam Dalyell had died after a short illness.
Our Tam, as he was affectionately known to us and many of his constituents, was truly one of a kind. A huge figure on the national stage, making big impacts on serious issues continuously for many years while at the same time representing thousands of constituents on everyday problems in every nook and cranny of his widespread constituency.
He made everyone he met feel they had been taken seriously, and usually got some action taken on their problem.
He had a vast network of contacts and thought nothing of using it to solve constituents’ troubles. Heaven help you if you were the managing director or board director of a large corporation and your firm had given poor service or faulty goods because you were the one Tam contacted directly. It was the same if you had problems in another country - Tam probably knew them so wrote directly to the top politician or government official urging them to get it sorted.
Consequently, he was loved, admired and respected in many homes and every community in West Lothian. He was a brilliant MP and everyone in the constituency knew who their MP was and what he was about. We also knew that he was part of a team and that Kathleen was the other half of that team, working tirelessly to support the work and bring success in all its endeavours.
There was never a dull moment in the Labour Party when Tam was about because he always raised his concerns of the day with the party before he launched them on the world. Seeking our views, taking them on board before launching them in Parliament or some national conference.
They were always very serious issues, nothing trivial for our Tam and sometimes we felt like we were living a couple of days in front of the news headlines.
He stuck to his beliefs and would not change course to do the expedient thing, the crowd pleaser, the smart thing, he was just the most principled person we have ever met.
So, let’s remember him as Our Tam and be thankful for his time and his work on our behalf here in West Lothian but be happy to share him with the thousands of people all over the world whose lives he touched for the better.