Motion of Condolence - The Scottish Parliament expresses its deep sadness at the death of Christina McKelvie MSP; offers its profound sympathy and condolences to her family and friends, and recognises her significant and widely appreciated contribution to Scottish politics and public life through years of dedicated service to her constituents in Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse, as a champion for social justice, as a convener of two Scottish Parliament committees, and as a Scottish Government minister since 2018.
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00:00I thank the First Minister for the support that she has given to me and the family, not
00:07just in the past couple of weeks but in inquiring after Christina's health for so many months.
00:12I also thank the First Minister not just for the same thing—the constant concern for
00:18Christina's health, but in the way that he was able to manage her absence from government
00:22and, crucially, his two visits to the hospital, the first of which had a huge impact on Christina's
00:29who were there at that time. I also thank the members of the SNP group for their support
00:34over many months. I know that you are all hurting, as we are. I thank the party leaders
00:42and all those who have spoken. There is not a great deal left for me to say. You have
00:47hit all the right notes on what Christina was and what she was about.
00:51It might be invidious to do so, but I can mention three people very quickly. Kirstie,
00:55who was mentioned in the coffee bar, was always keen to hear about how Christina was doing.
01:02To Edward Mountain, similarly, who always inquired after Christina, notwithstanding his own
01:08issues with cancer. I also thank Jamie Greene, not just for what he said today but for the
01:12fantastic card that he sent to Christina. He will know and I will know what was in that,
01:16and that will stay between us. I also thank our constituents and all the groups who have
01:22been in touch. That was an absolutely incredible response. Christina was everything that people
01:26have said today. I know that sometimes, after somebody passes away, lots are said,
01:31but she was all those things. She was a feminist and a staunch supporter of the LGBTQ community.
01:37She was a staunch supporter of travellers when many people were not.
01:41I know that it is contentious, but it would not be true not to say it. Christina was a trans ally.
01:47Christina supported trans people.
01:53She was also—it is no surprise to anybody to hear me say this—a very staunch supporter
01:58of independence. Christina loved Scotland, its people, its culture and its history,
02:04but she also knew that many other people who did not believe in independence felt similarly
02:09strong about their country. That is why we saw such an absence of malice
02:14and vindictiveness on the part of Christina.
02:20It has been mentioned that Christina came from Easterhouse. She was extremely proud of the fact
02:25that she came from Easterhouse. She received some really snide comments when she was first elected,
02:29misogynistic and classist comments, but they just did not know the real Christina.
02:36I think that is where she imbibed her values of social justice.
02:40Many of us learn these things quite legitimately when we read or learn about politics. It was
02:45instinctive to Christina. It is who she was. She was also a very gifted artist. She was a poet.
02:52She wrote a fantastic poem for our granddaughter Maeve when she was born.
02:57She loved to travel. She loved to swim in a warm ocean. She was not for sitting by the pool. She
03:01wanted to be in the ocean. She loved science. There was a tribute to her paid by David Blanchflair,
03:05the astrophysicist, on Twitter, saying that he felt he had lost somebody who was
03:09extremely intelligent and fearless. She was also a very gifted photographer.
03:15I always thought Christina to be a stunningly attractive woman.
03:24The real measure of Christina was not where she looked, but it was in her mind and in her heart.
03:31She never walked by on the other side. The number of times that she was out
03:34when she was stopped by somebody in the street, either giving them money or food or her time.
03:39One time in Campbeltown, a drunken man had fallen down. She would not leave his side
03:43until the ambulance came. The newly born mother had just given birth to a child who had no money
03:49for a pram that Christina bought and also the bedclothes to go with it. Christina loved a cup
03:55of tea and two black sweeteners. In hospital, I had asked Christina if she wanted a cup of tea.
04:09It was not a great time for Christina. Unusually, I was the only person in the hospital at the time.
04:14She said,
04:15Yes, please, but make sure everyone else has got one. There was nobody else in the room,
04:19but that was their instinct.
04:21I want to reassure people—those who loved her most—that during the last week or so,
04:28Christina was never on her own. At every point, 24 hours a day, members of her family
04:40sat with her, held her hand and told her that she was loved. She was surrounded by love in that
04:45last week. When Christina was first elected and went to an event in central Scotland,
04:51she met an MP from a different party. Rather than meet him, she saw him—a large man—harrying
04:57this young woman, who was a Scottish Government comms officer, shouting at her. She stormed over
05:03and stood between them. She said,
05:06Your sighs, your shouting and your toxic masculinity don't intimidate me,
05:10so you can back off.
05:11I think it was back off that she said. It was something like that.
05:15If you were going to intimidate a woman, you did not do it around Christina McKelvie.
05:20She was, as we have heard, very proud to be an MSP and a Government minister.
05:24When she became a minister, I wrote on Twitter a line from Simon Garfunkel,
05:28Sail on, silver girl, your time has come to shine.
05:31And Christina sparkled, and she shined.
05:35In the chamber, she never hated anybody. I remember the worst thing I heard her say was
05:39to a Tory MSP. She asked the question why, if he had come to engage her in a battle of wits,
05:45he had come unarmed. It was meant in good humour, and it was taken in good humour.
05:51Liz Smith will remember the endless Thursday morning education debates in that session.
05:58In one of her contributions, Christina managed to get virtually every ABA title
06:03into her speech. She was great fun.
06:07Christina and I first spoke in 2001. I do not remember it, but Christina,
06:12who had a mind like a steel trap, remembers it. I was the leader of Clackmannanshire Council.
06:16Two of the members she was representing had been arrested at Fazz Lane, and she wanted
06:20to make sure that their employer, Clackmannanshire Council, did not further penalise them,
06:24which she made sure did not happen. She recollects saying that she found me to be
06:28opinionated and cocky, which just shows that sometimes Christina could be wrong as well.
06:35In 2007, at a pre-election rally for SNP candidates in Napier, I thought she was
06:42a stunningly attractive woman and way out of my league.
06:47I became a committee convener, and Christina was on the committee. I found a way to try
06:51and get on her good side. She hated being called Christine, and I apologise to Christine Graham
06:55if she is here. I was the person who jumped down the throat of anybody who had the audacity to
07:00call her Christine, and I bid to try and impress her as her defender. I am not sure if it worked,
07:05but it was 18 months before we got together, and Christina's phrase for that is,
07:10We found love in a hopeless place.
07:15I have often thought of Christina as a star. People have talked about how much fun she was.
07:19To me, she was glamorous, sparkly and fun. Of course, planets revolve around stars. I just
07:28do not know what a planet does when its star has been extinguished.
07:36She was a credit to her two sons, Lewis and Jack. She took such pride in her grandchildren,
07:43Leo and Maeve, and they will never be allowed to forget Christina. She was a credit to her
07:49community, to Easterhouse, to the Scottish Government, to this Parliament and to Scotland.
07:53She was more beautiful inside than outside.
07:57Apart from my children, Christina McKelvie was the best thing that ever happened to me.