George Andrew Leslie (21 November 1936 – 14 June 2023) was a Scottish politician and veterinary surgeon. He was the Scottish National Party (SNP)'s Senior Vice-Chairman from 1969 to 1971.
George Leslie | |
|---|---|
| Depute Leader of the Scottish National Party | |
| In office 1969–1971 | |
| Leader | William Wolfe |
| Preceded by | William Wolfe |
| Succeeded by | Douglas Henderson |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 21 November 1936 Glasgow, Scotland |
| Died | 14 June 2023 (aged 86) |
| Political party | SNP |
| Alma mater | University of Glasgow |
| Profession | Veterinary surgeon |
Early life
editLeslie was born in Glasgow, Scotland. He studied at Hillhead High School and Glasgow University before becoming a vet.[1]
Political career
editLeslie joined the Scottish National Party (SNP) in the early-1960s. He was selected to stand for the party at the 1967 Glasgow Pollok by-election.[2] During the by-election, one observer described his speeches as being in the style of Jimmy Maxton.[3] His campaign also featured the singing of both traditional and topical Scottish songs.[4] Although the party had never previously contested the seat, Leslie took 28% of the vote. The Labour Party share of the vote dropped considerably, enabling the Conservative Party to win – their last by-election win of the twentieth century in Scotland. Leslie's campaign marked the start of a year of successes for the SNP, including becoming the largest party in local government in Stirling, and victory in the Hamilton by-election.[5]
Leslie was soon elected to the Glasgow Corporation,[1] and, in June 1969, became the SNP's Senior Vice-Chairman.[6][7] Later, he served as a Strathclyde Regional councillor for East Kilbride, and he stood as the SNP candidate for Glasgow at the European Parliament election in 1979, taking 16.4% of the vote.[1]
During the early-1980s, Leslie was the SNP's vice-chairman for policy.[1] He was the party's candidate in the high-profile Glasgow Hillhead by-election in 1982 but, despite campaigning hard, he finished in fourth place,[8][9] with 11.3% of the votes cast.[10] He stood again in the Hillhead constituency at the 1983 general election, but only received 5.4% of the vote,[11] He stood in Strathclyde East at the 1984 European election, taking second place with 17.6% of the vote,[1] then in Kilmarnock and Loudoun in the 1987 general election, taking third place but with 18.2% of the vote.[12] Standing again in Strathclyde East at the 1989 European election, he increased his share to 25.2%,[13] and finally at the 1992 general election he took 15.6% and fourth place in Glasgow Pollok.[11]
On 28 February 2010, Leslie formally launched a campaign to contest Kilmarnock and Loudoun at the 2010 general election.[14] However, he finished in second place, 12,378 votes behind the Labour Party candidate Cathy Jamieson.
Leslie returned to his home on 13 June 2023 after a prolonged stay at University Hospital Crosshouse. He died the following day, at the age of 86.[15]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e Guide to the European elections, 1984, BBC Political Research Unit, p.200
- ^ "S.N.P. name their man for Pollok by-election". The Glasgow Herald. 4 January 1967. p. 7. Retrieved 29 October 2017.
- ^ Christopher Harvey, Scotland and nationalism, p.170
- ^ Chris Cook and John Ramsden, By-elections in British politics, p.185
- ^ Christopher Harvie and Peter Jones, The road to home rule: images of Scotland's cause, p.84
- ^ "S.N.P. work on patching split at conference". The Glasgow Herald. 2 June 1969. p. 16. Retrieved 29 October 2017.
- ^ Billy Wolfe, Scotland lives, p.138
- ^ "SNP picks Hillhead candidate". The Glasgow Herald. 18 January 1982. p. 1. Retrieved 3 July 2017.
- ^ Tom Gallagher, Nationalism in the nineties, p.59
- ^ "Results of byelections in the 1979-83 Parliament". Archived from the original on 9 June 2000. Retrieved 7 November 2009.
- ^ a b British Parliamentary Election results 1983-97: Scottish Burghs
- ^ "British Parliamentary Election results 1983-97: Scottish Counties". Archived from the original on 31 December 2009. Retrieved 7 November 2009.
- ^ United Kingdom European Parliamentary Election results 1979-99: Scotland
- ^ SNP 2010 UK General Election Candidates: George Leslie
- ^ "'One of the titans of the Scottish independence movement' George Leslie dies, aged 86". HeraldScotland. 15 June 2023.