|
It
is my very great privilege, on behalf of the people of this county, to confer the Freedom of Caithness upon the Rt Hon Robert Maclennan, the longest-serving MP ever to have represented this
constituency.
Robert's lifelong interests in politics and the well-being of others were fostered at an early age among his parents. His mother, a doctor working
among the slums of Glasgow, became an active member of the Labour Party in a bid to address the causes of the deprivation she witnessed around her. His
father, an eminent gynaecologist knighted for his work, was the closest friend of Hector McNeill. Labour's post-War Secretary of State for Scotland
and Robert's4Godfather. It is not difficult to understand, therefore, how even as a young man Robert was developing an early awareness of politics
and public service.
Educated at Glasgow Academy beside his late friend, Donald Dewar, Robert studied law at Oxford, Cambridge and Columbia universities. Qualification as
a barrister led him in 1961 to the Foreign Office where he worked beside Prof Clive Barry for the British Digest of International Law.
In 1963. his grounding in international law continued when he joined the firm of Sullivan and Cromwell in New York, where he assisted Prof
Thomas Franck of the New York University School of Law who was advising the government of Sierra Leone on a new constitution.
In 1964, Robert returned to Britain and entered the chambers of Sir Frank Soskice, who was about to become Home Secretary, where he specialised in
constitutional and international law. The same year, he returned to Scotland for the General Election campaign and helped his friend Dr Dickson Mabon win the Greenock constituency.
As a result of his efforts.he was brought to the attention of the Caithness and Sutherland Labour Party as a very bright young prospect. Indeed,
there was a real feeling that Robert could achieve what no-one before him had and become the area's first ever Labour MP.
That confidence was not misplaced, because in March 1966 he fought and won the seat for Labour with a majority of 64 - yes, 64 - votes. David Butler,
the eminent BBC psephologist, the job now done by Peter Snow, told the late Dr lan Grimble during the campaign that it would be impossible for Robert Maclennan to be elected because he needed a
swing of more than 30 per cent. But the impossible was achieved and so began an uninterrupted term of office that has seen Robert serve the people of
this area with distinction and assiduity for the last 35 years.
In 1967,1 his knowledge of international matters earned him the position of Parliamentary Private Secretary to George Thomson (now Lord Thomson)
the Secretary of State for Commonwealth Affairs. He played key roles in international negotiations, most notably in African affairs, and was heavily
involved in the Parliamentary Assemblies of the Western European Union, the Council of Europe and Human Rights Committee.
He also promoted three very important Private Members Bills - in 1967, the Tokyo Convention Act about crimes on board aircraft, in 1968 the Highlands
and Islands Development Board Act which empowered the agency to invest in private companies through equity share-holding, and in 1969 the Parliamentary Commission for Local Government Bill which
led to the establishment of an Ombudsman for local government.
It was a busy time for Robert in affairs of the state - but the needs of his constituents always came first. He found time to build up an enviable
reputation among his constituents for his ability to help resolve their problems. His attention to their needs, his ability to intervene and unpick
their personal troubles with authority, his dogged pursuit of bureaucrats on behalf of the ordinary man and woman, must count as the hallmark of his term of office.
He fast gained a reputation among his constituents as a very good MP and he was rewarded in the 1970 General Election when, against the national
trend, he increased is majority from 64 to almost three thousand votes.
Now in Opposition to the Conservative Government of 1970-74,1 Robert was his party's spokesman on Scottish Affairs and then Defence. At the elections
in 1974, he increased his majority again and returned to Government as Under-Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection.
He found himself again in Opposition in 1979 when he became Labour's spokesman for Foreign Affairs. Within a short period of time, however, Robert found himself facing probably the
greatest dilemma of his political career. He felt increasingly at odds with the position of the then Labour Party to the point where he concluded it
no longer could represent the best interests of country and constituency. Following very considerable consultation and debate with his constituents.
he resigned from the Labour Party and became a founding member of the new Social Democratic Party, a party he led briefly for a while in later years.
Such momentous decisions are never easy for politicians and usually lead to political oblivion. But once again, Robert defied the pundits and carried
the support of his constituents through subsequent elections, constituents who recognised the value of retaining such a good constituency MP who could also perform on the national and
international stage.
In 1988. he was instrumental in the formation of the new Liberal Democrat Party, became its spokesman on Home and Legal Affairs, was party president
from 1994 until 1998 and latterly has been spokesman on the Constitution and Culture.
As a strong advocate of devolution, together with Robin Cook he chaired the joint consultative committee on constitutional reform, which crafted the package implemented by the present
Government, which people in Scotland today call the Scottish Parliament. For Robert, this was a successful conclusion to many years of hard work.
And just to show that he has lost none of his enthusiasm. only this year he has been appointed to serve on the joint committee of both Houses of Parliament to oversee the operation of the Human
Rights Act and protection of human rights in the UK. You will note, I'm sure, how human rights and constitutional reform have been a constant theme
throughout his career.
In conclusion ladies and gentlemen, this is only the third time within the last 25years that the Freedom of Caithness has been granted. Previous recipients being the Queen's Own
Highlanders in 1986 and Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother in1990. It is an honour not earned easily.
We are here today to honour a man of great probity, ability, dignity and humanity, a man who has made an immeasurable contribution to the government of
our country at an international, national and local level. A
man of culture, a scholar, and someone who has contributed in countless ways to the arts and good causes at national and local levels.
We wish him health and happiness in his impending retirement. Giving Robert the right to graze his livestock on the common grazings and hold the key
to the town gates seems scant reward for what he has done for the people of this county during the last 35 years. But it is the highest honour we hold in our possession to grant and it gives me enormous pleasure, on behalf of the people of this area, to ask him to accept the Freedom of
Caithness the Scroll of which I now invite Mr Whitelaw to read.
|