Born and raised into a Labour supporting coal mining family in Fife, McLeish dropped out of Buckhaven High School at the age of fifteen to pursue a professional career in football. Playing wing half, he was first signed for Leeds United F.C., but after experiencing homesickness, McLeish returned to his native of Fife to play for East Fife F.C.. Making more than 108 appearances, he was one of the youngest ever players to play in Scottish professional football. McLeish's career was cut short after an injury and he returned to education, studying at Heriot-Watt University.
Dewar died in office of a brain haemorrhage on 11 October 2000, which triggered a leadership contest within the Labour Party to find a successor, with McLeish declaring his candidacy. He led a successful and short campaign after defeating finance minister Jack McConnell. McLeish was sworn into office as first minister of Scotland on 26 October 2000. He oversaw the implementation of the McCrone Agreement for teachers in Scotland and strongly advocated free personal care for the elderly scheme. His tenure as first minister was short, as he resigned the following year following a financial scandal referred to as "Officegate"; the first major scandal the Scottish Parliament had faced since its reincarnation two years earlier. He was succeeded by McConnell, who he had beaten in the previous leadership election. McLeish sat as a backbencher, before stepping down as an MSP at the 2003 election.
Henry Baird McLeish[2] was born at 50 Morar Street in Methil, Fife,[3] on 15 June 1948, to Harry McLeish (1923-2009) and Mary Slaven Baird (1925-1985).[4][5][6] Born into a "strong Christian socialist influence" household in central Fife, where his father and grandfather worked as coal miners for a private company, McLeish's grandmother was a member of the Labour and Co-operative Party for seventy years.[7][8] He was named after his maternal grandfather.[9] McLeish grew up on Morar Street, before moving to Institution Row, a miner community, when he was two or three. The family moved to a new housing estate for mineworkers in the old village of Kennoway, where his younger brother Ronald was born.[10]
McLeish was educated at the Buckhaven High School,[11] where he became involved with the school's football team.[12] He met his childhood sweetheart while attending the school, Margaret Drysdale, and they married in 1968.[13] While a pupil at the school, he was "too concerned with football", having been told by his headmaster he had no future in education.[14]
McLeish returned to education following his injury, studying at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh from 1968 to 1973. He graduated with a BSc (Hons) in Town Planning.[15] After graduating, McLeish worked as a research officer at Edinburgh Corporation's department of social work from 1973 to 1974, then as a planning officer for Fife County Council from 1974 to 1975 and Dunfermline District Council from 1975 to 1987. He also worked as a part-time lecturer and tutor at Heriot-Watt University from 1973 to 1986.[16]
Professional football career
In 1963, McLeish left school at the age of 15 to become a professional football player.[14] His rector wrote on his school report card: "I am glad the boy is a good footballer as he has no future in education."[17] He was first signed with Leeds United, however, after experiencing homesickness, he returned to Scotland to play for East Fife, where he made 108 appearances.[18][19] He played wing-half and was one of the youngest ever players to play in Scottish professional football. His first game for East Fife was at Hampden Park against the Glasgow team, Queen’s Park.[20][21]
At the age of 18, McLeish trialled for a Scotland youth national team, playing against a group of footballers from Motherwell, but they lost 5–2.[22]The Daily Record reported on the match and stated McLeish was the only young Scot to impress.[23] He was later selected for the Scotland team to play in the World Youth Cup, hosted by Yugoslavia.[23] McLeish also played for junior football clubs; St Andrews United and Glenrothes Juniors.[23] His footballing career was cut short by a leg injury, and he returned to education.[24]
Early political career
Entry into local government; 1970-1987
McLeish joined the Scottish Labour Party in 1970 and he became chairman of the Young Socialists.[25] He first contested in an election for the Glenwood ward in Glenrothes but he was beaten by the sitting Scottish Conservative councillor.[25] He began his political career on the Kirkcaldy District Council from 1974 to 1977, serving as the council's planning committee chairman. He later served on the Fife Regional Council 1978 to 1987 and served as the as leader of Fife Regional Council from 1982. As the council leader, he implemented a "municipal socialist" manifesto, proposing free bus passes and TV licences for pensioners.[15]
The Labour Party failed to defeat Margaret Thatcher's Conservative Party in the 1987 election and McLeish served in several shadow spokesman portfolios, including education and employment from 1988 to 1989 and employment and training from 1989 to 1992. Despite the end of Thatcher's eleven year tenure, Labour failed again to defeat the incumbent Conservatives, returning to opposition. McLeish served as shadow minister for the Scottish Office from 1992 to 1994.[15]
In 1994, following Tony Blair's election as Leader of the Labour Party, McLeish served successively as the shadow minister for transport from 1994 to 1995, shadow minister for health from 1995 to 1996, and shadow minister for social security from 1996 to 1997.[15]
The ballot was held amongst a restricted electorate of Labour MSPs and members of Scottish Labour's national executive, because there was insufficient time for a full election to be held. McLeish defeated his rival Jack McConnell by 44 votes to 36 in the race to become the second first minister.[27]
McLeish was First Minister during the time of the September 11 attacks in the United States, and watched the events unfold in his office in St Andrews House, the HQ of the Scottish Government in Edinburgh.[31] McLeish has spoken about his serious concern about the defence strategies in place within Scotland to protect the country from a terrorist attack of a similar nature. He initially worried about Scotland's major cities, such as Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen being targets based on their economic strength and significance to the Scottish, UK and European economies.[31] In the immediate aftermath of the attacks, McLeish focussed on strengthening security, protection and defence systems in Scotland to ensure the country was equipped to deal with a large scale terrorist attack. McLeish lead the then Scottish Executive to working with the UK Government to ensure appropriate measures and strengthen security was in place within Scotland.[31]
In the immediate aftermath of the attacks in the United States, McLeish instructed all airports in Scotland to be on alert and tighten their security measures.[32]
On September 13, 2001, McLeish moved a motion in the Scottish Parliament to send condolences to the people of the United States and New York.[32] Through the motion, McLeish said "the Parliament condemns the senseless and abhorrent acts of terrorism carried out in the United States yesterday and extends our deepest sympathies to those whose loved ones have been killed or injured".[33]
As a Labour First Minister, and with a Labour UK Government in office at the time of the attacks under Tony Blair, McLeish initially supported the War on Terror, however stated in 2021 that he regrets that the war ultimately turned out as a "war on Islam".[31]
Governmental record
Neil Kinnock (left), Helen Liddel (centre) and McLeish (right), 2000
Professor John Curtice, a prominent political analyst, commented that McLeish would not have the "kind of authority" that Donald Dewar enjoyed.[27] He travelled widely, particularly in the United States. He managed several task forces designed to improve the competitiveness of Scottish industry, especially the PILOT project for Scottish oil and gas supply chains.
He was embarrassed when an open microphone recorded him with Helen Liddell in a television studio, describing Scottish Secretary John Reid as "a patronising bastard" and said of his colleague, Brian Wilson, "Brian is supposed to be in charge of Africa but he spends most of his time in bloody Dublin. He is a liability".[34]
Acts of Parliament
Whilst in government serving as first minister, McLeish oversaw and implemented the free personal care for the elderly scheme[35] as well as the implementation of the McCrone Agreement for education teachers in Scotland.[36]
McLeish resigned as first minister in November 2001, amid a scandal involving allegations he sub-let part of his tax-subsidised Westminster constituency office without it having been registered in the register of interests kept in the Parliamentary office.[citation needed]
The press called the affair Officegate. Though McLeish could not have personally benefited financially from the oversight, he undertook to repay the £36,000 rental income, and resigned to allow Scottish Labour a clean break to prepare for the 2003 Scottish Parliament election.[37] McLeish did not seek re-election.
McLeish claimed that Scottish football was "underachieving, under performing and under funded" at a press conference to unveil the report.[1]
Political views
Scottish devolution
As a strong devolutionist, he was one of the original signatories of the claim of right at the inaugural meeting of the 1989 Scottish constitutional convention which paved the way for devolution.
Scottish nationalism
In the run up to the referendum on Scottish independence on 18 September 2014, there was much media and public speculation towards whether McLeish backed a "No" vote to remain within the United Kingdom, or whether he supported a "Yes" vote in order to create an independent separate sovereign Scotland.
Speculation from the public came from media articles in which McLeish was reported to be talking negatively about the prospect of a "No" vote to remain within the union, but was later reported as stating it would be "near impossible" to vote Yes in the referendum.[39]
Following the 2016 UK referendum on EU membership, in which the majority of the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union, but the majority of the Scottish electorate voted to remain in the EU, McLeish has since claimed that he would support and campaign for an independent Scottish sovereign state and campaign for it to be a fully functioning member and participate fully within the European Union despite Brexit.[40] In September 2021, he reiterated that he would support independence if the union was not reformed.[41]
Adviser, Consultant and Facilitator to the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions and the European Monitoring Centre for Change, Dublin, Republic of Ireland
Adviser and Consultant to the LEED Programme of the OECD in Paris, France, including visits to Austria, Italy, and Mexico
Consultant, in partnership with Jeremy Harrison, Cambridge (Public Value Partnership, working on new project development and evaluation of existing projects in the community and voluntary sector)
McLeish has four children. His first wife Margaret Drysdale, whom he had two children with, died in 1995 of stomach cancer. In 1998, he married Julie Fulton, a social worker for Fife Council.[56] They divorced in 2011 and the following year he married Karyn Nicholson.[57]
Notes
^Jim Wallace acted from 11 October 2000 to 26 October 2000
^Jim Wallace acted from 8 November 2001 to 27 November 2001
^Scottish Labour was known as the Labour Party in Scotland until the 2011 Murphy and Boyack review, when the title was changed to Leader of the Scottish Labour Party.
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