How Winnie Ewing transformed Scottish politics

Icon. Legend. Pioneer. None of the descriptions we have heard since the news of her passing are fitting for Winnie Ewing. She was an iconic figure in Scottish nationalism, to be sure – her victory in the 1967 Hamilton by-election heralding a new political consciousness north of the border. She did take on a legendary quality, not least after she was dubbed ‘Madame Ecosse’ and became a symbol for an outward-looking Scottish Europeanism. She was a pioneer, the first female SNP MP at a time when both her party and parliament were the domain of men. 

Yet Ewing’s foremost contributions were not symbolic but tangible and practical. In five decades of frontline political activism, she proved it was possible to challenge Labour’s iron grip on Scotland, to turn street-stall idealism into a viable political platform, and to embrace the cause of Europeanism without diluting that of nationalism. 

Her public service spanned three legislatures, as MP for Hamilton (1967-70) and Moray and Nairn (1974-79), MEP (1979-99) and MSP for Highlands and Islands (1999-2003).