Hansard

I think I am now the only Conservative member to have served in this Parliament when Sir George Reid was Presiding Officer, and it is my honour to offer a few remarks in support of this motion of condolence.

I first met Sir George Reid when I came into this Parliament in 2001. At that point, he held the position of Deputy Presiding Officer, but I was aware of his history, his already having had a distinguished career in journalism and broadcasting, having been a member of Parliament in Westminster and more recently having worked for the International Committee of the Red Cross.

He made relatively few speeches during that first session of Parliament but, as we have already heard, when he did contribute, often on the international matters on which he had considerable expertise, his contributions always carried a great deal of authority. Whether or not one agreed with him, he was always someone worth listening to.

When Sir David Steel retired as Presiding Officer at the end of the first session, George was the natural successor to take over. It was a role that he was made for, as someone who had just the right level of gravitas and authority, as well as good humour, a twinkle in his eye and kindness towards individuals.

The second parliamentary session, which he presided over, became known as the rainbow Parliament, as it contained a motley assortment of smaller parties, including, most notably, a cluster of representatives from the Scottish Socialist Party. That brought a level of rhetoric and parliamentary disruption that had not been seen before and which has not been seen since—so far, at least. As the occupant of the chair, George tolerated that with as much good grace as he could muster, although, occasionally, one could not but notice a wry smile on his lips in reaction to what he was hearing and seeing.

His most significant contribution as Presiding Officer was to sort out the mess that the construction of this building had become. At that point, the project was years behind schedule and hundreds of millions of pounds over budget. Simply by the force of his personality and with his leadership, he pulled the whole thing together to ensure that the building was ready in time for the planned royal opening by the late Queen Elizabeth. It says in St Paul’s cathedral, in tribute to Sir Christopher Wren, “If you look for his monument, look around you.” We can say that of this building, which is really a monument to Sir George Reid. Without his intervention, I fear that construction works might still be going on.

On retiring from Parliament in 2007, George went on to hold a number of significant roles. Unlike many in his party, he did not have an instinctive objection to the honours system and was pleased to accept the knighthood that was conferred on him by the late Queen Elizabeth, which was a fitting recognition of his years of public service. He went on to serve as the lord-lieutenant of his much-loved home county of Clackmannanshire and as the Queen’s representative as the Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland.

My wife and I were delighted to be hosted during that year’s general assembly by George and Dee at Holyrood palace. For the duration of the general assembly, the Lord High Commissioner is treated, in effect, as a member of the royal family, living in the palace, being waited on by retainers, wining and dining on the finest of fare every night, and being driven around in a large limousine with the royal pennant flying on the wing, accompanied by police motorcycle outriders. I do not think that I am being unkind when I say that I think that George perhaps enjoyed that experience just a little bit too much.

I will always remember George for his kindness and friendship to me personally, as well as his many achievements in public life. He will be sadly missed. On behalf of the Scottish Conservatives, I offer my condolences to Dee and Morag and all the family. [Applause.]