I have a dream, and it doesn't involve bevvying...goodbye Jimmy Reid, the man who gave Scotland her Martin Luther King speech

 

 

The Herald today reports the death of Jimmy Reid who with Jimmy Airlie lead the Upper Clyde Shipbuilders work-in in 1971. Reid did many things in his 78 years, but for the moment let us remember him at the height of his power. He was a Scottish icon whose appearances on television in the early 1970s were mesmerising.  He stood out among the cut glass accents for his power of delivery and linguistic precision, but he spoke the same Scots as we did. The cheekbones and dark hair helped. More significant were his gravitas and self-discipline, reflected in the famous  "no bevving" speech to the UCS workers. It is modern Scotland's Martin Luther King moment, one of the most memorable speeches ever delivered.

 Everyone thought he would win Clydebank in the 1974 General Election, but it was not to be. If you are wondering what he was alluding to in the clip, the Catholic Church, encouraged by Labour, instructed its members to vote against Reid,who was a Communist. He went on to become a journalist and broadcaster, moving to The Labour Party before joining the SNP in 2005. Alex Salmond, Scotland's First Minister, paid tribute to Reid with these words:

 "He loved Scotland and her people - it was this commitment that drove Jimmy to defend the jobs and communities of the upper Clyde when he first shot to prominence nearly 40 years ago, with his inspirational and successful leadership of the UCS work-in.

"Jimmy Reid was Clyde built. He has been Scotland's great rallying figure over the last four decades, and was one of the few Scottish political figures who can genuinely say that they provoked real change for the better in society - always addressing both a Scottish and international audience. Above all, Jimmy was a warm, humorous, and generous human being.

"Scotland produces few people of Jimmy's character and calibre - I was honoured to know him, and proud that he found his lasting political home in the ranks of the Scottish National Party."

Long-time friend and former Scottish Labour Party chairman Bob Thomson said: "Jimmy Reid was a courageous and steadfast fighter for working people and their families.

"At the Upper Clyde Shipbuilders work-in he proved that organised workers could defeat an unthinking government and uncaring big business. A self-taught intellectual and philosopher, he did not curry favour or seek self-advancement.

"He told the truth, often at great cost to himself."

ADD Jimmy Reid's famous speech was recorded by BBC television but I cannot find it on Youtube and it is not up on the BBC's revamped website, which is supposed to make more use of video. So where is it?

Comments

[new balance]

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[peter1958]

Hugh McCartney absolutely trounced Reid fair and square. What complete rubbish to attribute Reid coming THIRD to some type of Catholic diktat.
Jimmy Reid was a good man and a great orator. He did extremely well to poll nearly 6,000 votes. But 10,000 en bloc Catholics did not stop him from becoming an MP.

Bull, but not of the papal variety!

[D Blaikie]

The University of Glasgow have made available Jimmy's rectorial address in printed form. Nae joy finding the audio or video recording unfortunately.

http://www.gla.ac.uk/media/media_167194_en.pdf

http://www.gla.ac.uk/news/headline_167623_en.html

[Lox]

Shame he didn't get more exposure in recent years, or choose to be more exposed. He had enough stature and gravitas not to be ignored by the media (or is that naive of me?). Although, you get the feeling that JR's move towards nationalism was perhaps as a consequence of repulsion from Scottish Labour complacency, inertia and malice, rather than a positive embracing of nationalism. In any case, he seemed like a good man. Whether or not he really bought into the merits of Scottish Independence, he was an independent Scot. If only more of us were.

[Alan Clayton]

Yes,the Catholic Church asked its members not to vote for Jimmy and rightly so. At that time he represented the Communist Party. This Party at the time was persecuting Christians all over Europe, as a delibarate act of policy and athiestic philosophy.Jimmy himself saw through Communism not very much longer after that.

[Mike Small]

I also found the BBC's coverage depressing, i wonder if Newsnight will be any better?

The 'no bevvying' speech was important but not because it sounds funny if you suffer Caledonian Cringe, but because the world really was looking at us - and - after Paris - the idea of turning a sit-in into a work in was revolutionary.

I expect most of the Scottish media to retreat into appalling self-parody rather than be able to reflect on a complex and important character.

Arguably the more important speech is the one reprinted an the NYT we link to http://bellacaledonia.org.uk/2010/08/11/jimmy-reid-scottish-socialist/

[DH]

masterful. Sadly a rare figure in the politics of today but by God, you struggle to not rally behind a man that can speak like that. Rest In Peace.

[Newsnet Scotland]

Yes, we thought about describing Jimmy's famous speech as 'Martin Luther King-esque' but bottled out.

I wish we hadn't, for it really is an inspirational moment in Scottish political history.

Visit http://newsnetscotland.com to read a couple more tributes to Jimmy Reid.

Oh, BBC Scotland described him this morning as "former communist and SNP member".

Says it all about BBC Scotland really.