George Andrew Leslie (born 21 November 1936) is a

Scottish National Party The Scottish National Party (SNP; sco, Scots National Pairty, gd, Pàrtaidh Nàiseanta na h-Alba ) is a Scottish nationalist and social democratic political party in Scotland. The SNP supports and campaigns for Scottish independence from ...

politician and a

veterinary surgeon Veterinary surgery is surgery performed on animals by veterinarians, whereby the procedures fall into three broad categories: orthopaedics (bones, joints, muscles), soft tissue surgery (skin, body cavities, cardiovascular system, GI/urogenital/ ...

. He was the SNP's Senior Vice-Chairman 1969–1971.

Early life

Leslie was born in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

, Scotland. He studied at

Hillhead High School Hillhead High School is a day school in Glasgow, Scotland, on Oakfield Avenue, neighbouring the University of Glasgow. Admissions It is one of the largest schools in Glasgow. History Grammar school Until 1972 it was a co-educational selectiv ...

and

Glasgow University , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

before becoming a vet.''Guide to the European elections, 1984'', BBC Political Research Unit, p.200

Political career

He joined the

(SNP) in the early-1960s. He was selected to stand for the party at the

1967 Glasgow Pollok by-election The Glasgow Pollok by-election of 9 March 1967 was held after the death of Labour MP (MP) Alex Garrow: ...

. During the by-election, one observer described his speeches as being in the style of

Jimmy Maxton James Maxton (22 June 1885 – 23 July 1946) was a British left-wing politician, and leader of the Independent Labour Party. He was a pacifist who opposed both world wars. A prominent proponent of Home Rule for Scotland, he is remembered as on ...

.Christopher Harvey, ''Scotland and nationalism'', p.170 His campaign also featured the singing of both traditional and topical Scottish songs. Although the party had never previously contested the seat, Leslie took 28% of the vote. The Labour Party share of the vote dropped considerably, enabling the

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

to win – their last by-election win of the twentieth century in Scotland. Leslie's campaign marked the start of a year of successes for the SNP, including becoming the largest party in local government in

Stirling Stirling (; sco, Stirlin; gd, Sruighlea ) is a city in central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the royal citadel, the medieval old town with its me ...

, and victory in the Hamilton by-election. Leslie was soon elected to the Glasgow Corporation, and, in June 1969, became the SNP's Senior Vice-Chairman. Later, he served as a

Strathclyde Strathclyde ( in Gaelic, meaning "strath (valley) of the River Clyde") was one of nine former local government regions of Scotland created in 1975 by the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 and abolished in 1996 by the Local Government et ...

Regional councillor for

East Kilbride East Kilbride (; gd, Cille Bhrìghde an Ear ) is the largest town in South Lanarkshire in Scotland and the country's sixth-largest locality by population. It was also designated Scotland's first new town on 6 May 1947. The area lies on a rais ...

, and he stood as the SNP candidate for

at the European Parliament election in 1979, taking 16.4% of the vote. During the early-1980s, Leslie was the SNP's vice-chairman for policy. He was the party's candidate in the high-profile Glasgow Hillhead by-election in 1982 but, despite campaigning hard, he finished in fourth place, with 11.3% of the votes cast. He stood again in the Hillhead constituency at the 1983 general election, but only received 5.4% of the vote,British Parliamentary Election results 1983-97: Scottish Burghs
/ref> He stood in Strathclyde East at the 1984 European election, taking second place with 17.6% of the vote, then in Kilmarnock and Loudoun in the 1987 general election, taking third place but with 18.2% of the vote. Standing again in Strathclyde East at the 1989 European election, he increased his share to 25.2%, and finally at the 1992 general election he took 15.6% and fourth place in Glasgow Pollok. On 28 February 2010, Leslie formally launched a campaign to contest Kilmarnock and Loudoun at the 2010 general election.SNP 2010 UK General Election Candidates: George Leslie
/ref> However, he finished in second place, 12,378 votes behind the Labour Party candidate

Cathy Jamieson Catherine Mary Jamieson (born 3 November 1956) is a Scottish business director, currently a director at Kilmarnock Football Club and former politician. She served as the Deputy Leader of the Labour Party in Scotland from 2000 to 2008. She pre ...

. Leslie currently remains an active member of the SNP in the Kilmarnock and Loudoun area.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leslie, George 1936 births Living people Alumni of the University of Glasgow Councillors in Glasgow Scottish National Party councillors People educated at Hillhead High School