William Ross, Baron Ross of Marnock
Encyclopedia
William 'Willie' Ross, Baron Ross of Marnock MBE (7 April 1911 – 10 June 1988) was the longest serving Secretary of State for Scotland
, holding office from 1964 to 1970 and again from 1974 to 1976, throughout the Prime Ministership of Harold Wilson
.
, the son of a train driver, he was educated at Ayr Academy
and the University of Glasgow
and became a schoolteacher before World War II
. He served in the Highland Light Infantry
in India
, Burma and Singapore
and was then a major
in Lord Louis Mountbatten
's headquarters in what was then Ceylon. He became a Member of the Order of the British Empire
in 1945.
at the 1945 general election
, Ross was elected Member of Parliament
for Kilmarnock
in a by-election in 1946
. He was Parliamentary Private Secretary
to Hector McNeil
during his tenure as Secretary of State for Scotland
and in 1954 placed an amendment
to the Bill on the licensing of commercial television
advocating a ban adverts on Sundays, Good Friday
and Christmas Day.
After serving as Shadow Secretary from 1962, he became Secretary of State for Scotland in 1964 under Harold Wilson
. The Conservatives
held government from 1970 to 1974, when Ross resumed his position until he lost office when Wilson resigned in 1976. During his tenure he was responsible for the creation of the Highlands and Islands Development Board and the Scottish Development Agency, the forerunners of Highlands and Islands Enterprise
and Scottish Enterprise
. Ross campaigned for a "No" vote in the 1975 referendum on British membership of the EEC. He was also a firm unionist, in favour of Scotland
and Northern Ireland
remaining in the United Kingdom
, and opposed devolution
. Andrew Marr
called him 'a stern-faced and authoritarian Presbyterian conservative
who ran the country
like a personal fiefdom
for Harold Wilson
'. Ross coined the term 'Tartan Tories' to describe the members of the Scottish National Party
, whom he very much disliked; he was himself nicknamed "the hammer of the Nats" for his many attacks on them.
He represented Kilmarnock until the 1979 general election
, when he was created a life peer
as Baron Ross of Marnock, of Kilmarnock in the District of Kilmarnock
and Loudoun
.
"Willie" Ross was occasionally depicted by newspaper cartoonists as a boy in dungarees seated on an upturned bucket - i.e. as Oor Wullie
.
He was Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland
from 1978 to 1980, and became Honorary President of the Scottish Football Association
in 1978. Ross was lord high commissioner to the general assembly of the Church of Scotland
. He married Elizabeth Jane Elma, daughter of John Aitkenhead in 1948 and they had two daughters. He died of cancer in 1988.
His conduct and integrity,as well as that of several other Labour and Conservative politicians, in the Paddy Meehan miscarriage of justice is widely open to question.
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Secretary of State for Scotland
The Secretary of State for Scotland is the principal minister of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom with responsibilities for Scotland. He heads the Scotland Office , a government department based in London and Edinburgh. The post was created soon after the Union of the Crowns, but was...
, holding office from 1964 to 1970 and again from 1974 to 1976, throughout the Prime Ministership of Harold Wilson
Harold Wilson
James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, KG, OBE, FRS, FSS, PC was a British Labour Member of Parliament, Leader of the Labour Party. He was twice Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during the 1960s and 1970s, winning four general elections, including a minority government after the...
.
Early life and military career
Born in AyrAyr
Ayr is a town and port situated on the Firth of Clyde in south-west Scotland. With a population of around 46,000, Ayr is the largest settlement in Ayrshire, of which it is the county town, and has held royal burgh status since 1205...
, the son of a train driver, he was educated at Ayr Academy
Ayr Academy
Ayr Academy is a non-denominational secondary school situated in the centre of the town of Ayr in South Ayrshire. It is a comprehensive school for children from the ages of 11 to 18 from Ayr. Ayr Academy's catchment area covers Newton-on-Ayr, Whitletts and the outlying villages of Coylton, Annbank,...
and the University of Glasgow
University of Glasgow
The University of Glasgow is the fourth-oldest university in the English-speaking world and one of Scotland's four ancient universities. Located in Glasgow, the university was founded in 1451 and is presently one of seventeen British higher education institutions ranked amongst the top 100 of the...
and became a schoolteacher before World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. He served in the Highland Light Infantry
Highland Light Infantry
The Highland Light Infantry was a regiment of the British Army from 1881 to 1959. In 1923 the regimental title was expanded to the Highland Light Infantry ...
in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, Burma and Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
and was then a major
Major
Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...
in Lord Louis Mountbatten
Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma
Admiral of the Fleet Louis Francis Albert Victor Nicholas George Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma, KG, GCB, OM, GCSI, GCIE, GCVO, DSO, PC, FRS , was a British statesman and naval officer, and an uncle of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh...
's headquarters in what was then Ceylon. He became a Member of the Order of the British Empire
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
in 1945.
Politics
After unsuccessfully contesting Ayr BurghsAyr Burghs (UK Parliament constituency)
Ayr Burghs was a district of burghs constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1708 to 1800 and of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1950...
at the 1945 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1945
The United Kingdom general election of 1945 was a general election held on 5 July 1945, with polls in some constituencies delayed until 12 July and in Nelson and Colne until 19 July, due to local wakes weeks. The results were counted and declared on 26 July, due in part to the time it took to...
, Ross was elected Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for Kilmarnock
Kilmarnock (UK Parliament constituency)
Kilmarnock was a county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1918 to 1983. It elected one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election....
in a by-election in 1946
Kilmarnock by-election, 1946
The Kilmarnock by-election, 1946 was a by-election held on 5 December 1946 for the British House of Commons constituency of Kilmarnock in Ayrshire.- Vacancy :...
. He was Parliamentary Private Secretary
Parliamentary Private Secretary
A Parliamentary Private Secretary is a role given to a United Kingdom Member of Parliament by a senior minister in government or shadow minister to act as their contact for the House of Commons; this role is junior to that of Parliamentary Under-Secretary, which is a ministerial post, salaried by...
to Hector McNeil
Hector McNeil
Hector McNeil PC was a Scottish Labour politician.McNeil was educated at Woodside School and the University of Glasgow, trained as an engineer and worked as a journalist on a Scottish national newspaper. He was a member of Glasgow Town Council 1932-8...
during his tenure as Secretary of State for Scotland
Secretary of State for Scotland
The Secretary of State for Scotland is the principal minister of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom with responsibilities for Scotland. He heads the Scotland Office , a government department based in London and Edinburgh. The post was created soon after the Union of the Crowns, but was...
and in 1954 placed an amendment
Bill (proposed law)
A bill is a proposed law under consideration by a legislature. A bill does not become law until it is passed by the legislature and, in most cases, approved by the executive. Once a bill has been enacted into law, it is called an act or a statute....
to the Bill on the licensing of commercial television
Commercial Television
Commercial Television was the third free-to-air broadcast television station in Hong Kong. It first went on air in 1975, and ceased transmissions in 1978.-History:...
advocating a ban adverts on Sundays, Good Friday
Good Friday
Good Friday , is a religious holiday observed primarily by Christians commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and his death at Calvary. The holiday is observed during Holy Week as part of the Paschal Triduum on the Friday preceding Easter Sunday, and may coincide with the Jewish observance of...
and Christmas Day.
After serving as Shadow Secretary from 1962, he became Secretary of State for Scotland in 1964 under Harold Wilson
Harold Wilson
James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, KG, OBE, FRS, FSS, PC was a British Labour Member of Parliament, Leader of the Labour Party. He was twice Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during the 1960s and 1970s, winning four general elections, including a minority government after the...
. The Conservatives
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
held government from 1970 to 1974, when Ross resumed his position until he lost office when Wilson resigned in 1976. During his tenure he was responsible for the creation of the Highlands and Islands Development Board and the Scottish Development Agency, the forerunners of Highlands and Islands Enterprise
Highlands and Islands Enterprise
Highlands and Islands Enterprise is the Scottish Government's economic and community development agency for a diverse region which covers more than half of Scotland and is home to around 450,000 people....
and Scottish Enterprise
Scottish Enterprise
Scottish Enterprise is a sponsored non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government which encourages economic development, enterprise, innovation and investment in business...
. Ross campaigned for a "No" vote in the 1975 referendum on British membership of the EEC. He was also a firm unionist, in favour of Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
and Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
remaining in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, and opposed devolution
Devolution
Devolution is the statutory granting of powers from the central government of a sovereign state to government at a subnational level, such as a regional, local, or state level. Devolution can be mainly financial, e.g. giving areas a budget which was formerly administered by central government...
. Andrew Marr
Andrew Marr
Andrew William Stevenson Marr is a Scottish journalist and political commentator. He edited The Independent for two years until May 1998, and was political editor of BBC News from 2000 until 2005....
called him 'a stern-faced and authoritarian Presbyterian conservative
Conservative Christianity
Conservative Christianity is a term applied to a number of groups or movements seen as giving priority to traditional Christian beliefs and practices...
who ran the country
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
like a personal fiefdom
Fiefdom
A fee was the central element of feudalism and consisted of heritable lands granted under one of several varieties of feudal tenure by an overlord to a vassal who held it in fealty in return for a form of feudal allegiance and service, usually given by the...
for Harold Wilson
Harold Wilson
James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, KG, OBE, FRS, FSS, PC was a British Labour Member of Parliament, Leader of the Labour Party. He was twice Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during the 1960s and 1970s, winning four general elections, including a minority government after the...
'. Ross coined the term 'Tartan Tories' to describe the members of the Scottish National Party
Scottish National Party
The Scottish National Party is a social-democratic political party in Scotland which campaigns for Scottish independence from the United Kingdom....
, whom he very much disliked; he was himself nicknamed "the hammer of the Nats" for his many attacks on them.
He represented Kilmarnock until the 1979 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1979
The United Kingdom general election of 1979 was held on 3 May 1979 to elect 635 members to the British House of Commons. The Conservative Party, led by Margaret Thatcher ousted the incumbent Labour government of James Callaghan with a parliamentary majority of 43 seats...
, when he was created a life peer
Life peer
In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the Peerage whose titles cannot be inherited. Nowadays life peerages, always of baronial rank, are created under the Life Peerages Act 1958 and entitle the holders to seats in the House of Lords, presuming they meet qualifications such as...
as Baron Ross of Marnock, of Kilmarnock in the District of Kilmarnock
Kilmarnock
Kilmarnock is a large burgh in East Ayrshire, Scotland, with a population of 44,734. It is the second largest town in Ayrshire. The River Irvine runs through its eastern section, and the Kilmarnock Water passes through it, giving rise to the name 'Bank Street'...
and Loudoun
Loudoun
Loudoun is an area of East Ayrshire, Scotland, east of Kilmarnock. The word Loudoun is a derivative of the Celtic Pagan God name Lugus.Loudoun is a parish and is named after the former village which stood north of Galston. The area is commonly referred to as the "Irvine Valley", for the River...
.
"Willie" Ross was occasionally depicted by newspaper cartoonists as a boy in dungarees seated on an upturned bucket - i.e. as Oor Wullie
Oor Wullie
Oor Wullie is a Scottish comic strip published in the D.C. Thomson newspaper, The Sunday Post. It features a boy named William, known as Wullie . His trademarks are spiky hair, dungarees and an upturned bucket, which he often uses as a seat...
.
He was Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland
Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland
The Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland is the British Sovereign's personal representative to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland , reflecting the Church's role as the national church of Scotland, and the Sovereign's role as protector and member of...
from 1978 to 1980, and became Honorary President of the Scottish Football Association
Scottish Football Association
The Scottish Football Association is the governing body of football in Scotland and has the ultimate responsibility for the control and development of football in Scotland. Members of the SFA include clubs in Scotland, affiliated national associations as well as local associations...
in 1978. Ross was lord high commissioner to the general assembly of the Church of Scotland
Church of Scotland
The Church of Scotland, known informally by its Scots language name, the Kirk, is a Presbyterian church, decisively shaped by the Scottish Reformation....
. He married Elizabeth Jane Elma, daughter of John Aitkenhead in 1948 and they had two daughters. He died of cancer in 1988.
His conduct and integrity,as well as that of several other Labour and Conservative politicians, in the Paddy Meehan miscarriage of justice is widely open to question.
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