0:00:01 > 0:00:02Her political ability was never in doubt.
0:00:11 > 0:00:14I am a Scot and I need no other justification other than
0:00:14 > 0:00:16the feeling that I am.
0:00:16 > 0:00:18Margo had such a natural way with her and people loved her,
0:00:18 > 0:00:22no matter what their politics were, that she could open any door.
0:00:22 > 0:00:24Do you fancy Tony Blair?
0:00:24 > 0:00:26No, I dinnae.
0:00:26 > 0:00:27THEY LAUGH
0:00:27 > 0:00:32She was an authentic, real person. What you saw was what you got.
0:00:32 > 0:00:34There's hope alive in Scotland.
0:00:34 > 0:00:36She just sparkled,
0:00:36 > 0:00:39and it didn't matter the circumstances
0:00:39 > 0:00:41or what was happening in her life,
0:00:41 > 0:00:44she just had that something.
0:00:44 > 0:00:47You've got to get people believing in the democratic process first and foremost.
0:00:47 > 0:00:51Her principles were fixed in the sense that she knew what was right
0:00:51 > 0:00:54and she knew why she knew it was right.
0:00:54 > 0:00:57Until we get rid of cruelty and exploitation,
0:00:57 > 0:00:59then I think we're better just to prove the licences.
0:00:59 > 0:01:02She liked the idea of being on the edge sometimes,
0:01:02 > 0:01:03things being slightly on the edge,
0:01:03 > 0:01:06whether it was for fun or even politically.
0:01:06 > 0:01:11My political aspirations haven't really been of a personal nature.
0:01:11 > 0:01:16She unashamedly and very proudly spoke as people spoke.
0:01:16 > 0:01:21And that is an enormous contribution, it's a democratic contribution.
0:01:21 > 0:01:25We started out with the idea that it would be a good thing
0:01:25 > 0:01:28if were to shake up the established parties
0:01:28 > 0:01:30and I think we have done this.
0:01:30 > 0:01:33# I'm not ready to make nice
0:01:33 > 0:01:36# I'm not ready to back down
0:01:36 > 0:01:39# I'm still mad as hell and I don't have time
0:01:39 > 0:01:41# To go round and round and round... #
0:01:44 > 0:01:47This Parliament is going to be an awful lot quieter
0:01:47 > 0:01:50now that Margo MacDonald is no longer with us.
0:01:50 > 0:01:53She was the iconic figure of the Scottish home rule movement
0:01:53 > 0:01:55over the last half century.
0:01:55 > 0:01:58In her 70 years, this committed socialist
0:01:58 > 0:02:02and nationalist became the champion of the poor and the marginalised,
0:02:02 > 0:02:06and was known to millions of Scots simply as Margo.
0:02:06 > 0:02:09Not a bad achievement for the girl from Lanarkshire.
0:02:11 > 0:02:15Margo and I started secondary school at Hamilton Academy at the same time.
0:02:15 > 0:02:18She had a very, very difficult upbringing herself.
0:02:18 > 0:02:21Her mother was left to rear the three children.
0:02:21 > 0:02:24Margo's dad walked out when she was only 12.
0:02:24 > 0:02:26They had to give up the family home,
0:02:26 > 0:02:29they had to move into a small rented flat.
0:02:29 > 0:02:31It must have been extremely difficult,
0:02:31 > 0:02:34but you would never have known it.
0:02:34 > 0:02:37Regardless of what was happening at home,
0:02:37 > 0:02:41the young Margo shone at school, particularly on the sports field.
0:02:41 > 0:02:44Her passion was for the hockey pitch rather than the debating society
0:02:44 > 0:02:48but Margo was quite a good organiser if she set her mind to her to it
0:02:48 > 0:02:51and she did agree to be my election agent
0:02:51 > 0:02:55when I stood as the Communist candidate in the mock elections.
0:03:01 > 0:03:04Dunfermline College, having decided that studying
0:03:04 > 0:03:07Physical Education had advantages that studying politics didn't.
0:03:07 > 0:03:11MUSIC: "Words of Love" by Buddy Holly and the Crickets
0:03:12 > 0:03:19I had the choice, I could either do PPE or Physical Education.
0:03:19 > 0:03:23The most sensible piece of advice I got came from a gym teacher and she said,
0:03:23 > 0:03:32"You could go to Dunfermline, you'll love it!
0:03:32 > 0:03:35"and you can go to the dancing every night. Bingo!"
0:03:35 > 0:03:36SHE LAUGHS
0:03:36 > 0:03:38MUSIC: "Telstar" by The Tornadoes
0:03:38 > 0:03:44She came to college as a very able
0:03:44 > 0:03:47athlete, swimmer, gymnast, dancer.
0:03:47 > 0:03:51You name it, Margo could do it to perfection.
0:03:51 > 0:03:53She had such an intellect. She could have done
0:03:53 > 0:03:56anything in the world that she wanted to do.
0:03:58 > 0:04:02While Margo was training to become a PE teacher in Aberdeen,
0:04:02 > 0:04:05American nuclear missiles were arriving on the Clyde.
0:04:05 > 0:04:09It drove this young radical into direct action with CND,
0:04:09 > 0:04:11and eventually the SNP.
0:04:11 > 0:04:14Although the nationalists may have mis-sold what was on offer.
0:04:20 > 0:04:22Sex Not Politics.
0:04:22 > 0:04:24That's what the badges said!
0:04:24 > 0:04:27And I joined, it was not!
0:04:27 > 0:04:28It was all about politics.
0:04:31 > 0:04:33Well, all about politics and the singing.
0:04:33 > 0:04:35And although an SNP membership may not be for life,
0:04:35 > 0:04:37a good rebel song is.
0:04:37 > 0:04:41# They hung Wallace high on the gallows
0:04:41 > 0:04:44# And cut him down 'ere he was dead
0:04:44 > 0:04:47# And as he choked the queen jeered him
0:04:47 > 0:04:52# For daring to cross English dead. #
0:04:52 > 0:04:55That was it, that summarised it for me.
0:04:55 > 0:04:59Winifred Margaret Ewing. Scottish Nationalist.
0:04:59 > 0:05:0118,397.
0:05:03 > 0:05:07The SNP was drawing plenty of supporters into its ranks,
0:05:07 > 0:05:11but it wasn't until Winnie Ewing's historic victory at Hamilton in 1967
0:05:11 > 0:05:15that these young activists could look to the future with genuine optimism.
0:05:15 > 0:05:26I was working as a journalist in Scotland and I think Margo was working
0:05:26 > 0:05:28We would talk towards a modest Scottish assembly
0:05:28 > 0:05:32and then on to self-government and on to independence...
0:05:32 > 0:05:34So I was quite close to her in these years.
0:05:34 > 0:05:36MUSIC: "Number Nine Dream" by John Lennon
0:05:40 > 0:05:48Margo became a household name in November 1973
0:05:48 > 0:05:50Labour seat of Glasgow Govan.
0:05:50 > 0:05:55Into the greyness came this vivacious, attractive,
0:05:55 > 0:06:00athletic young woman speaking the language of the people.
0:06:00 > 0:06:04I think we were saying the right things at the right time
0:06:04 > 0:06:16just to the right group of people.
0:06:16 > 0:06:20We cared, we genuinely cared about the place, you couldn't do anything but care about it.
0:06:20 > 0:06:28It was so horrendous, the way in which people had been just left.
0:06:28 > 0:06:34A London journalist, I think it was, said, "You're very selfish."
0:06:35 > 0:06:40I said, "You come with me. We'll go five minutes anywhere from where we're standing
0:06:40 > 0:06:45"and you tell me if I'm still selfish."
0:06:45 > 0:06:47And he got the fright of his life
0:06:47 > 0:06:52because he hadn't realised just how drastic it was.
0:06:52 > 0:06:58Here is the result of the voting in the Glasgow Govan constituency.
0:06:58 > 0:07:01When the count started, I have to confess I was sitting in the rooms
0:07:01 > 0:07:04nervously trying to put my hair in heated rollers
0:07:04 > 0:07:06so I wouldnae look too bad when I got there.
0:07:06 > 0:07:11Margo MacDonald, 6-3-6-0.
0:07:11 > 0:07:13One of my friends said,
0:07:13 > 0:07:17"Away and comb your hair, because they think you're an MP."
0:07:17 > 0:07:23And I declare that Margo MacDonald has been duly elected
0:07:23 > 0:07:28to serve in Parliament as the member for Glasgow Govan constituency.
0:07:32 > 0:07:35I am the MP for Govan. I can speak on behalf of the Scottish National Party
0:07:35 > 0:07:37but I represent electors in Govan.
0:07:37 > 0:07:40MUSIC: "Layla" by Derek the Dominoes
0:07:40 > 0:07:43Not knowing what to make of this highly intelligent young woman,
0:07:43 > 0:07:47the press, true to form, concentrated on her hair colour.
0:07:47 > 0:07:49I wasn't a "blonde bombshell".
0:07:49 > 0:07:53I liked the fact that I could look good,
0:07:53 > 0:07:56but I was serious about what I was doing.
0:07:56 > 0:07:59My daughters are here with me today at the Wallace Day rally
0:07:59 > 0:08:01for the first time,
0:08:01 > 0:08:04because they're old enough to understand now that the fight
0:08:04 > 0:08:07and the struggle to gain our national and community freedom
0:08:07 > 0:08:11didn't just start with their mother or when their mother joined the SNP.
0:08:11 > 0:08:14I got on with people who were serious politicians,
0:08:14 > 0:08:16and they got on with me.
0:08:16 > 0:08:18They knew I was serious.
0:08:18 > 0:08:23People who weren't very political maybe just saw the blonde bit.
0:08:23 > 0:08:25Margo's Westminster career
0:08:25 > 0:08:27lasted barely four months.
0:08:27 > 0:08:30The Scottish Nationalists have had bad news,
0:08:30 > 0:08:32they've lost Glasgow Govan and Robin Day is talking
0:08:32 > 0:08:35to Mrs Margo MacDonald down the line to Glasgow.
0:08:35 > 0:08:37Good morning, Mrs MacDonald. Morning.
0:08:37 > 0:08:41Ironically, she lost Govan despite the great SNP surge
0:08:41 > 0:08:44in the General Election of February, 1974.
0:08:44 > 0:08:48How do you think the Scottish Nationalists picture is looking now
0:08:48 > 0:08:50for the rest of the results to come in?
0:08:50 > 0:08:52Rosy. I think it looks great.
0:08:52 > 0:08:54We said we were going to double our vote
0:08:54 > 0:08:56and I hear we are probably going to treble it.
0:08:56 > 0:08:58It became very clear this was someone
0:08:58 > 0:08:59that knew how to use the media.
0:08:59 > 0:09:02And the media loved her. She was great copy.
0:09:02 > 0:09:04She was a great person on TV.
0:09:04 > 0:09:07If we are going to have the sort of social justice
0:09:07 > 0:09:10which the Labour Party has promised but never delivered in Scotland,
0:09:10 > 0:09:13then it is a basic fact that the economy of Scotland
0:09:13 > 0:09:16must be taken out of the control of Westminster.
0:09:16 > 0:09:20# Margo's got the magic Margo's got the smile... #
0:09:20 > 0:09:23Margo attempted a return to Westminster in 1978
0:09:23 > 0:09:26at a by-election in her home town of Hamilton.
0:09:26 > 0:09:29I've heard some people saying
0:09:29 > 0:09:32that I'll turn out a good personal vote in Hamilton
0:09:32 > 0:09:33because they know me at school.
0:09:33 > 0:09:35And I've heard other ones saying
0:09:35 > 0:09:38I definitely won't get any votes because they knew me at school.
0:09:38 > 0:09:42# The Labour fellow's out the race Out by half a mile
0:09:42 > 0:09:47# Cos Margo's got the magic Margo's got the smile. #
0:09:47 > 0:09:51But not even a catchy campaign song could save her from defeat.
0:09:51 > 0:09:53MUSIC: "Don't You Want Me" by The Human League
0:09:53 > 0:09:56She quit the party in the early 1980s,
0:09:56 > 0:09:58after a bust-up over internal groups.
0:09:58 > 0:10:02But she wasn't out of the public eye for long.
0:10:02 > 0:10:05MUSIC: "Words" by FR David
0:10:05 > 0:10:07Margo MacDonald is with me in the studio now because Radio Forth
0:10:07 > 0:10:10continues with its election coverage tonight
0:10:10 > 0:10:11with Election Forum.
0:10:11 > 0:10:15But her real calling was journalism and that's where she really took off.
0:10:17 > 0:10:20Ask Margo.
0:10:24 > 0:10:25Hello, I'm Margo.
0:10:25 > 0:10:29And crucially continued to speak as Margo always did.
0:10:29 > 0:10:33MUSIC: "Eye of the Tiger" by Survivor
0:10:33 > 0:10:37And people could relate to her because she related to them.
0:10:37 > 0:10:41Possil seems little different from other schemes in our towns and cities.
0:10:41 > 0:10:43400 people from the area, mostly young people,
0:10:43 > 0:10:45have been treated for heroin addiction.
0:10:45 > 0:10:48It's probably just about the only real growth industry
0:10:48 > 0:10:50you'll get in a place like Possilpark these days.
0:10:50 > 0:10:53MUSIC: "Tangled Up In Blue" by Bob Dylan
0:10:53 > 0:10:56But it wasn't just punters who engaged with Margo the journalist.
0:10:56 > 0:10:59Margaret Thatcher, no less, took time out from one of her rare
0:10:59 > 0:11:03forays across the border to share some fashion tips.
0:11:03 > 0:11:08So when she arrived out at Edinburgh Airport,
0:11:08 > 0:11:10at the '83 election,
0:11:10 > 0:11:14it was fixed up that I would get an exclusive interview with her,
0:11:14 > 0:11:18only five minutes. I saw her above all the crowd when she arrived.
0:11:18 > 0:11:21And she waved and I waved back.
0:11:21 > 0:11:24Beetled in behind her and I said, "You're looking fantastic."
0:11:24 > 0:11:26"Oh, but I have to, dear."
0:11:26 > 0:11:28SHE LAUGHS
0:11:28 > 0:11:30That's style!
0:11:30 > 0:11:32MUSIC: "A Girl Like You" by Edwyn Collins
0:11:32 > 0:11:35But when it came to fashion, Maggie was preaching to the converted.
0:11:35 > 0:11:39She and I shared a great love of jewellery, clothes,
0:11:39 > 0:11:43make-up, and we spent a lot of time talking about that.
0:11:43 > 0:11:46It was very serious, I'll have you know.
0:11:46 > 0:11:48She loved the Shopping Channel.
0:11:48 > 0:11:51We're joined by two of Moira's lovely daughters...
0:11:51 > 0:11:53Primrose and also Nina.
0:11:53 > 0:11:55Well, if you knew Margo,
0:11:55 > 0:11:59against your will you got to know all these shopping channels.
0:11:59 > 0:12:01It would start at,
0:12:01 > 0:12:04let's say, ?299.99 and she'd turn to you with great wisdom and say,
0:12:04 > 0:12:08"That'll come down to ?59.99, just you watch," and we'd sit and
0:12:08 > 0:12:12watch it and sure enough it would be ?59.99 and she'd say, "Told you."
0:12:12 > 0:12:14A couple of years ago, she kind of mischievously said to me,
0:12:14 > 0:12:17"There might be a couple of parcels coming for you."
0:12:17 > 0:12:19Anyway, duly, a couple of days later,
0:12:19 > 0:12:21the front door went and the postie is standing there
0:12:21 > 0:12:24with a couple of parcels, couple of days later a couple more parcels.
0:12:24 > 0:12:29I think I ended up with 60 or 70 parcels over a three-month period!
0:12:29 > 0:12:34I was one of the many households which became a temporary
0:12:34 > 0:12:37depot for parcels. I took 36.
0:12:37 > 0:12:41Jim did not particularly approve of the amount of stuff
0:12:41 > 0:12:43that was being bought on those shopping channels.
0:12:43 > 0:12:47And there was one day when she put on a jacket which, even for Margo,
0:12:47 > 0:12:51was a bit over the top and I said to her, "Where did you get that?"
0:12:51 > 0:12:53And she said "Oh, I got it on the Shopping Channel"
0:12:53 > 0:12:56I said, "I've never seen anything like that there,"
0:12:56 > 0:12:57and all I could hear was Jim saying,
0:12:57 > 0:13:00"Yeah, but you don't watch at three in the morning, Fiona."
0:13:06 > 0:13:10Jim, of course, being her husband Jim Sillars, the former Labour, SLP
0:13:10 > 0:13:14and SNP Member of Parliament whom she'd married back in 1982.
0:13:14 > 0:13:19But marriage didn't always guarantee a meeting of minds.
0:13:19 > 0:13:22Very often you would phone and there would be a political debate
0:13:22 > 0:13:27going on on the telephone between Margo saying one thing and Jim saying the other.
0:13:27 > 0:13:30It was mad being in the house. There would be a two-, three-way
0:13:30 > 0:13:34political argument going on like a humdinger and Jim would come through
0:13:34 > 0:13:38with a tea towel and say, "She's nuts, does she really think..."
0:13:38 > 0:13:41And she'd say "I heard that!"
0:13:41 > 0:13:43And then she'd start again.
0:13:43 > 0:13:46There was a very interesting relationship between the two,
0:13:46 > 0:13:49very close, an intensely close relationship.
0:13:49 > 0:13:53Mutual admiration, respect,
0:13:53 > 0:13:56But, equally, each was their own person.
0:13:56 > 0:14:00The voters of Govan sent a Scottish Nationalist to Westminster
0:14:00 > 0:14:03and threw down a spectacular challenge, both to the Labour Party
0:14:03 > 0:14:04and to the Government.
0:14:04 > 0:14:08Following Jim's victory in the second Govan by-election in 1988,
0:14:08 > 0:14:13Margo began to emerge from her self-imposed exile from public politics.
0:14:13 > 0:14:15And that inevitably led to a clamour
0:14:15 > 0:14:18for her return to the front line.
0:14:18 > 0:14:21I hadn't really planned going to the Scottish Parliament.
0:14:21 > 0:14:27Then, in '92, I was asking people to vote for independence and so on.
0:14:28 > 0:14:32I thought, "I've got a nerve asking everyone to do it
0:14:32 > 0:14:36"and not coming out myself," so I came out!
0:14:39 > 0:14:41But before she could plan that political comeback,
0:14:41 > 0:14:45in 1995 she went on holiday with an old college friend.
0:14:45 > 0:14:48And she sensed all was not well.
0:14:48 > 0:14:51The first thing that I did notice was she had difficulty
0:14:51 > 0:14:57getting her arm up to do her hair or to get her hair suitably coiffed
0:14:57 > 0:15:02to her liking and, jokingly, I said, "Margo that'll never do.
0:15:02 > 0:15:06"You have to makes sure your hair's right, you have to be Margo."
0:15:09 > 0:15:11Margo was diagnosed with Parkinson's.
0:15:11 > 0:15:15But she refused to surrender to this cruel disease.
0:15:15 > 0:15:21She was so full of life that she was never going to be down in the dumps.
0:15:21 > 0:15:24That was not a woman who was going to go down a black hole
0:15:24 > 0:15:25and become depressed.
0:15:25 > 0:15:28It just wasn't in her nature so to do.
0:15:29 > 0:15:34The era of big, centralised government is over.
0:15:36 > 0:15:50After Labour's 1997 General Election landslide,
0:15:50 > 0:15:52once we knew there was going to be one.
0:15:52 > 0:15:54"Go on, stand for it."
0:15:54 > 0:15:56I thought about it, then I thought,
0:15:56 > 0:15:58"Do I have a duty?"
0:15:58 > 0:16:01Then I thought, "We'll give it a go anyway
0:16:01 > 0:16:05"and we'll see what happens, if folk still want me."
0:16:05 > 0:16:07And I got elected.
0:16:07 > 0:16:11The regional elected seats for Lothian's elected region
0:16:11 > 0:16:15have therefore been allocated as follows.
0:16:15 > 0:16:17One, Margo MacDonald,
0:16:17 > 0:16:19Scottish National Party.
0:16:19 > 0:16:21CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:16:34 > 0:16:40There's no doubt about it, your stomach gave that wee bit of flutter
0:16:40 > 0:16:45when Winnie Ewing said the most important words she's ever said.
0:16:45 > 0:16:49The Scottish Parliament, adjourned on the 25th day of March,
0:16:49 > 0:16:51in the year 1707,
0:16:51 > 0:16:54is hereby reconvened.
0:16:54 > 0:16:55APPLAUSE
0:16:58 > 0:17:02She was chancing her arm a wee bit, but it was terrific!
0:17:03 > 0:17:06As Margo was being sworn in at the new Parliament,
0:17:06 > 0:17:09her Parkinson's was beginning to show.
0:17:09 > 0:17:11Can you raise your right hand?
0:17:11 > 0:17:12No, I'll just...
0:17:14 > 0:17:19Would you? Thank you very much, I appreciate that.
0:17:19 > 0:17:20I, Margo MacDonald...
0:17:20 > 0:17:22I, Margo MacDonald...
0:17:22 > 0:17:25..Do swear that I'll be faithful and bear true allegiance...
0:17:25 > 0:17:27..Do swear that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance...
0:17:27 > 0:17:29..To Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth...
0:17:29 > 0:17:32But her illness wasn't going to curb her rebellious spirit.
0:17:32 > 0:17:36The leadership were saying, "Let's just see whether you've learned
0:17:36 > 0:17:38"and you're willing to be a team player."
0:17:38 > 0:17:41In fairness, Margo was never going to be a team player.
0:17:41 > 0:17:43She was far too independent for that.
0:17:43 > 0:17:46I always said at the time it was just matter of time
0:17:46 > 0:17:49before Margo broke ranks and became an independent.
0:17:49 > 0:17:53By 2003, a series of high-profile clashes with the SNP leadership
0:17:53 > 0:17:56led to her being bumped down the regional list,
0:17:56 > 0:17:59to an unelectable fifth place.
0:17:59 > 0:18:03Are you part of a faction which has been trying to undermine the leadership?
0:18:03 > 0:18:04Absolutely not.
0:18:04 > 0:18:10You know and I think just about everybody else who hasn't spent the last 20 or 30 years on Mars knows
0:18:10 > 0:18:12I believe in Scottish independence.
0:18:12 > 0:18:15And anything I do, in my mind,
0:18:15 > 0:18:17is calculated to try and advance that case.
0:18:17 > 0:18:23I think she certainly was partly to blame, in as much as she wasn't
0:18:23 > 0:18:27willing to play ball, or their ball, and we had a long discussion after
0:18:27 > 0:18:31whether or not she would become an independent.
0:18:31 > 0:18:35You just said you think it's pretty much curtains on the SNP list.
0:18:35 > 0:18:37You could always stand as an independent.
0:18:37 > 0:18:39I honestly haven't thought that far ahead.
0:18:39 > 0:18:41I know there are options open to me.
0:18:41 > 0:18:43I could try to get into the Big Brother house
0:18:43 > 0:18:45as well, if I wanted to really do the whole thing.
0:18:45 > 0:18:48# I'm not ready to make nice
0:18:48 > 0:18:51# I'm not ready to back down
0:18:51 > 0:18:53# I'm still mad as hell and I don't have time
0:18:53 > 0:18:57# To go round and round and round... #
0:18:57 > 0:19:01She and Jim were genuinely fearful that she wouldn't get elected.
0:19:01 > 0:19:06She had no idea of her real popularity.
0:19:06 > 0:19:08Although she has this very big personality
0:19:08 > 0:19:12and very bold personality, she does have a lot of self-doubt
0:19:12 > 0:19:13about her own ability at times.
0:19:13 > 0:19:16Her political ability was never in doubt.
0:19:16 > 0:19:18Her map-reading skills, on the other hand...
0:19:18 > 0:19:21"We'll go down to Musselburgh, they'll love me in Musselburgh."
0:19:21 > 0:19:24So we go down to Musselburgh, everyone loves her,
0:19:24 > 0:19:26we have a great time talking in the street.
0:19:26 > 0:19:28And this one chap talked to her at great length
0:19:28 > 0:19:31and they were getting along like a house of fire and she said,
0:19:31 > 0:19:34"Right, I'll have to go but I can be sure of your vote."
0:19:34 > 0:19:36And he said, "No, you can't," and she said, "Why not?!"
0:19:36 > 0:19:38He said, "I live up here." She said, "What's wrong with that?"
0:19:38 > 0:19:41He said, "Well, this isn't your constituency,
0:19:41 > 0:19:43"your constituency stops at the bridge."
0:19:43 > 0:19:45So we dive back into the car.
0:19:45 > 0:19:48"Let's go to Leith," she said. "They like me in Leith."
0:19:48 > 0:19:50Margo MacDonald, Independent,
0:19:50 > 0:19:5327,143.
0:19:53 > 0:19:55CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:19:55 > 0:20:00We started out with the idea that it would be a good thing
0:20:00 > 0:20:04if we were to shake up the established parties and I think we have done this.
0:20:04 > 0:20:06Nobody knew better than Margo
0:20:06 > 0:20:10where the next blade of political grass was growing in Scotland.
0:20:10 > 0:20:12I had a scientifically conducted poll today,
0:20:12 > 0:20:16I talked to some taxi drivers I knew and some hairdressers I knew.
0:20:19 > 0:20:22Did you get the impression that it was more than a chat,
0:20:22 > 0:20:26that she was actually sounding you out for political intelligence and so on?
0:20:26 > 0:20:29I'm not sure I thought of it as political intelligence at the time,
0:20:29 > 0:20:32but certainly she was very chatty
0:20:32 > 0:20:33and quite probing.
0:20:35 > 0:20:38Interested about what people had been chatting about
0:20:38 > 0:20:39in the back of my cab.
0:20:39 > 0:20:42Yeah, she asked questions more than she...
0:20:42 > 0:20:45She didn't get in the back of the taxi and give you a speech.
0:20:45 > 0:20:48She had a remarkable ability to instigate a conversation,
0:20:48 > 0:20:50like one of the guys was saying,
0:20:50 > 0:20:53whilst... We've all said in one way or the other,
0:20:53 > 0:20:55she liked to talk a lot.
0:20:55 > 0:20:57Actually, when you think back about it,
0:20:57 > 0:21:00most of the time she was listening and we were doing the talking.
0:21:00 > 0:21:02What did she talk to you about?
0:21:02 > 0:21:04She was telling me that she was known
0:21:04 > 0:21:07as the politician for sex and drugs and rock'n'roll.
0:21:07 > 0:21:09THEY LAUGH
0:21:09 > 0:21:13Because she wanted for the prostitutes,
0:21:13 > 0:21:15she wanted the tolerance zones,
0:21:15 > 0:21:18for the drugs it was the de-restriction of cannabis,
0:21:18 > 0:21:22and the rock'n'roll was because her daughter was married to a Proclaimer.
0:21:22 > 0:21:25In particular, the prostitute thing was a big issue at the time
0:21:25 > 0:21:29and you could tell she was really passionate about
0:21:29 > 0:21:32looking after the girls
0:21:32 > 0:21:34and doing what was best for them.
0:21:34 > 0:21:37I think that was her all over, doing what was right for the people.
0:21:37 > 0:21:40It was in Edinburgh that the Lanarkshire girl found her true home,
0:21:40 > 0:21:44sometimes taking things far beyond just developing
0:21:44 > 0:21:46a taste for salt and sauce on her chips.
0:21:49 > 0:21:52She was always proud to say that Edinburgh was her home
0:21:52 > 0:21:55but also very proud of Hibs, and that was her team.
0:21:55 > 0:22:00This rational, intellectual woman would get to Hibs, Jim would tell me,
0:22:00 > 0:22:05and turn into the most rabid, partisan
0:22:05 > 0:22:09Hibs supporter you would ever want to meet in your life.
0:22:09 > 0:22:18She was very much part of the Hibernian family.
0:22:18 > 0:22:40From the first time she came up for election, she had my vote.
0:22:40 > 0:22:43and everybody knows just exactly who you mean.
0:22:43 > 0:22:46Very few people in this life are remembered that way.
0:22:46 > 0:22:48You just have to say "Margo" and everybody knows.
0:22:48 > 0:22:51A wonderful person and a wonderful Hibs fan.
0:22:51 > 0:22:52MUSIC: "Rule The World" by Take That
0:22:56 > 0:23:01Margo loved Edinburgh and Edinburgh loved her back.
0:23:01 > 0:23:09In 2007 she was comfortably returned to Holyrood.
0:23:09 > 0:23:12The perfect situation for a campaigning independent,
0:23:12 > 0:23:14nationalist MSP.
0:23:14 > 0:23:16I think it was good for Scotland,
0:23:16 > 0:23:19because she flowered as an independent member of Parliament.
0:23:19 > 0:23:23Margo was independent of mind, independent of thought,
0:23:23 > 0:23:25independent of vision.
0:23:25 > 0:23:27You can have the same strategic objective
0:23:27 > 0:23:29to minimise prostitution
0:23:29 > 0:23:32or to manage prostitution.
0:23:32 > 0:23:35Some dingbats think you can abolish it, I don't.
0:23:35 > 0:23:41She was taking on defending prostitutes,
0:23:41 > 0:23:46She took on end-of-life assistance.
0:23:46 > 0:23:48I don't want to burden any doctor,
0:23:48 > 0:23:52I don't want to burden any friend or family member.
0:23:52 > 0:24:16I want to find a way in which I can take the decision
0:24:16 > 0:24:19rather not have talked about it, that was crucially important.
0:24:19 > 0:24:23Since becoming a household name in 1973, Margo had been an MP,
0:24:23 > 0:24:27a journalist, a campaigner, and an MSP.
0:24:27 > 0:24:30Yet despite her undoubted popularity and her track record
0:24:30 > 0:24:34in Scottish politics, even at the end of her life,
0:24:34 > 0:24:37the girl from Hamilton still was reluctant
0:24:37 > 0:24:40to acknowledge what she'd contributed.
0:24:40 > 0:24:44I worry over the things that I could have done better
0:24:44 > 0:24:47or I could have done differently.
0:24:47 > 0:24:49I worry about them and say,
0:24:49 > 0:24:52"I hope that wasn't permanently damaging."
0:24:52 > 0:24:56I would like to feel that I had encouraged people
0:24:56 > 0:24:59to take a pride in themselves
0:24:59 > 0:25:05as a part of a community, a nation called Scotland
0:25:05 > 0:25:10and to value that nation...
0:25:11 > 0:25:13..and to protect that nation.
0:25:15 > 0:25:20I would like to feel that I've done that, but I'm not sure that I have.
0:25:21 > 0:25:26I think I've helped, in specific areas,
0:25:26 > 0:25:29a little bit sometimes,
0:25:29 > 0:25:34but I don't know if I've left an over-arching legacy. I wish I had.
0:25:39 > 0:25:41I would like to think that Margo's legacy is
0:25:41 > 0:25:45the realisation in other politicians that there's actually
0:25:45 > 0:25:49nothing wrong with standing up for what you believe in.
0:25:49 > 0:25:55Her legacy is to...have had a vision, a view,
0:25:55 > 0:25:59an idea of what Scotland could become,
0:25:59 > 0:26:01to sell that vision
0:26:01 > 0:26:05in the language of ordinary people, for people to relate to it.
0:26:05 > 0:26:09I think there was one thread that has run through Margo's life,
0:26:09 > 0:26:11and that was a belief in people.
0:26:11 > 0:26:15It informed her socialism, her nationalism and her journalism.
0:26:15 > 0:26:17She was one of the people.
0:26:17 > 0:26:20She genuinely believed in people power
0:26:20 > 0:26:22and that, I think, is her legacy.
0:26:22 > 0:26:25Margo was a politician who rose above the crowd.
0:26:25 > 0:26:29And...but spoke for the crowd at the same time.
0:26:29 > 0:26:32Her legacy is that she was an outstanding icon
0:26:32 > 0:26:37of the nationalist movement, but equally importantly,
0:26:37 > 0:26:40she was a huge national treasure for Scotland
0:26:40 > 0:26:42and her memory will live for ever.
0:26:42 > 0:26:43MUSIC: "Ae Fond Kiss" by Fairground Attraction
0:26:43 > 0:26:46# Fair-thee-weel
0:26:46 > 0:26:50# My first and fairest... #
0:26:50 > 0:26:52I'm the MP for Govan.
0:26:52 > 0:26:54# Fair-thee-weel
0:26:54 > 0:26:58# My best and dearest... #
0:26:59 > 0:27:03Out of self-respect comes self-confidence,
0:27:03 > 0:27:07out of that comes imagination, out of that becomes inventiveness.
0:27:07 > 0:27:09The whole world opens up to us with self-government.
0:27:09 > 0:27:11That's what it's all about.
0:27:11 > 0:27:16# Peace, enjoyment, love
0:27:16 > 0:27:20# And pleasure.... #
0:27:20 > 0:27:22And I would urge you,
0:27:22 > 0:27:24don't admit to being
0:27:24 > 0:27:26what you are not.
0:27:27 > 0:27:32# Ae fond kiss and then we sever
0:27:33 > 0:27:41# Ae fareweel, alas, for ever
0:27:41 > 0:27:48# Deep in heart-wrung tears I'll pledge thee... #
0:27:48 > 0:27:53My political aspirations haven't really been of a personal nature.
0:27:53 > 0:28:00# Warring sighs and groans I'll wage thee... #
0:28:00 > 0:28:05The thing I like best about Scotland is just, I think, the general humanity that you find here.
0:28:05 > 0:28:10# I'll wage thee
0:28:12 > 0:28:18# I'll wage... #
0:28:27 > 0:28:32This is our time, this is our time of reckoning, we've got to take it,
0:28:32 > 0:28:34and if we don't take it,
0:28:34 > 0:28:38we're consigning our children to much, much less
0:28:38 > 0:28:43than we've had ourselves - certainly narrower horizons,
0:28:43 > 0:28:46lower aspirations.
0:28:46 > 0:28:49We're consigning our children to being small
0:28:49 > 0:28:53when we should be giving them a much bigger world.