George Leslie (politician)
| 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 |
| Political party | Scottish National Party |
| Alma mater | University of Glasgow |
| Profession | Veterinary surgeon |
George Andrew Leslie (born 21 November 1936) is a Scottish nationalist politician.
Leslie studied at Hillhead High School and Glasgow University before becoming a vet.[1] He joined the Scottish National Party (SNP) in the early 1960s, and was selected to stand for the party at the Glasgow Pollok by-election, 1967. During the by-election one observer described his speeches as being in the style of Jimmy Maxton.[2] His campaign also featured the singing of both traditional and topical Scottish songs.[3] 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 gain of the 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.[4]
Leslie was soon elected to the Glasgow Corporation,[1] and, in 1969, became the SNP's Senior Vice-Chairman.[5] 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 was only able to take fourth place,[6] with 11.3% of the votes cast.[7] He stood again in Hillhead at the 1983 general election, but fell to only 5.4% of the vote,[8] 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 18.2%.[9] Standing again in Strathclyde East at the 1989 European election, he increased his share to 25.2%,[10] and finally at the 1992 general election he took 15.6% and fourth place in Glasgow Pollok.[8]
On 28 February 2010, Leslie formally launched a campaign to contest Kilmarnock and Loudoun at the 2010 general election.[11] However, he finished in second place, 12,378 votes behind the Labour Party candidate Cathy Jamieson.
Leslie currently remains an active member of the SNP in the Kilmarnock & Loudoun area.
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 Guide to the European elections, 1984, BBC Political Research Unit, p.200
- ↑ 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
- ↑ Billy Wolfe, Scotland lives, p.138
- ↑ Tom Gallagher, Nationalism in the nineties, p.59
- ↑ Results of byelections in the 1979-83 Parliament
- 1 2 British Parliamentary Election results 1983-97: Scottish Burghs
- ↑ British Parliamentary Election results 1983-97: Scottish Counties
- ↑ United Kingdom European Parliamentary Election results 1979-99: Scotland
- ↑ SNP 2010 UK General Election Candidates: George Leslie
| Party political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by John Gair |
Scottish National Party Vice Chairman (Policy) 1968–1969 |
Succeeded by Gordon Murray |
| Preceded by William Wolfe |
Senior Vice Chairman (Depute Leader) of the Scottish National Party 1969–1971 |
Succeeded by Douglas Henderson |
| Preceded by Jim Sillars |
Scottish National Party Vice Chairman (Policy) 1983–1985 |
Succeeded by ? |