Meeting of the Parliament 27 September 2017
I thank Fiona Hyslop for her motion. My Scottish Conservative colleagues and I are grateful for the opportunity to show our party’s support for Paisley and Dundee. It is important that MSPs show that support, because the bids are about more than just securing titles: they are a sign to the world that Scotland is ambitious and is determined to succeed in the 21st century.
Some members are fortunate to have a connection to either Paisley or Dundee; I am fortunate to have a strong connection to both. I was educated in Dundee, as was William Wallace, which my colleague Bill Bowman noted. In fact, I went to the same school as Wallace, albeit a mere 700 years after him. Our similarity ends there, although “Braveheart” is one of my favourite films.
Today, we have heard support from across the chamber for Paisley and Dundee. In her opening remarks, Fiona Hyslop outlined a tale of two cities, describing the bids as “committed, bold and ambitious”. My colleagues and other members have made eloquent cases for Dundee to be named European capital of culture. In a thoughtful and interesting speech, Alex Cole-Hamilton described Dundee as a “metropolis” where he went to shop and experience nightlife in the form of the sticky carpets of the Mardi Gras nightclub. I may have bumped into him there—but the less said about that, the better.
Graeme Dey’s first visit to Dundee took place in the year before I was born. He certainly showed his age, there. He spoke about the positive transformation of the city and urged us all to
“Be bold, be ambitious, be Dundee.”
Suffice it to say that the world would be poorer without Dundee’s cultural contributions, and there is a lot more to come. Dundee deserves to win, and I am more than happy to offer it any support that I can.
As an MSP for the West Scotland region, it is a great honour to be able to represent Paisley. When previously I spoke in the chamber about the Paisley 2021 bid, I said:
“Paisley deserves it ... Paisley needs it; and ... Scotland stands to benefit from it.”—[Official Report, 7 December 2016; c 78.]
I am more convinced of that now than ever. Take a stroll through Paisley’s streets and one will find architecture that would be at home in any European capital. Paisley is the home of the world-renowned Paisley pattern textile design—which I am sporting today on my tie, as members can see—and is the location of the formulation of the duty of care, which my colleague Liam Kerr mentioned. The legal joke did not go down so well in the chamber, but the point that Paisley has much to be proud of resonated. Neil Bibby spoke about his pride about having been born in and living in Paisley, as well as the economic benefits of the bid.
Ross Greer spoke about the radical movement and communism as well as rich cultural heritage. I was not sure whether the two were linked.
George Adam, who could hardly contain himself in his seat, looked forward to an “afternoon of positive Paisleyness”. He has had that. He acknowledged the challenges, but also the cultural heritage of the town, and he claimed that Paisley is
“the centre of the universe”.
Maurice Corry highlighted his links to Dundee and Paisley from serving in the Army in Dundee and his experience in the textile industry in Paisley.
Tom Arthur spoke about the benefits to the wider Renfrewshire area and urged us all to “start spreading the news”.
Paisley’s own Paolo Nutini has spoken of seeing
“the romance of the town”
and the real beauty of it. I could not agree with him more.
Dundee can be proud of its musical heritage, too. It was the launch pad for groups including the Average White Band and Snow Patrol, and is the home town of Ricky Ross and folk singers including the bard of Dundee, Michael Marra. I am sure that Jenny Marra would have mentioned her uncle, had she been able to be in the chamber today.