Conservative MSP Liz Smith discusses her favourite books

What was your favourite book as a child? The Ladybird book of cricket was always a favourite of mine growing up. Which fictional character did you most identify with as a child? I would have said Oor Wullie, which was always my favourite comic when I was young, but my family tell me I was also intrigued by Sooty. Although he never spoke in the Sooty and Sweep TV shows, I always managed to guess what was going to happen from his actions. Apparently, I was given Sooty and Sweep puppets for my fifth birthday. Is there a book which got you into politics? Grand Inquisitor by (political journalist and broadcaster) Sir Robin Day. Grand Inquisitor is his autobiography and details many of his famous interviews with the leading politicians of the day. Which book couldn’t you finish? The Phenomenology of Spirit by Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel. At university, l read Economics, Politics and Philosophy and was particularly intrigued by the philosophy courses. The German philosopher Hegel - who I read as a precursor to studying Marxism - was a big ask in terms of intelligibility. What is your favourite novel and why? My favourite novel is probably Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson. As well as being a great adventure story, it is also very evocative of the Scottish wilderness that I love. Is there a book you would recommend to other MSPS? First Lady: The Life and Wars of Clementine Churchill by the journalist Sonia Purnell. This is a wonderful book about the wife of Winston Churchill, who became a life peer after his death. It’s very good on looking at the barriers women had to overcome in politics. Which book would you be embarrassed about others seeing on your bookshelf during a Zoom call? I don’t think l have any book that causes me embarrassment.