Rosie Kane
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Rosemary "Rosie" Kane (''née'' McGarvey; born 5 June 1961) is a
Scottish Socialist Party The Scottish Socialist Party (SSP) is a Left-wing politics, left-wing political party campaigning for the establishment of an Scottish independence, independent Socialism, socialist Scottish Scottish republicanism, republic. The party was fou ...
politician. She was a
Member of the Scottish Parliament Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP; ; ) is the title given to any one of the 129 individuals elected to serve in the Scottish Parliament. Electoral system The additional member system produces a form of proportional representation, where ...
(MSP) for the Glasgow Region from
2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...
to
2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...
.


Political history


Introduction to politics

Kane entered politics after becoming involved in a campaign against the extension of the M77 motorway. In 1996 she was the first ever candidate of the newly formed Scottish Socialist Alliance when she contested a
Glasgow City Council Glasgow City Council (Scottish Gaelic: ''Comhairle Baile Ghlaschu'') is the Local government in Scotland, local government authority for Glasgow, Glasgow City council area, Scotland. In its modern form it was created in 1996. Glasgow was former ...
by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...
in the Toryglen ward, an area threatened by the M74 extension plan, and came third with 18% of the vote. After this she was an election candidate a number of times for the Scottish Socialist Alliance and its successor the
Scottish Socialist Party The Scottish Socialist Party (SSP) is a Left-wing politics, left-wing political party campaigning for the establishment of an Scottish independence, independent Socialism, socialist Scottish Scottish republicanism, republic. The party was fou ...
. She served on the National Executive committee of the party for a number of years and as the party's environmental spokesperson, writing a column "One World" for the '' Scottish Socialist Voice''.


Parliamentary work (2003–2007)

Kane stood for election to the Scottish Parliament in 2003, and was placed second on the party's list in Glasgow region. She was elected alongside Tommy Sheridan, who was first on the list. In her victory speech, she stated how she planned to shake up the Parliament, stating "They're going to be amazed at all the madness and craziness that's going to happen in there". MSPs are required to swear an oath of allegiance to the
Queen Queen most commonly refers to: * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen (band), a British rock band Queen or QUEEN may also refer to: Monarchy * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Q ...
before they can take their seat in Parliament. As the Scottish Socialist Party is a republican party, their MSPs held various protests during the oath ceremony, during which Kane took her oath with her hand raised which had the words "My oath is to the people" written on it. On 6 November 2003, Kane appeared on '' Question Time'' alongside the SNP's Alex Salmond, Labour MSP Cathy Jamieson, Tory MP
Francis Maude Francis Anthony Aylmer Maude, Baron Maude of Horsham, (born 4 July 1953) is a British Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Party politician who served as Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General from 2010 to 2015. He also served ...
and
Peter Oborne Peter Alan Oborne (; born 11 July 1957) is a British journalist and broadcaster. He is the former chief political commentator of ''The Daily Telegraph'', from which he resigned in early 2015. He is author of ''The Rise of Political Lying'' (2005 ...
of ''
The Spectator ''The Spectator'' is a weekly British political and cultural news magazine. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving magazine in the world. ''The Spectator'' is politically conservative, and its principal subject a ...
''. Host David Dimbleby referred to her contribution as "eloquent and intriguing". According to the ''Scottish Socialist Voice'', Kane faced accusations from the audience that the SSP were slow to condemn Palestinian suicide bombers she responded by saying she "condemned all attacks on innocent people, emphasising Israel's fault regarding non-negotiations in the on-going conflict". In late 2003, she announced that she was taking a short break from politics to deal with
clinical depression Major depressive disorder (MDD), also known as clinical depression, is a mental disorder characterized by at least two weeks of pervasive low mood, low self-esteem, and loss of interest or pleasure in normally enjoyable activities. Intro ...
. She returned to work early in 2004. In 2005, Kane accepted an invitation to meet
Fidel Castro Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban politician and revolutionary who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and President of Cuba, president ...
at a conference in
Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...
. Later in 2005, she took part in an anti-nuclear protest, locking herself to a model of a
nuclear submarine A nuclear submarine is a submarine powered by a nuclear reactor, but not necessarily nuclear-armed. Nuclear submarines have considerable performance advantages over "conventional" (typically diesel-electric) submarines. Nuclear propulsion ...
outside the Scottish Parliament building. She was fined £150 for the demonstration, and was imprisoned in Cornton Vale for 14 days in October 2006 after refusing to pay. In January 2007, she was arrested but not charged for taking part in a peaceful
anti-nuclear The Anti-nuclear war movement is a social movement that opposes various nuclear technologies. Some direct action groups, environmental movements, and professional organisations have identified themselves with the movement at the local, n ...
demonstration at Faslane, as part of the Faslane 365 campaign. In June 2005, along with fellow socialist MSPs Carolyn Leckie, Frances Curran, and Colin Fox, she was suspended from the Scottish Parliament for the month of September for disrupting parliamentary proceedings in a peaceful protest in the chamber. They were highlighting the issue of the right to protest outside the Gleneagles Hotel, the site of the 31st G8 summit. During her time in parliament, she also campaigned against the treatment of toxic waste in South East Glasgow, against
water fluoridation Water fluoridation is the controlled addition of fluoride to Public water supply, public water supplies to reduce tooth decay. Fluoridated water maintains fluoride levels effective for cavity prevention, achieved naturally or through supplem ...
and against GM crops. She remains active in the fight to end the detention of children at Dungavel asylum detention centre, as well as campaigns for migrants rights and against dawn raids. She personally paid the bail for a
Cameroon Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...
ian woman called Mercy Ikolo and her Ireland-born 18-month-old baby to allow them to leave the centre, inviting them to stay with her and her daughters in their tenement flat until their visa issues were resolved.


After leaving parliament

Kane stood as the no. 1 candidate for her party on the Glasgow regional list for the 2007 Scottish Parliament election. The SSP polled 2,579 votes in the Glasgow region and failed to re-elect any candidates. Since September 2012, Kane has been involved in the Women for Independence campaign for Scottish independence. In April 2015, she organised a vigil in
George Square George Square () is the principal Town square, civic square in the city of Glasgow, Scotland. It is one of six squares in the city centre, the others being Cathedral Square, Glasgow, Cathedral Square, St Andrew's Square, Glasgow, St Andrew's ...
in Glasgow in relation to the killing of Karen Buckley.


Other information

Kane is a member of the
Industrial Workers of the World The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), whose members are nicknamed "Wobblies", is an international labor union founded in Chicago, United States in 1905. The nickname's origin is uncertain. Its ideology combines general unionism with indu ...
(Wobblies) and became a grandmother in February 2011. In 2011, Kane played the role of a mother in a play written by future SSP co-spokesperson Sandra Webster as part of the National Theatre of Scotland's Five Minute Theatre project. The play was inspired by Sandra's experience of bringing up her two autistic sons. She also appeared in ''An Evening with Rosie Kane'' in May 2012 and played herself in ''I, Tommy'' in September 2013.


References


External links

*
Record in the Scottish Parliament
at TheyWorkForYou
article
in the ''Daily Record'' December 2010 {{DEFAULTSORT:Kane, Rosie 1961 births Scottish people of Irish descent Living people Scottish Socialist Party MSPs Female members of the Scottish Parliament Scottish republicans Industrial Workers of the World members Members of the Scottish Parliament 2003–2007 People from Govanhill and Crosshill