Renfrew District Council
Renfrew District () was, between 1975 and 1996, one of nineteen local government districts in the Strathclyde region of Scotland.
History
The district was created in 1975 under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973, which established a two- ...
in 1984 and became its leader in 1987. He was elected to the House of Commons for Paisley South in a
1990 by-election
Year 199 ( CXCIX) was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was sometimes known as year 952 ''Ab urbe condita''. The denomination 199 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno D ...
, triggered by the death of
Norman Buchan
Norman Findlay Buchan (27 October 1922 – 23 October 1990) was a Labour Party politician, who was on the left-wing of the party, and represented the West Renfrewshire seat from 1964 until 1983 and the Paisley South seat from 1983 until his de ...
. In parliament, he campaigned for the rights of disabled people and against
recreational drug use
Recreational drug use is the use of one or more psychoactive drugs to induce an altered state of consciousness, either for pleasure or for some other casual purpose or pastime. When a psychoactive drug enters the user's body, it induces an Sub ...
. He served as an opposition
whip
A whip is a blunt weapon or implement used in a striking motion to create sound or pain. Whips can be used for flagellation against humans or animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain, or be used as an audible cue thro ...
.
Death
McMaster committed suicide in the garage of his home in Johnstone on 28 July 1997, at the age of 37. He had been robbed in London shortly before his death. His
suicide note
A suicide note or death note is a message written by a person who intends to die by suicide.
A study examining Japanese suicide notes estimated that 25–30% of suicides are accompanied by a note. However, incidence rates may depend on ethnic ...
named neighbouring MP Tommy Graham as being responsible for smearing him over an alleged homosexual relationship with Graham's employee, 17 year old Scott Anderson. This was denied by Graham, who was subsequently expelled from the Labour Party.''Gordon McMaster was not my enemy, says suspended MP'', Euan McColm and Peter Macmahon,
The Scotsman
''The Scotsman'' is a Scottish compact (newspaper), compact newspaper and daily news website headquartered in Edinburgh. First established as a radical political paper in 1817, it began daily publication in 1855 and remained a broadsheet until ...