Rhona’s Pioneering role in Scottish politics

Co-op MSP Rhona Brankin is set to stand down at the Scottish elections next May

By Susan Press

August 03 2010

Rhona Brankin’s family ties are firmly aligned with the Co-operative Movement right back to the Rochdale Pioneers — and that’s one of the reasons why she will continue supporting the sector after stepping down in the Holyrood elections next year.

The Labour/Co-op MSP for Midlothian has been campaigning on behalf of her constituency and co-operatives since the Scottish Parliament opened in 1999.

Though only just 60, she has decided it’s now time to spend more time with her family. Rhona enjoys an impeccable pedigree in the Co-operative Movement which few can match — she can trace her roots right back to the Rochdale Pioneers. Says Rhona: “I grew up in a background where there was a strong Co-op tradition. My mother was from Bolton and my grandmother had this wonderful big old tea-caddy painted with photos of the Rochdale Pioneers, which I loved as a little girl.

“I later found out there was a family connection through my grandfather, Thomas Standring, and that he was related to James Standring who was one of the original Pioneers. So what else could I be but involved in the Co-op Movement!

“I was born and brought up in Glasgow, but I lived in the Highlands for a long time in the 1980s and was one of the founders of the Highlands Co-op Party. At that time there was a lot of thinking going on policy on rural areas and I was trying to get people to engage in that.

“The Scottish Labour Party ‘s policy then was dominated by manufacturing and heavy industry but there was also a strong tradition of thinking about communities, and how the co-operative model could help.”

For many years Rhona lived in a village north of Inverness and taught in a tiny two-teacher school. Then she was offered a job as a university lecturer and moved south — serving in 1994 as Chair of the Scottish Labour Party before being elected to the first Scottish Parliament in 1999.

Also a champion of devolution, she was a strong advocate of the groundbreaking 50:50 ratio of male and female MSPs. An achievement she feels may now be under threat. Scotland, she asserts, has always been a stronghold for the Co-op Movement and she is sure that will continue: “There is a very strong tradition of co-operation here. Long before the current recession, the idea of broader ways of organising and working together for mutual benefit was very popular and we developed a very good social enterprise strategy.

“The recognition of the importance of co-ops has also made people realise that what seemed an inexorable change towards demutualisation was not the right way forward and there were things we could do in terms of how we cared for our older people and deliver economic benefits.”

Though she won’t be standing for re-election, Rhona will continue to take a keen interest in the political world. In the forthcoming Labour leadership, she is backing David Miliband. “I’ve been to hear most of the candidates speak and I think it’s been a thoughtful and very useful exercise in deciding where we want the Party to go. They have not just been shooting from the hip. Having lost the last election to the SNP we’ve already been through that and asking ourselves what our core values are.

“I think all the candidates have been impressive but I’m voting for David Miliband. I recently went to a meeting of the Council of Ministers in Brussels and his performance was outstanding. I was hugely impressed.”

Like the rest of the UK, Scotland is bracing itself for draconian cuts in jobs and budgets. In the months before she steps down from Holyrood, Rhona will be doing her best to protect front-line services.

“Because we have an SNP government in Scotland there are lots of cuts which have happened already. We’ve lost 3,000 teaching jobs so front-line services are already being targeted and we are very concerned about what is going to happen.”

Rhona’s decision to stand down was not taken lightly. But she is looking forward to having more free time to consider new challenges — and look after her family.

“There are a combination of reasons. My mum’s 93, so I need to spend more time with her. I also have a daughter living in Germany and another in Wales, so I want to see more of them, as well as my grandchildren.

“I’ve only been an MSP for 11 years but I have been active in Scottish politics for about 30 years. That’s a long time. And I will continue to be involved.”

In her years as an MSP, Rhona has served as Deputy Minister for Culture and Sport from 1999-2000 and Deputy Minister for Environment and Rural Development from 2000-2001. In October 2004 she was appointed Deputy Minister for Health and Community Care, returning to the Environment and Rural Development portfolio in June 2005.

In January 2007 she was promoted to Minister for Communities after the resignation of Malcolm Chisholm.

Following Labour’s defeat at the hands of the SNP at the May 2007 election, she became shadow Minister for Education and Lifelong Learning. Says Rhona: “I’m glad that as Minister for Communities I was able to help develop a strategy for older people and set the groundwork for tackling the demographic we all face in the years to come. I’ve also been involved in the social enterprise strategy which we need to develop further and I was responsible for helping bring the Ryder Cup and the Commonwealth Games to Scotland. But perhaps the thing I’m proudest of is being one of the Ministers behind the Smoking Bill.

“Banning smoking in pubs and public places wasn’t exactly popular and it was difficult for people, particularly pubs and club-owners. But what really decided me was talking to GPs in my constituency and looking at the incidence of cancer and heart disease.”

Most recently, Rhona has been involved in the setting up of a Literacy Commission with the aim of making Scotland the first country in the world to be fully literate. This ambitious project is involving top Scottish author Ian Rankin, of Rebus fame.

And, whatever direction she chooses to take in the years to come, Rhona Brankin will be equally committed to the cause: “If you’re interested in politics you’re going to stay interested. But obviously I will miss the comradeship of being an elected representative. It has been a huge honour to be here and I hope I’ve never forgotten my roots and the fact that the only reason I am where I am is because of the Labour and Co-op Movement.”

Category: Politics