This Q&A session with MSP Christina McKelvie, whose death was announced on Thursday, first appeared in the August 2017 issue of iScot magazine.
Dave Bowman: You have obviously experienced the highs and lows of politics after more than 10 years as an MSP, but what has been your most exhilarating moment at Holyrood ... and the most depressing?
Christina McKelvie: I would say the most exhilarating moment for me in Holyrood was coming into government in 2007. Being able to make our manifesto a reality; to create policy on the back of our hopes and aspirations was an immense moment. It was the very early days of creating a better nation and towards a more inclusive, welcoming and equal Scotland.
I would say the most disappointing moment I’ve experienced is realising the limitations of our work. It’s the moment where, unfortunately, you have taken a case or an issue as far as you can go and it’s not the result you were expecting, a concrete example being that for years, even before I was an MSP, I have always fought for the rights of refugees.
To realise that, without notice or communication, the Home Office can rip families apart, forcefully deport members of my community and place them back in clear danger in their home country, was just despairing. Knowing that there is nothing directly that I can do to halt that process is tough – there’s no two ways about it.
So matching up the expectations of your work to the reality is sometimes disappointing, but – as always – we fight to the very end for our constituents.
DB: Can you tell me how your role and workload changed after first being elected as constituency member in 2011, having been originally elected as Central Scotland List representative four years earlier?
CM: I’ve heard it suggested that list MSPs don’t have as demanding a workload as constituency MSPs but it certainly wasn’t the case for me.
As a list MSP, I had already established my network of surgeries and contacts within the constituency. That was maintained and expanded upon when I was elected as the constituency MSP for Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse.
When I was elected as the constituency member, I would say that the type of cases we took up became slightly more complex and varied. As a result, I varied my staff accordingly, adapting to the needs of my constituents.
DB: Given that you were brought up in Easterhouse, was your family background Labour and how and when did you first get involved with the SNP?
CM: No is the straight answer.
It wasn’t Labour. My dad was an iron-moulder in the shipyards, then he moved on to the steelworks in Lanarkshire. He was great friends with the late Jimmy Reid and often engaged in great political debates with him.
To that end, it would be untrue of me to say that my dad didn’t often flirt with communism as a younger man but he never joined the party.
My mother was firmly rooted in her Scots-Irish history and firmly believed in Home Rule for Scotland. Political discourse, conversation and the ideas of nationhood was common in our house.
My first involvement with the SNP came in the 1979 referendum with my dad, who by that time was an active campaigner for the party in Easterhouse. He had supported numerous SNP candidates from our community to become SNP councillors and you could say I was smitten since then.
However, growing up in the Thatcher era was the defining moment of clarity for me – Scotland should be an independent country. I think that could be the same for a lot of activists and elected representatives now.
Growing up under the Thatcher administration brought it home for me – the individualism, the “take all” mentality, the loss of the post-war consensus. From then on, I knew Scotland had the potential to be different and I’ve campaigned for it ever since.
DB: You are on record as saying that 1967 Hamilton by-election winner Winnie Ewing is “a personal inspiration” for you, even though you weren’t around when the SNP claimed that historic electoral victory. So can you sum up what Winnie means to you and how you believe she changed the face of Scottish politics? And who are your other political heroes?
CM: You’re correct, I wasn’t around back then – that’s me giving my age away! But again, this is where the influence of my mother always resonates with me. Winnie’s victory wasn’t just a victory for the SNP; it was a victory across all of society.
On class, on gender, on social strata, Winnie defied it all. A working woman, a working mother for that matter, she broke through the glass ceiling and took her place where she belonged – right at the front of our movement.
Winnie was a trailblazer, no doubt about it. All those of us who came after Winnie have her as the benchmark, the model to aspire to. This is the woman who went into the male-dominated world of Westminster politics and shone brighter than most around her.
At the time, and certainly for me growing up, she was the literal ambassador of the message: “this girl can”. Winnie changed the face of Scottish politics, through her sheer determination.
Her unexpected by-election victory sent shock waves around the establishment. She proved to many of us that it could be done and firmly put Scotland on the map with her now-famous quote: “Stop the world, Scotland wants to get on.”
Other political heroines would include Rosa Parks. Sometimes in order to stand up for something, you must sit down.
DB: You are a committed trade unionist and former convenor of the SNP’s Parliamentary TU Group, so how important is it that the party maintains strong and close links with the movement, while at the same time being seen to act in the national interest?
CM: A nation’s potential and value is firmly in its people. A government that doesn’t have a good relationship with its trade unions, the representatives of the people is not a representative government.
It remains vital that the Scottish Government has done what we have always done – worked with our trade unions, worked with our workers as a constructive, insightful and, yes, sometimes critical partner.
DB: Human rights and equality are also key priorities for you, so can you explain your role as convenor of the committee on these issues at Holyrood and tell us what has been achieved since you began chairing the committee last year?
CM: The EHRiC is a reformed committee. Under the new powers from the Scotland Act (2016), the Scottish Parliament received a range of new legislative powers. As such, our committee expanded its remit to include human rights and what the Scottish Parliament can now do as a world-leading guarantor of human rights.
In our fairly short time as a committee, we have achieved so much. We have opened up a wide discussion on equalities and human rights, shining a light on the not-so-often discussed issues.
For example, we have brought to the table a discussion on access to university for those with a disability; restitution and asylum for those with insecure immigration status – and especially for those who are victims of domestic violence, school bullying and prejudice-based harassment – plus the proposal, which is still an ongoing piece of work from the committee, to review prisoner voting rights.
DB: You must get a great kick out of being able to use your position as an MSP to promote great charities and good causes like MND Scotland, LGBT rights, Amnesty International, breast cancer awareness etc – or is it the case that you wish you could do a lot more to help these groups and affected individuals?
CM: It’s not so much a kick – more a responsibility and one that I take very seriously. My work with MND Scotland is, like most of everyone’s work, shaped by my experiences. That big strong dad of mine succumbed to MND after a number of years. MND Scotland remains very close to my heart and I will always champion the pursuit of a cure for MND.
My work with LGBTI organisations is rooted in the principles of equality: you should love who you love, without fear or prejudice. Working together with the TIE campaign is one of the very ways we will achieve that equality. On behalf of every LGBTI young member in Scotland, we will achieve inclusive education. We will ensure our schools will be safe, welcoming environments for all our young people.
It’s not all serious though, and this is where my relationship with Breast Cancer Now shines through. Every year I get politicians to “wear it pink”, to get dressed up in their finest pink costumes for breast cancer.
For a disease that touches so many and causes untold distress, “wear it pink” allows us to colourfully tell cancer that we will find a cure.
Being an internationalist means I’m naturally drawn to work (with) Amnesty International – to defend, protect and promote the rights of women and children, not just in Scotland but around the world.
Recently I have been involved in the fight for Raif Badawi and Amnesty International’s campaign to free Raif. I have also, proudly, been involved in the campaign to hold the Chechnya authorities to account over their deliberate targeting of members of their LGBTI community.
But it’s always worth doing more. It’s never enough. Don’t ever realise your limits until you’ve reached them and even then, push a little bit more. It’s always pushing the issue, pushing the envelope just that little further to achieve what could be a massive result for your constituents or for anyone who asks for your help.
DB: In Parliament, you were highly critical of the Tory/DUP agreement to prop up Theresa May’s minority government at Westminster, but surely the pact cannot last a full five years?
And, whatever happens, won’t the association with the hardline DUP help convince voters all over the UK that the Tories are the nasty party again and therefore assist all the opposition parties, including the SNP?
CM: Rightly critical I may add. What the deal proves is that Theresa May’s one and only concern is the pursuit of power. I believe she doesn’t care if they (the Tories) are described as the nasty party.
Her actions speak louder than her words. In coalition with the DUP, who would wish to regress all the positive and progressive steps towards equality we have achieved, the Tories have found an unlikely but most reprehensible ally.
I actually think this coalition will last longer than people predict. Both parties seek power. Not for the many, but for themselves.
They will hang on to that power for as long as time allows. Whether that will help other parties, such as the SNP, time will tell. One thing is for sure, it’s certainly shaken off the shroud of political apathy – your vote matters. Every single last vote counts – ask Stephen Gethins and his gargantuan majority of two votes!
DB: In her keynote address to Parliament in the wake of the General Election, the First Minister pledged that the SNP would work more closely with all Yes movement groups and organisations to build a pro-indy consensus in readiness for a second referendum following the completion of the Brexit negotiations.
So what does the party and individual members need to do to make this happen?
CM: Although the SNP have always been a party of independence for Scotland, we have realised that to achieve independence, it will take much more than one party. It will take us all.
If we truly believe that this is the decision for the people of Scotland – and we do truly believe that – then the people of Scotland must be in charge. They must have their voice heard.
The party will work closely with other like-minded organisations and individuals. With the impending Brexit disaster that awaits us, Scotland will have a choice, and through the SNP, we will have an option to take a different path.
We can reverse and combat the isolationist stance befalling the UK Government. That is only possible, however, if we all work together.
DB: If you had the opportunity to have a single piece of legislation passed into law at Holyrood, what would it be – even if it includes something which is still reserved to Westminster?
CM: The biggest scourge of the 21st century is poverty. The UK is currently the sixth richest nation on earth, yet there are constituents of mine who rely on the inspiring work of Hamilton District Food Bank.
To combat poverty, it takes more than just one piece of legislation.
It requires control over our own affairs, over our tax affairs, over immigration, over employment and over all our social security aspects.
DB: And finally, what are your hobbies and interests outside politics?
CM: For the time that I find outside of politics, and it’s not much, spending time with family and friends is what keeps me on track.
