Gordon Wilson (Scottish Politician)
Robert Gordon Wilson (16 April 1938 – 25 June 2017) was a Scottish politician and solicitor. He was the leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) from 1979 to 1990, and was SNP Member of Parliament (MP) for Dundee East from 1974 to 1987. He was Rector of the University of Dundee from 1983 to 1986. Background Wilson was born in Glasgow, the son of Elizabeth Murray and Robert George Wilson, a butcher's van driver. He was educated at Douglas High School for Boys on the Isle of Man, and the University of Edinburgh, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Laws degree. Following graduation, Wilson qualified as a solicitor, and worked for T.F. Reid Solicitors in Paisley from 1963 until his election as an MP in 1974. Political career Wilson joined the Scottish National Party in 1959, on his graduation from university. He was "controller" of the political pirate radio station Radio Free Scotland, which broadcast on a frequency used by BBC between 1956 and 1965, moving the loca ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Leader Of The Scottish National Party
The leader of the Scottish National Party is the highest position within Scotland's Scottish National Party (SNP). The incumbent is John Swinney, who was elected unopposed in the 2024 Scottish National Party leadership election, 2024 leadership election on 6 May 2024, succeeding Humza Yousaf as party leader. Scotland has had Scottish Government, a devolved government since 1999. When the SNP is Scotland's major governing party, as it currently is, its leader has also been the First Minister of Scotland. History The post was officially created on 7 April 1934 with the foundation of the SNP. The role was titled Chairman of the Scottish National Party from 1934 until 1969, with the first chairman, Alexander MacEwen, appointed to the office in 1934. In 1969 the title of chairman was replaced with that of National Convener, with William Wolfe the first person elected as National Convener. The post gained its current title of ''Leader'' at the SNP spring conference on 24 April 2004 ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Isle Of Man
The Isle of Man ( , also ), or Mann ( ), is a self-governing British Crown Dependency in the Irish Sea, between Great Britain and Ireland. As head of state, Charles III holds the title Lord of Mann and is represented by a Lieutenant Governor. The government of the United Kingdom is responsible for the Isle of Man's military defence and represents it abroad, but the Isle of Man still has a separate international identity. Humans have lived on the island since before 6500 BC. Gaelic cultural influence began in the 5th century AD, when Irish missionaries following the teaching of St Patrick began settling the island, and the Manx language, a branch of the Goidelic languages, emerged. In 627, King Edwin of Northumbria conquered the Isle of Man along with most of Mercia. In the 9th century, Norsemen established the thalassocratic Kingdom of the Isles, which included the Hebrides and the Northern Isles, along with the Isle of Man as the southernmost island. Magnus Bar ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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October 1974 United Kingdom General Election
The October 1974 United Kingdom general election took place on Thursday 10 October 1974 to elect 635 members of the House of Commons. It was the second general election held that year; the first year in which two general elections had been held in the same year since 1910; and the first time that two general elections had been held less than a year apart from each other since the 1923 and 1924 elections, which took place 10 months apart. The election resulted in a narrow victory for the Labour Party, led by Prime Minister Harold Wilson, which won a wafer-thin majority of three seats, the narrowest in modern British history. It was to remain the last general election victory for the Labour Party until 1997, with the Conservative Party winning majorities in the next four general elections. It would also be the last time Labour won more seats at a national election than the Conservatives until the 1989 European Parliament election. This remains the most recent General Election ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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The Herald (Glasgow)
''The Herald'' is a Scottish broadsheet newspaper founded in 1783. ''The Herald'' is the longest running national newspaper in the world and is the eighth oldest daily paper in the world. The title was simplified from ''The Glasgow Herald'' in 1992. Following the closure of the '' Sunday Herald'', the ''Herald on Sunday'' was launched as a Sunday edition on 9 September 2018. History Founding The newspaper was founded by an Edinburgh-born printer called John Mennons in January 1783 as a weekly publication called the ''Glasgow Advertiser''. Mennons' first edition had a global scoop: news of the treaties of Versailles reached Mennons via the Lord Provost of Glasgow just as he was putting the paper together. War had ended with the American colonies, he revealed. ''The Herald'', therefore, is as old as the United States of America, give or take an hour or two. The story was, however, only carried on the back page. Mennons, using the larger of two fonts available to him, put it in t ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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February 1974 United Kingdom General Election
The February 1974 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday 28 February 1974. The Labour Party (UK), Labour Party, led by former Prime Minister Harold Wilson, gained 14 seats (301 total) but was seventeen short of an overall majority. The Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Party, led by Prime Minister Edward Heath, lost 28 seats (though it polled a higher share of the vote than Labour). That resulted in a hung parliament, the first since 1929 United Kingdom general election, 1929. Heath sought a coalition with the Liberal Party (UK), Liberals, but the two parties failed to come to an agreement and so Wilson became prime minister for a second time, his first with a minority government. Wilson called another early election in September, October 1974 United Kingdom general election, which was held in October and resulted in a Labour majority. The February election was also the first general election to be held with the United Kingdom as a member state of the European C ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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1970 United Kingdom General Election
The 1970 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday 18 June 1970. It resulted in a surprise victory for the Conservative Party under leader Edward Heath, which defeated the governing Labour Party under Prime Minister Harold Wilson. The Liberal Party, under its new leader Jeremy Thorpe, lost half its seats. The Conservatives, including the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), secured a majority of 30 seats. This general election was the first in which people could vote from the age of 18, after passage of the Representation of the People Act the previous year, and the first UK election in which party affiliations of candidates were put on the ballots. Most opinion polls prior to the election indicated a comfortable Labour victory, and put Labour up to 12.4% ahead of the Conservatives. On election day, however, a late swing gave the Conservatives a 3.4% lead and ended almost six years of Labour government, although Wilson remained leader of the Labour Party in opposition. Wri ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Sheffield
Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its southern suburbs were transferred from Derbyshire to the city council. It is the largest settlement in South Yorkshire and the third largest of Northern England. The city is in the North Midlands, in the eastern foothills of the Pennines and the valleys of the River Don with its four tributaries: the Loxley, the Porter Brook, the Rivelin and the Sheaf. Sixty-one per cent of Sheffield's entire area is green space and a third of the city lies within the Peak District national park and is the fifth-largest city in England. There are more than 250 parks, woodlands and gardens in the city, which is estimated to contain around 4.5 million trees. Sheffield played a crucial role in the Industrial Revolution, developing many signifi ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Scottish Conservative Party
The Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party (), known as Scottish Tories, is part of the UK Conservative Party active in Scotland. It currently holds 5 of the 57 Scottish seats in the House of Commons, 30 of the 129 seats in the Scottish Parliament, and comprises 206 of Scotland's 1,226 local councillors. The party's policies in Scotland usually promote conservatism and the continuation of Scotland's role as part of the United Kingdom. The party's policies promote conservatism and a pro-union position supporting Scotland continuing to be part of the United Kingdom. The Leader of the Scottish Conservative Party is Russell Findlay who was elected to the role in September 2024. The party campaigns in elections to the UK Parliament, Scottish Parliament and local government. The party evolved in its present structure from the Unionist Party which existed from 1912 to 1965, combining elements from the pre-1912 Conservative Party in Scotland and the Liberal Unionists. Gra ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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List Of Provosts Of Dundee
The Lord Provost of Dundee is the chair and civic head of the Dundee City Council in Scotland. They are elected by the city council and serve not only as the chair of that body, but as a figurehead and Lord Lieutenant for the city. They are equivalent in many ways to the institution of Mayor that exists in other countries. Each of the 32 Scottish local authorities elects a Provost (civil), Provost, but it is only the four largest cities, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Dundee that have a Lord Provost. This is enshrined in the ''Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994''. The Middle Ages, Mediaeval burgh of Dundee was administered by officials known as "Bailies", Provosts and the office of "Constable of Dundee". The office of Provost as the single chief official of the burgh was not created until the 1480s. List of provosts and lord provosts Provosts 15th century 16th century 17th century 18th century 19th century Lord Provosts Deputy lieutenants A ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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1973 Dundee East By-election
The 1973 Dundee East by-election, in Scotland, was held on 1 March 1973. It was one of three UK parliamentary by-elections held on that day. It was caused by the appointment of George Thomson as a European commissioner. George Machin retained the seat for Labour, but only narrowly. There was a strong showing by the Scottish National Party, which prefigured their serious breakthrough at the Govan by-election later in the year, and the two general elections of 1974. Background Thomson had represented the seat since winning it in a a by-election in 1952. Since the seat's creation in 1950 it had returned Labour members, and until the 1970 general election Labour's majorities over the second placed Conservative candidates had ranged from a low of 3,805 votes in 1951 to a high of 8,126 at the 1952 by-election. However, in 1970 the Labour vote share fell below 50% for the first time and Thomson's majority over the second-placed Conservative candidate Allan Stewart was 2,798 votes ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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It's Scotland's Oil
"It's Scotland's oil" was a widely publicised political slogan used by the Scottish National Party (SNP) during the 1970s in making their economic case for Scottish independence. It was argued that the discovery of North Sea oil off the coast of Scotland, and the revenue that it created, would not benefit Scotland to any significant degree while Scotland remained part of the United Kingdom. The SNP campaigned widely in both the February 1974 UK General Election and subsequent October 1974 UK General Election using this slogan. At the February election the SNP gained seven seats in the House of Commons and 22% of the Scottish vote, rising to eleven seats and 30% of the vote in the October election. The idea behind the slogan has proven to be controversial in discussions surrounding the financial viability of an independent Scottish state and still resonates to this day. Background The outcome of the February 1974 general election saw the Labour Party, led by Harold Wilson, win ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Radio Free Scotland
Between 1956 and 1965 Radio Free Scotland (RFS) broadcast through the audio channel of BBC television (then on VHF) after ''God Save the Queen'' finished in the evening, and, later on, on 262 metres medium wave on the radio. The station was the initiative of David Rollo, an electrical engineer who served as the Scottish National Party (SNP)'s treasurer and head of broadcasting. He built a transmitter in the Townhead Cafe in Kirkintilloch with Alvaro Rossi. The first broadcast interrupted a BBC newscast when viewers in Perth were told to stay tuned following sign off. This "pirate" radio transmission opened with the provocative statement: "This is Radio Free Scotland proclaiming to the nation that the fight for independence is on in earnest". This roving station was heard for almost a month in Glasgow, Ayrshire and Perth. Leading figures in Radio Free Scotland included "Controller General", Gordon Wilson, who later became an MP (1974–1987) and was Chairman (Convener) of the ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |