Hansard

Let me talk of a town called Paisley. I am not one for talking about it much, and I have not often mentioned that it is the place where I was born and bred, brought up and educated. Members probably believe that this is the easiest speech that I will make in the Parliament, but that could not be further from the truth. There is the sheer emotion of the speech. My town and the people I represent mean so much to me, and I want everyone to understand the positive Paisley vision that my fellow buddies and I have for our town. To be frank, I do not want to mess it up.

When I was first elected as Paisley’s MSP, I spoke of taking a team Paisley approach to everything that I do. That is why this place has been bombarded with all things Paisley, but it has also become part of the local parlance in Paisley: the whole town now talks of a team Paisley approach.

The bid to be city of culture can make a difference in our town. We need only look to our neighbours in Glasgow to see how a cultural festival can change people’s views of a town or city. When Glasgow’s bold bid to be European city of culture was announced, there was much scepticism. The city was in post-industrial decline and was trying to redefine itself. However, Glasgow’s time as European city of culture, and its many other festivals and events, have shown that it is indeed one of Europe’s greatest cities. We now need everyone to get behind Paisley in its new, bold bid to gain United Kingdom city of culture status in 2021, because the cultural regeneration on the back of the bid can change the world’s view of our home town.

The story of Paisley is an incredible one, and what we have achieved is inspiring. Paisley, like many other towns in Scotland, has its challenges, but it also has an extremely big heart. One of those many challenges is the fact that we have more listed buildings than any other town or city in Scotland bar our nation’s capital. That provides us with an opportunity to use such great venues as Thomas Coats Memorial church, Paisley town hall and—of course—Paisley abbey, which is the last great resting place of Marjory Bruce. She was the mother of the Stewart dynasty in Scotland and the daughter of one of our country’s greatest heroes, Robert the Bruce.

Paisley is where the cottage weavers of the 19th century became very radical in their political ideals. The Paisley weavers were at the forefront of the Scottish insurrection of 1820, although that is slightly inaccurate, because the weavers in Paisley decided to do it in 1819. After the Peterloo massacre in August of that year, a mass rally was organised in Paisley on Saturday 11 September. Radicals came from all over the west of Scotland and a crowd of 18,000 gathered at the meeting place outside the town, as a local band from Neilston played “Scots Wha Hae”. There were many speakers that day and, when the crowd dispersed, some of them decided to march down the High Street. By 10 pm the Riot Act was read and the cavalry were charging down the streets of Paisley in pursuit of peaceful protesters. But this is Paisley: the crowds were not deterred, and pitched battles occurred for several days. It was not until a week later, on September 18, that an uneasy quiet returned to the town. One year later, in the Scottish insurrection of 1820, they would march under the banner of “Scotland free or a desert”.

Later in the same century, the weavers were once again in dispute, this time with the corks, who were the merchants who bought the famous Paisley-patterned shawls. The corks would not pay the weavers for the sma’ shot, which is the small weave that holds the shawl together, because it was not seen. The weavers fought on and eventually withheld their labour. Eventually, in 1856, they had an opportunity and the corks relented. The first weekend of July became a celebration of that success and a local holiday, which is still celebrated today in our annual sma’ shot day summer festival.

We are not only a town of political radicals; we have also given the world much culturally, particularly from places such as Ferguslie Park. If members google “Ferguslie Park”, they will see all the stats on deprivation, but deprivation has never defined Paisley or Ferguslie Park. It is a part of Paisley that has given us singer-songwriter Gerry Rafferty and playwright and 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. It was happy circumstance we ended up there ... the language, the life, everything. I couldn’t have got a better education.”

In the same interview, John Byrne also said:

“I could not care less about politics. Politics is a guise adopted by crooks, criminals, bum-bags—but they are not all like that.”

I can only hope that I am one of the ones who is not like that—but I cannot vouch for the rest of you. That is another example of Paisley being a radical and opinionated town that is steeped in culture.

Paisley is the town that brought us Paolo Nutini, whose dad Alfredo still owns and works in Castelvecchi chip shop in New Street, which has been in the family since 1914. Of course, Paolo will headline Edinburgh’s hogmanay party this year. There is also A-list Hollywood actor Gerard Butler, and let us not forget Doctor Who—David Tennant, another Paisley buddie who, along with Steven Moffat, producer, showrunner and writer, brought the longest-running science fiction television series in the world to a whole new generation of fans.

There is the disco diva from Hunterhill, Jacqueline McKinnon, who members may know better as Kelly Marie. Her disco anthem “Feels Like I’m in Love” will no doubt be played quite often as we head towards the festive season. There is also Robert Tannahill, the poet and contemporary of Robert Burns.

Can we talk about the weather, Presiding Officer? We invented it. Not only have we given Scotland’s broadcasters weather people such as Heather Reid and Seán Batty, the forecasting of weather was built on the mathematical equations of Lewis Fry Richardson, a Quaker who was born in Newcastle in 1881. His research work on predicting the weather took him to the Met Office but, in 1920, when the Met Office became part of the Ministry of Defence, he promptly resigned because of his pacifist beliefs. As he had been a conscientious objector during the first world war, it was difficult for him to find a university position to continue his research. Luckily, he found a home at the Paisley College of Technology, which in its modern guise is the University of the West of Scotland. He was able to continue his work and became the college principal before retiring in 1940. The mathematical equations that are involved in weather prediction came from Paisley. It is not our fault that the weather is not good, but no doubt somebody at UWS is working on that machine as we speak.

Ironically, the college was originally called Paisley Technical College and School of Art, which brings us back to what the Paisley 2021 bid is all about. It is about telling the world the fantastic story of our town. It is about its history and achievements and, most important, its people—Paisley buddies. Our local newspaper, the Paisley Daily Express, which has been published since 1874, has supported the bid and asked buddies to say why they love Paisley. I love Paisley because it is my town and my place in the world. Presiding Officer, I have a bit in my notes here that says, “Don’t greet.”