Hansard

Thank you, Presiding Officer. My calves were not coping too well, but I was poised to stand up. I am, of course, extremely pleased to take part in the debate. A whole afternoon of positive Paisleyness will do me nicely. I welcome Jean Cameron and some of the members of her team Paisley, who are in the public gallery.

The cabinet secretary is, of course, correct when she says that this is a tale of two cities—and my friend and colleague Joe FitzPatrick says that I must mention Dundee and its quest for the European city of culture title in 2023. The Scotland’s Towns partnership has a facility on its website that allows users to get all the statistical data for Scotland’s towns. On checking that website yesterday, I found that Paisley is very much like Dundee. The demography of both is similar. Historically, both towns had to deal with post-industrial decline but, instead of complaining about it, we have decided to do something completely different.

I know that Dundee has been on that journey of discovery longer than we have, but both towns are trying to show the world who they really are. When I was elected in 2011, I said that I would take a team Paisley approach to absolutely everything that I did as Paisley’s MSP. Now, team Paisley is becoming team Scotland—the whole of our historic town is taking that approach.

What is important is what we can achieve. That is the exciting part. The bid can be a catalyst that will make a difference in people’s lives and, I hope, show the world what 21st century Paisley has to offer. Paisley buddies are now looking to what we can do—looking at the many challenges and seeing how we can find solutions. There is an air in the town that the impossible can happen. There are no problems, only solutions.

Paisley has challenges, like many other towns in Scotland, but it also has a big heart. It is a heart that beats louder by the day. Buddies are very emotional about our town, but who would not be? It is such a great place. Archie Gemmill from Glenburn, scorer of that goal in the 1978 world cup, was my dad’s apprentice at Balfour Kilpatrick. Paisley has great venues. The Thomas Coats Memorial church recently announced a multimillion pound re-imagination of the building for the 21st century. There are plans from Paisley Community Trust for a £40 million cinema-theatre space in the very heart of the town. Paisley abbey is the last resting place of Marjory Bruce, the mother of the Stuart dynasty in Scotland and daughter of one of our country’s greatest heroes, Robert the Bruce.

Jim Mitchell, a former Scottish National Party councillor, who sadly is no longer with us, would never have forgiven me if I too did not mention Paisley’s connection with the 1820 insurrection. Paisley is a place where the cottage weavers of the 19th century became radical in their political ideals. Of course, the Paisley weavers were to the forefront of the insurrection of 1820, although to say that is inaccurate, as the people of Paisley decided that the insurrection was happening in 1819. A mass rally was organised in Paisley on Saturday 11 September, and radicals came from all over the west of Scotland. A crowd of 18,000 gathered at a meeting place outside the town, as a band from Neilston played “Scots Wha Hae”.

There were many speakers that day, and as the crowd dispersed some decided that they were going to march down the High Street. By 10 pm, the riot act had been read and the cavalry were charging down the streets of Paisley, pursuing peaceful protesters, but this was Paisley: the crowds were not deterred and pitched battles occurred for several days. It was not until a week later, on 18 September, that an uneasy quiet returned to the town. One year later, they would all be part of the Scottish insurrection of 1820 and would march under the banner “Scotland free or a desert”.

Paisley is not just a town of political radicals. We have given the world so much culturally as well. Ferguslie Park is where my own family comes from. If someone types “Ferguslie” into an internet search engine, they will find statistics on deprivation, but deprivation has never defined Ferguslie. It is a part of the town that has given us singer-songwriter Gerry Rafferty and playwright-artist John Byrne. Mr Byrne recently told The Herald:

“Paisley is a remarkable place. I hope to be involved and I support the bid. I support it wholeheartedly. I thank Ferguslie Park every day of my life for providing me all the information I ever needed about life, it was the best place I have ever been.”

Those are words that we should all take to heart in this debate.

Paisley is also a town that helped to reclaim the stone of destiny on Christmas day 1950, in the guise of Ian Hamilton, another Paisley buddie. At a time when the SNP vote barely registered, Mr Hamilton and his friends decided to take matters into their own hands and reclaim their national identity. It appears that anything of any value that has happened in Scotland has a Paisley connection.

Robert Tannahill was a poet and one of the founding members of Paisley’s Burns club, which is the oldest constituted Burns club in the world. He was a weaver-poet whose life was less than happy. The love of his life married his best friend, his father died at a young age and he had to support the family. A small collection of his poems and songs sold out in 1807, but by 1810, after the rejection of his work for publication, he burned all his manuscripts and drowned himself in Paisley canal. Unfortunately for Robert Tannahill, he was not aware that his work would be celebrated in his home town in the 21st century.

Our bid is about telling the world the fantastic story of our town, its history and its achievements; most important, it is about the story of its people, the Paisley buddies. For me, it is my town, my home and my place in the world. It is the place where my family have been since 1759. It is the home of my beloved football team, St Mirren Football Club. Some people have said to me that, if the bid is successful, being the city of culture will put Paisley back on the map. I say that that is wrong. How can it be put back on the map when my home is already the centre of the universe?

In 1990, during Glasgow’s year as European city of culture, one of the highlights was a concert by Francis Albert Sinatra at Ibrox. The 74-year-old began the show with “You Make Me Feel So Young”. As the rain poured, he continued with “Come Rain or Come Shine”—and they say that Americans do not get irony. I want those kinds of memories for both our cities. To paraphrase Mr Sinatra, Paisley is and always will be “My Kind of Town”.